December 12, VT School Improvement Coaches Meeting: A Coaching Dilemma December 12, :00 pm – 4:30 pm *Please log on to the WebEx site first, then follow the onscreen instructions to dial in by phone. If using your computer for the audio portion of our meeting, PLEASE use a headset. If you do not have a headset or you are meeting with a group, please use your telephone to dial-in. For additional help, dial Joe Trunk:

December 12, WebEx Pointers  Confirm you can mute your own microphone/ phone – to enable discussion during today’s meeting without undue background noise, take a minute to locate the mute control on your computer/ telephone.  If using your computer for the audio portion of our meeting, PLEASE use a headset or dial in using a speakerphone.  You will be muted during the session unless otherwise indicated. If you have a question or a request, type it into the CHAT box in the lower right hand corner of your screen.  If you encounter a problem, call Joe Trunk at ( ) to talk with someone who may be able to help get you reconnected.

December 12, Meeting Purpose Meeting Objectives:  Share a principle of organizational or individual change you value  Offer insight on a colleague’s coaching dilemma  Review the coaching standards assignment

December 12, Today’s Agenda 3:00 – 3:20 Welcome, Introductions and Updates 3:20 – 4:00 Coaching Challenge: Motivating Staff to Engage in Important Work 4: :20 Coaching Standards: Translating Theory into Actions 4:20 – 4:30 Homework, Next Meeting

December 12, Welcome and Introductions Organizers: VT School Improvement Coordinators: Ken Remsen, Lisa Mazzitelli, Carol Duley, Debi Price Host: Joe Trunk, New England Comprehensive Center Featured Presenter: Janna Osman, coach for the Weathersfield School Facilitator: Karen Laba Participants: Please introduce yourself, tell your role and your school/ SU/ District affiliation, and complete the sentence “ One principle of organizational and/or individual change that guides my work is...”

December 12, A Coaching Dilemma: Inspiring and Motivating Change in Professional Practice A consultancy protocol: National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) Presenter: Janna Osman, coach for Weathersfield School Facilitator: Karen Laba Purpose: To help a colleague examine a school improvement coaching challenge from alternative perspectives to expand our collective coaching repertoire.

December 12, The NSRF Consultancy Protocol Outline: 5-10 minutes – Description of the dilemma ending with presenter’s focus question 5 minutes – Clarifying Questions from consultants 5 minutes – Probing Questions from consultants 15 minutes – Facilitated discussion among consultants 5 minutes – Presenter’s reflections on the discussion, reframing of the dilemma 5 minutes – Debrief the consultancy process

December 12, Overview of the Dilemma School description: # students, grades served, # staff, administration; organizational structure; accountability status Coach’s role: Coaching goals, expected outcomes Successes and challenges to date: Staff frame of mind Root cause analysis meeting, conclusions Recent decision: release time Initial steps toward broader distribution of leadership

Weathersfield Demographics  Weathersfield School 215 students K-8 Teaching staff 25 (55 staff total)  Administration 1 principal  Learning Community Action Plan Team organized but did not persist School Improvement Leadership Team just configured December 12, 20119

Weathersfield Failed to Meet AYP  Year 1 School Improvement Plan Year 2 mathematics for ALL students  free and reduced lunch  white students AYP in Reading  free and reduced lunch Note: The poverty rate went from 39.9% in 2010 to 43% in FY 2011, a significant increase December 12,

Supervisory Union Support  Supervisory Union School Improvement Leadership Team includes  Superintendent Just granted early dismissal to work on school- improvement  Assistant Superintendent Provides direct feedback and support to coach  Principal Just agreed to support ongoing progress monitoring this year  School Improvement Coach December 12,

December 12, Focus Question: What can I do as a school improvement coach to inspire, motivate, encourage, etc. this group of teachers to begin to collect and use data systematically to improve the success of their students?

December 12, Clarifying Questions Clarifying questions are for the person asking them. They ask the presenter “who, what, where, when, and how.” These are not “why” questions. They can be answered quickly and succinctly, often with a phrase or two. Examples: How often are you in the building? When and how often do you meet with teachers, administrators, superintendent?

