Their lessons engaging and smartly aligned
With standardized testing—No Child Left Behind!

The true joy of teaching seemed lost in the past,
When teaching was fun—in fact, a real blast!

When children had recess and even took naps,
For crying out loud, they could sit on our laps!

Then something happened I can’t quite explain,
Teaching and learning had suddenly changed!

With all of the stress accountability brings,
The teachers withdrew to their rooms and their things.

The benchmarks, the standards, the DiBELing and flexing,
The TCAPs and TVAAS and End of Course testing–

It became all too much for one teacher to do,
So instructional coaches were assigned to the schools.

The coaches were eager to do their jobs right,
They trained and they practiced in daytime and night.

They learned from Steve Barkley the culture must change,
A culture of coaching is the name of this game.

From Jim Knight in Kansas, they found the Big Four:
Instruction, assessment, behavior, and more.

Equipped with their mission and technology tools,
The instructional coaches started changing the rules.

No more isolation or hoarding great plans,
We’re calling all teachers to join hand-in-hand.

Come out of your classrooms and talk to your neighbors,
You’ll find out great teaching has all sorts of flavors.

Come see for yourself, don’t just believe me,
You can meet with your coach in your own PLC!

So thank you to all who have helped raise the bar,
Whether teacher or coach, you’re considered a star!