Confession... Transitioning from the classroom to the Instructional Coach role was a little more overwhelming than I was prepared for.
At first, it was lonely because I was too busy trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing.
I spent a lot of time sifting through paperwork that was left behind by the previous Coaches. Then I spent more time going through things that were sent to me by other Coaches in the district in an effort to catch me up. To be honest, none of it was helpful because this isn't really a job you can "catch up" on without just wanting to hide under the covers and not come out of bed. It's more a job you have to pick up where you jump in and just do the thing.
I started telling myself that I'm not really cut out for this job. I mean, sure... I did this in my last district. But that was different. Back then, the idea of Coaching was just getting off the ground, so I was still a classroom teacher in addition to a Literacy Coach. This time, Coaching is all I have.
Making the transition was a challenge in itself because my classroom has always been my safe place. No matter what bad stuff happened in my life, I always had the consistency of my classroom and my students to keep me grounded. My stuff didn't matter when I was facing a classroom full of 6-, 7-, or 8-year-olds with their own "stuff." That led me down this whole rabbit hole of "Who am I to think I'm a good enough teacher to do this?" and "Who is going to trust me enough to come to me for help?" It was seriously one dig on myself after another, each one focusing on how I am just not enough.
Then things changed. After a couple of district meetings, I finally figured out what I was supposed to be doing. Then things got lonely because teachers were teaching and all I could do was wait for them to need me for something. I mean, I have the students in my third grade class and the person who transitioned into my former job... but that was just like transitioning in a student teaching situation. It wasn't actually what my Instructional Coaching job is supposed to be.
In the second week, I did finally get invited into a first grade classroom to support that teacher, which was both hard and fun. It's hard to walk into a classroom full of students you haven't actually met yet. But as a former first grade teacher, it was fun to get back in there with the tiny people. 💖
I've done a lot of research and reading into this job. I started with Instructional Coaching by Jim Knight. I dug deep into the resources provided by my district. I started reaching out to other coaches with specific questions, so they were able to help me a little more than before. It's hard to ask for help in the beginning because you just don't know what you don't know. But it seems that this is getting easier week by week.
Right now, my biggest struggle is that I'm not getting nearly as many steps as I was as a classroom teacher! 😅
But while we're on this topic, let's circle back around to my original plan to tell you all about my 2020 goals. When I started this school year, I put my class's MAP Growth Assessment scores on my vision board because I intended to get all of my students to reach their projected growth in reading proficiency. Well, that goal is definitely a little different now since I no longer have a class of my own.
Now, I'm focusing more on an edited photo of Anita Archer where I superimposed my head onto her body. (Yes. That happened.)
My new career goal is to become as good a mentor as she is. Maybe I'll write a book. 😂 That isn't my goal, though. My goal is to simply be a person who teachers can rely on to support their professional growth, research teaching methods that they want to practice, and model scientifically proven instructional strategies.
One day, I'll be a stay-at-home dog mom. Until then, I'm going to be a kick-ass Instructional Coach!
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