Weekly Coaching Roundup: Creating Your Coaching Menu

As an instructional coach, you play an invaluable role in fostering teacher growth and, in turn, enhancing student success. Yet, communicating your contributions and value to teachers and administrators can sometimes be challenging. Here’s how you can clarify your role, build strong partnerships, and make your coaching process more accessible with strategies like brochures, coaching menus, and choice boards.

How to Clarify Your Coaching Role

One of the first steps in successful instructional coaching is defining and communicating your role clearly. Casey Watts emphasizes the importance of transparency:

“We can’t assume that teachers, or even administrators, understand what we provide as instructional coaches. Building clarity around our role allows others to use us well, promoting a collaborative culture essential for unlocking potential.”

To do this, consider creating a brochure that outlines:

1. Core Responsibilities: Highlight key services like co-teaching, data analysis, and instructional modeling.
2. Boundaries and Non-Examples: Clarify what your role does not include to avoid misunderstandings.
3. Benefits for Teachers: Emphasize how your support can streamline teachers’ efforts and enhance their instructional strategies.

Bring Professional Learning Principles to Life

A coaching cycle is a structured approach to professional development that empowers teachers to set and achieve learning goals. Coaching menus are a popular tool to facilitate this process. Kenny McKee suggests that instructional coaches use these menus to let teachers assess their own needs and preferred professional learning formats:

“With a coaching menu, teachers can self-assess their needs and learning preferences, which gives coaches a clearer picture before their first meeting.”

By using a coaching menu, you can:

• Offer a choice of coaching activities that cater to various needs (e.g., data analysis, instructional planning).
• Streamline the first meeting by aligning expectations based on the teacher’s initial reflections.

3 Easy Steps to Create a Coaching Menu

A well-organized coaching menu can be a simple yet effective tool. Kayleigh Wright breaks down the process:

1. Appetizers: Introduce quick, easy-to-access resources, like one-on-one check-ins or brief instructional tips.
2. Entrées: These are the “main course” services, such as site-based PD training or classroom co-teaching.
3. Desserts: Light, optional additions like informal reflections or post-lesson debriefs to wrap up the coaching experience on a positive note.

This approach gives teachers the flexibility to choose the level of support they need, making coaching more personalized and approachable.

Coaching Choice Boards: Empower Teachers in the Process

Coaching Choice Boards offer teachers the autonomy to choose how they want to engage with you as their coach. Pam Hubler created her choice board to help teachers understand how to work with a coach and to make the coaching process more interactive:

“Creating a choice board helped guide teachers’ requests in the right direction, clarifying the services I provide and how they can use them.”

Using a Google Form or similar digital tool to gather these requests not only simplifies your workflow but also allows you to collect data throughout the school year. This data can reveal which coaching services are most in demand, enabling you to optimize your coaching efforts over time.

Digital Coaching Menus: A Comprehensive Overview

If you work across multiple buildings, like Kenny McKee, a digital coaching menu can help you organize and extend your reach. Here’s what a digital coaching menu can include:

• Clear Scope of Services: Outline options such as lesson co-planning, strategy modeling, or feedback sessions.
• Flexible Support Options: Teachers can choose support methods that best meet their needs, from data reviews to observations.

Digital menus can help teachers visualize the range of support available and encourage them to think creatively about how coaching can benefit their unique classroom needs.

Bonus Tip: “Three Courses” of Support

For a structured coaching approach, consider the “three courses” model suggested by Isabelle Williams:

1. Appetizers – Quick tips, resources, and informal support.
2. Main Courses – In-depth sessions like co-teaching, data analysis, or structured PD.
3. Desserts – Reflective conversations and feedback to celebrate successes.

This framework offers versatility while ensuring that teachers feel supported at every stage.

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

As an instructional coach, clarifying your role and offering personalized, flexible options for support fosters a culture of collaboration and professional growth. By using tools like brochures, coaching menus, choice boards, and digital resources, you can communicate your value clearly and empower teachers to take full advantage of your expertise.Ready to take your coaching to the next level? Start building your brochure or coaching menu today and watch the transformation unfold in your school community!