December 12, Probing Questions Probing questions are for the person answering them. They ask the presenter “why” (among other things), and are open-ended. They take longer to answer, and often require deep thought on the part of the presenter before s/he speaks. Examples: How did the staff respond to the idea that some of their “root causes” were within their control? How did the administrators respond to the root causes identified by the staff?

December 12, Discussion of the Dilemma Process: If the technology allows (limited background noise) participants will be unmuted for a general discussion of the key questions. Mute your own audio device when you’re not speaking. Facilitator may call on coaches for comments or responses individually. Raise your hand to be recognized. Discussion Questions: 1. What are the key elements of the dilemma in Janna’s description? 2. Are there pieces of information that were missing that might be relevant for Janna to explore? 3. Are there assumptions at work that might need to be checked? 4. Have you encountered a similar situation? How did you deal with it? What were the outcomes?

December 12, Presenter’s Reflections Janna will describe what she heard in the discussion, ideas she might take away to work with. She may offer a restatement of her dilemma responding to your comments.

December 12, Consultancy Process Debrief What worked well in the process? What might we do differently if we use this protocol again? Are there opportunities where you might use this protocol in your work as a coach?

December 12, Translating the Coaching Standards Purpose: To describe the behaviors that represent attainment of the performance coaching standards. Process: Groups of coaches work to create a continuum of coaching behaviors that describe a coaching standard.

19 Example: Coaching Standard 1 STANDARD 1—Creating Community: A School Performance Coach promotes improved school performance by developing trust, building positive relationships, keeping confidences, and honoring diversity across a school community. Developing positive, trusting relationships Modeling effective interpersonal communication Surfacing underlying beliefs and assumptions Working collaboratively instead of being viewed as an “expert” Fostering a professional learning community

20 Example Rubric for Standard 1 A coach approaches this standard by.... A coach meets this standard by... A coach exceeds this standard by... Which of these actions/ behaviors from our Nov. 17 discussion fits within each classification? Coaching Behaviors for Standard 1: -- allowing all thoughts/ ideas to be heard -- listening fully before responding -- leaving participants with something to think about -- providing expertise and insight -- holding the space for the team to think, work, and question the big ideas -- is well organized and thorough, encouraging trust

December 12, Translating the Coaching Standards: Assignments COACHING STANDARDWRITING (DRAFTING) TEAM Standard 1 Creating CommunityWendy Cohen Tina MuncyKaryn Vogel Standard 2 Bringing FocusFran Huntoon Lisa Lovelette Maura HartLynn Blair Standard 3 Leading ChangeJen Miller Arsenault Elaine Watson Dana Jacobsen Goodhue Janna Osman Standard 4 Developing Accountability David Leo Nyquist Peter MelloSusie Girardin Otho Thompson Standard 5 Building CapacityHerb PerezMary Anne Brittingham David Cohn Standard 6 Growing Professionally Casey Murrow Carolyn Romano Victor Prussack Linda Carroll

December 12, Translating Coaching Standards: Schedule COACHING STANDARDPresentation DUE Standard 1Creating CommunityApril TBD Standard 2Bringing FocusApril TBD Standard 3Leading ChangeApril TBD Standard 4Developing AccountabilityJanuary 19 Standard 5Building CapacityFebruary 17 Standard 6Growing ProfessionallyMarch TBD Teams will present their draft continuum (rubric) for discussion at an upcoming coaches meeting.

December 12, Q & A on Coaching Standards Assignment “Raise your hand” or write your question in the chat window.

December 12, Homework, News and Highlights 1. Contact your teammates and design a process to draft the continuum for your coaching standard. 2. Visit the wiki and offer your input for each standard. 3. Plan to submit a proposal to present at the December 2012 Learning Forward annual conference in Boston. (

December 12, Next Meeting, Today’s Materials NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Topic: TBD Presenters: TBD Feedback: Please provide your feedback on the usefulness of today’s meeting and suggestions for future sessions on the Dec 12 page of the wiki. Meeting Materials: Presentation and links mentioned today will be posted on the VT SI wiki as well as on the Dept. website. A link to the recording of today’s session will be sent to all via and posted as soon as it is available.

December 12, Thanks for your participation Thanks to NECC and Joe Trunk for web services and support