Leadership Coaching │ District and School Improvement Center

A high school principal said video coaching “improved how I conduct conversations with teachers; I am more aware of how I handle those meetings. I learned to be more patient. Listen more, speak less.”

We believe that school leaders must be results-driven instructional leaders and change agents. These core beliefs have resulted in an industry-leading model for leadership coaching that is focused on developing the skills and behaviors that will lead to improved outcomes for all learners. Our competency-based leadership coaching model is focused on nurturing the knowledge, skills, and competencies of school leaders to ultimately lead to improved outcomes for all learners.

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Our Approach

Image of graphic depicting cycle of improving leadership practiceOur approach provides responsive, needs-based support that challenges principals and assistant principals to develop leader competencies; deepen instructional leadership skills; build distributive leadership skills; leverage knowledge and experience; and become disciplined strategic planners, communicators, implementers, and monitors.

SET GOALS: Coach and leader meet to determine coaching goal aligned to school and district goals, leader professional development goals, and student achievement outcomes.

COACHING ACTIVITIES: Coach and leader determine which type of coaching activity will best support the coaching goal (e.g., data analysis, classroom co-observations, instructional feedback to teachers, collaborative planning, creating and implementing systemic processes and structures).

An elementary school principal said of AIR leadership coaching that it “challenges principals to focus on the job they were hired to do, which is be the best Instructional Leader possible by being viewed as a coach to teachers.”

COLLECT AND REVIEW DATA: Coach and leader collect data such as achievement data, attendance and discipline data, classroom walkthrough data, and climate and culture surveys to analyze progress toward coaching goal.

REFLECT AND REFINE: Leader makes revisions to leadership practices or actions as a result of coaching activities and data review, setting the stage for another coaching cycle.

 

Stories and Results from our Work

Leadership Coaching for School Improvement

In this video featuring Jose Gamboa, principal of Morton East High School, Cicero, Illinois, see how AIR’s leadership coaching program has produced considerable improvements in teaching and learning for Morton East High School.