Well, here it is February and some coaches continue to be challenged in their quest to support teachers across all content areas and their administrators. They continue to be stretched thin as they try to support classroom teachers in school, district and statewide initiatives. In some cases, they are charged with providing the support to staff members and accepting the responsibility to offer them ongoing professional learning opportunities without the daily flexibility in their schedules to provide the side by side encouragement that is needed to create change.

With the emphasis on educator effectiveness and the Common Core State Standards, many districts are trying to be proactive and set the tone for the impending evaluations of both teachers and principals. While the "frenzy" is understandable, the collaboration and collective problem solving around educator effectiveness is what will make the difference in an effective evaluation process. The focus should not be on the evaluation itself; the focus should be on providing sustainable effective professional learning and creating a collaborative culture that will help support educators and transform classroom instruction and assessment.

Not every coach or other school leader has the luxury of providing full time coaching to the entire school faculty. If, in fact, the school or district administrator had been an instructional coach previously, the discussions about these conditions might occur frequently and actions taken in the best ways possible to create the enabling conditions where an effective instructional coaching model is implemented. On the other hand, if a school does not have the flexibility to implement a part time or full time instructional coaching position, innovation, creativity, and collective problem-solving must be cultivated so that every staff member has the opportunity to receive differentiated support which ultimately influences individual, team, and school-wide performance. 

How many times during the day do you hear the words, "I don't have time to talk"? As an instructional coach, those words can determine the direction for effective instructional planning and reflective practice. Co-planning and co-constructing meaningful instructional practice with instructional coaches encourages teachers to think aloud and talk about their plans in a no-risk environment. In many ways, these discussions are the rehearsals with an opportunity for teachers to ask questions in real time. These rehearsals help the teacher and coach collaborate, communicate and collectively problem solve so the performance can be less stressful, especially if new content or new skills building is involved. It is the process where the coaches help teachers implement effective evidence-based instructional practices and then talk about what worked well in the classroom without fear of being evaluated.