Feb 04, 2021

Q&A: What if a Coach Doesn’t Have Enough to Do?

By SchoolStatus • 3 min

QA Header - Deacon - Free Time

Lindsay Deacon and Angela Scotto Harkness, authors of The EduCoach Survival Guide, asked their coaching peers on Twitter how they spend their “free time” during the workday, and what advice they would share with others who find themselves looking for things to do. ⌛

The EduCoach Survival Guide

@edu_survival

View on Twitter →

QUESTION FROM THE FIELD: What if a coach doesn’t have enough to do? What advice would you offer?

#educoach #edchat

Margaret Harris-Shoates reflects on her values to clarify her role:

Margaret Harris-Shoates

@MHarrisEdu

View on Twitter →

Replying to @edu_survival

I’d start by reflecting on my values as an educator / coach and using those core values to clarify my role. What matters to me, and how does that manifest in what I do every day? (Ironically, this is the same thing I’d suggest for coaches with TOO much on their plates.)

Greg Jung suggests building resources to share with your teachers:

Greg Jung

@edtech_workshop

View on Twitter →

Replying to @edu_survival

Create templates that are ground in effective teaching strategies and share with your teachers. Sometimes a simple thing like a new template idea can get you into the door of a teacher!

Teresa Engler did not hold back with ways she (and you!) can stay busy!

Teresa Engler

@MrsEngler1

View on Twitter →

Replying to @edu_survival

✔ Build relationships with a daily check-in✔ Informally meet with Ts to catch up on what they are using in the classroom & what they may need for the coming weeks✔ Hold a Lunch & Learn to introduce new tech tools✔ Participate in a book study✔ Earn badges/micro credentials

Paul Hanmann finds new ways to check-in to get his foot into his teacher’s rooms:

Paul Hanmann

@TeacherRefPoet

View on Twitter →

Replying to @edu_survival

Start inviting yourself into classrooms, but in a systematic way.

“Hey—I want to see what Social Studies is up to these days! I’ll be stopping by this week if you’re okay with that—if you’re not, send me an email and I’ll not go to your room. Just checking in!”

Erin Kiger encourages taking a moment to lend a helping hand: ✋

Erin (Giblin) Kiger

@EBGtech

View on Twitter →

Replying to @edu_survival

Start asking how they can help… smallest of things – bathroom breaks, to the biggest of things – grading papers or pulling small groups. Anything to support teachers.

Jennifer Johnson uses it as an opportunity to get back into the classroom by co-teaching:

Jennifer Johnson

@Jen_Johnson0310

View on Twitter →

Replying to @KathyPerret

Ask teachers who you have good relationships with to teach an upcoming lesson in their room or cover their class while they get extra planning. Keeps you in touch with teaching and lessons but also get you bonus points!

Mrs. Clary says to use the time to learn new things and take a crack at sending out weekly newsletters:

Mrs. D. Clary

@ClaryDCoach

View on Twitter →

Replying to @edu_survival

Always be learning! There’s so many resources out there to learn from when you have some “downtime.” Podcasts, articles. Sit in on teacher plannings/PLCs and see what you can do to help. Create a weekly newsletter to send out with resources for teachers.

How do you fill your “free time” during the workday?
Share it with TeachBoost and we’ll highlight it here!

SchoolStatus

SchoolStatus is a unified K-12 platform that enables districts and schools to engage more families and improve attendance with our easy-to-use communications hub and data-driven attendance solutions. We support an integrated and impactful educational experience, from district leadership to families at home. With more than two hundred million successful school-home interactions, and millions of users, SchoolStatus drives meaningful results for districts and schools across the US.