I am a life-long learner. I am and have been proud to say that I matriculated  from every institution  I attended. (Except for current school of enrollment, of course). I have been a proud Brigham Bear, J.A.M. middle schooler, Bloodhound, and Gator.

I think that the most disappointing part of becoming an instructional coach is knowing the potential a school has to develop a positive and thriving climate, but not seeing that potential becoming a reality. Thus, I have decided to actively include in my coaching role small tricks to help schools develop inclusive and supportive school climates.

School climate is defined by the National School Climate Center (2014) as “the quality and character of school life… based on patterns of students’, parents’, and personnel’s experience of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures.”

In nurturing climates:

• teachers are more likely to take risks
• teachers and students find enormous growth opportunities
• youth develop into citizens who can be productive members of a democratic society
• students, teachers, and families all work together to create a shared school vision
• educators model the joy and pleasure of learning for their students
• students feel safe at school
• teachers use literature that depicts marginalized populations in a positive manner
•  teachers have student debates in their classrooms that focus on social justice issues

I wondered what I could do, as only a coach, to nurture the development of inclusive and supportive school climates. These are some tasks on my list:

1. build collective teacher efficacy in content area groups
2. build trust and maintain it!
3. offer opportunities for teachers to connect and learn from one another
4. hold high expectations, but create opportunities for success
5. Glow, Grow, and Go
6. use social media to help teachers brand themselves and their schools
7. start with strengths

 

DeWitt, Peter. (2017). Collaborative Leadership: Six influences that matter most. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.