“Successful coaching is the result of an interdependent relationship between the principal and the coaches,” stated Les Foltos in a Learning Forward article titled, “Principals Boost Coaching’s Impact.” The principal and coaches planning together generates the necessary support for effective, sustained coaching.

Foltos suggests exploring these areas when planning (my additional thoughts):

• Aligning coaching with district or school goals
• Starting with the “willing”. Success there can have a ripple effect.
• Define roles and responsibilities. (Coach, principal, teacher leaders, all staff)
• Measure success. (What are observable changes in teacher practice, student learning production behaviors, and learning outcomes)
• Allocate resources, especially time. Time is essential to coaching success.
• Establish Communication. The coaching plan should be shared with the staff. Ongoing communication among teachers, coach, and principal is necessary but cannot play a role in evaluation.
• Engage in ongoing professional learning. Coaches (and principals) should continue sharpening their coaching skills.

Foltos cautioned that without careful planning, coaches may find they feel overworked, unfocussed, stretched too thin and ineffective.

Here is a starter list of questions that I created to address coach/principal planning with consideration to varying amounts of experience working together.  They are written allowing the coach to take the lead initially but can easily be modified for the principal to initiate.

The coach and principal are both returning, having worked together last year.

What do you identify as our greatest success last year in student learning?

What did you notice in teaching/learning observations that would have led you to predict that success?

What do you see as our focus for student growth this year?

What changes will teachers need to make to gain the student learning behaviors we need?

What would you see and hear students doing that would tell you the teacher changes are in place?

How would my work best support the changes we need?

What do you believe you will need to do?

How should we plan to communicate the plan to the staff?

The principal is returning, and coach is new to the school.

What are some of the strongest student achievement results the school is getting?

What do you believe are the staff’s efforts that are getting those results?

Where are you envisioning the next desired increase in student achievement?

What will we need to get students to do to reach that result?

What will that require teachers to do?

How should I begin my work to support those efforts?

The coach is returning, and the principal is new.

What have your experiences been coaching, being coached, and working with school-based coaches?

How does the role of a coach fit into promoting the school culture you will want to develop?

What questions do you have for me?

How can my work assist you as you begin knowing and guiding student achievement success?

The coach and principal are new to the school.

What have your experiences been coaching, being coached, and working with school-based coaches?

How does the role of a coach fit into promoting the school culture you will want to develop?

What do you know about the school that will focus our beginning work? What do we need to find out?

What are some of the initial impressions and messages you want the staff to receive?

How can I best support the start of that work?

I think summer/pre-the-start of the year is an ideal opportunity to allot the time for an in-depth planning conversations.  Principal or coach might send this blog to your partner with the invitation to schedule a meeting. I believe there is real value in knowing each other’s thinking. I’d love to hear the experiences of anyone experimenting with these questions.