Teachers Deserve a Champion Too...

If you are an educator, been an educator, or know an educator, there is a 99.5% chance you have heard this quote from Rita Pierson,

"Kids don't learn from people they don't like."

Yep, you know that one. When we move as educators from educating children to educating adults, a lot of the same principles apply to our new roles. Replace kids with adults and you have,

"Teachers don't learn from people they don't like."

As harsh as that sounds, as coaches that it is true. Building relationships with teachers is the number one priority of a coach. No significant learning can occur if there is no significant relationship.

Whether new to a campus, new to the role, or it's just a new year, building relationships is hard. As an introvert, it takes me very much out of my comfort zone to intentionally build relationships. Conversating hasn't always been the easiest for me and the number one way to build relationships is to...conversate.

Stepping out of the classroom into an instructional coaching room, I realized was not all that different. So how is being an instructional coach like being a teacher in a classroom when it comes to building trust?

1. Relationship is key- You have to form relationships with teachers to build trust and repour. You have to care about them as much as you care about the students in their room.

2. Input is valuable- Just as in a classroom, you must get input from the people you are working with. Sending out surveys and getting feedback before the start of the year.

3. Creating a comfortable space to grow and learn- Creating a vibrant space that says "I care" is important. An instructional coach room is like a teacher retreat. Creating a space that is comfortable and has touches of their own likes, makes it so much more inviting.

Creating a culture of relationship before the school year:

One way to begin building relationship before the school year even starts is to get teacher input. To do this I created a Google Form for a PLC Survey.

Purpose: The purpose of this survey was to get a feel for what was important

to teachers in the upcoming year, what time of support they were

comfortable with, what subjects they would like coaching on,

and some of their favorite snacks to sprinkle surprises throughout

the year and during PLC.

Data: Using the teacher input to purposely plan and create PLC sessions

around what the teachers value is so important. It also shows what

teachers are open to coaching and which teachers are more resistant.

This allows for purposeful planning on how to approach certain

situations before they even occur!

Click on the picture below for a sample survey. Feel free to copy it and use it as your own!

Here is the email template I used to send out to teachers! Feel free to change or use as your own!

I hope that everyone is having a great and relaxing summer! I just wanted to reach out and tell everyone how excited I am to be back at _______ with some of the best teachers I know. I truly can't wait to work and grow alongside of you guys. We are going to have the best year yet!

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Miss Lavergne. I am the Instructional Coach this year at ______! Throughout my career I have had many roles. I have been a second-grade teacher, third grade teacher, mentor teacher and a literacy coach. I am so excited for my new role and can't wait to get to know each and everyone of you!

The best part of my job is getting to be there for all of YOU! This is your learning and your classrooms, and I am just here to support you inside the classroom and outside in whatever ways you need. To make sure that you get everything you want and deserve out of this school year, I would love if you took a few minutes to answer a short survey. The purpose of this survey is to get an idea of how I can support you this year and the learning you would like to take place in PLC (and also to get your favorite snacks so I can stock them in my room! 🙂)

If you are new to ____, it's ok! Please still share your PLC experiences with me wherever they may have been.