The Many Roles of the Literacy Coach

Today's post is brought to you by Bobbi Campbell.

Role, Roll, Role

For this particular post, I informally interviewed several fantastic, multi-talented coaches. The work they do on a daily basis never ceases to amaze me. Here is why…

(Note:  I have changed the names to protect the coaches mentioned in this blog.)

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The Cheerleader:  Peppy Patty spends part of her day giving a shout out to a teacher over the loud speaker, as moral is way down and Patty needs to boost it.  She also spends some of her time sending out positive emails about shifts in the CCSS, best practice and the use of researched strategies, curriculum writing, new books in the library, and professional journals for check out.

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Disciplinarian: Prudent Patty keeps a tight ship, especially when she is covering for her colleague who does the regular discipline. I see Peppy Patty peeking out every so often, but then I see the pursed lip, straight spine, hands deflecting bad behaviors and I know that Prudent Patty has returned? 

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The Defensive Line Coach: Packs-a-Punch Patty delivers her coaching with fervor and precision.  She is determined to articulate a plan, deliver it, and have a post conference recap and sets a new plan in motion without taking one breath. 

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The Wonder Woman: Permeating Patty is like diffusion across a semi-permeable membrane – seeping in every crevice, focus, and agenda, that involves instruction. She does it all: facilitates team meetings, discipline specific meetings, whole staff meetings, and district meetings.  She has just enough time to show off her excellent skills with a whistle and ball bin when she monitors students during combat, I mean, lunch duty.

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The Data Analyst: Proficient Patty constructs data sets for teams to analyze for use in informing instruction. She helps teachers to make decisions based on evidence and tracks progress towards those goals derived from the data.

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Magician: Plentiful Patty finds a way to carve out time even when we all know there are only 24 hours in a day. No task is insurmountable for Patty; no task unbeatable; no task puts Patty up against a brick wall – she, like master of allusions, can make magic happen right before your eyes.

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Hats off to coaches across the state – they are many things, but most of all, they are appreciated for their brave endeavors, their daunting tasks, and their burning passion for all things literacy.