C.R.A.F.T. Conversations for Teacher Growth: How to Build Bridges and Cultivate Expertise

Conversations between administrators and teachers take place every day, for many reasons, but what can we do to elevate them so that they lead to better professional relationships, more effective school leaders and teachers, and improved learning for students? C.R.A.F.T. Conversations for Teacher Growth offers the answer, demonstrating how exchanges that are clear, realistic, appropriate, flexible, and timely can be transformational.

The authors explain how C.R.A.F.T. conversations support leaders' efforts in four "cornerstone" areas: Building Capacity, Invoking Change, Promoting Collaboration, and Prioritizing Celebration. With this foundation in place, they offer explicit guidance for developing the skills necessary to move through all components of a C.R.A.F.T. conversation: planning, opening, engaging, closing, reflecting, and following up. Extended vignettes featuring administrators and teachers bring each component to life, illustrating how focused efforts on improving how we communicate and build relationships can help schools achieve their goals and become places where adults—and students—thrive.

Sally J. Zepeda, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy at the University of Georgia. Her research and service focus on instructional supervision, teacher and leader evaluation, and professional development for preK–12 educators. Her scholarship has appeared in journals such as the Review of Educational Research, the Journal of School Leadership, the Alberta Journal of Educational Research, and Educational Leadership. She has worked with numerous school systems in the United States and the Middle East to develop coaching and mentoring programs for teachers and leaders.

Lakesha Robinson Goff, EdD, has served as a teacher of mathematics at some of the nation's most unique and innovative schools, such as the SEED Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., and the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. She has served as an assistant principal at Ivy Preparatory Young Men's Leadership Academy in Atlanta and at Centennial Academy in Atlanta Public Schools and as a Manager of Teacher Leadership Development with Teach for America (Metro Atlanta). Her extensive experience in providing large-scale professional development and in coaching educators includes serving as a guest facilitator at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Stefanie W. Steele, PhD, earned her terminal degree in educational administration and policy from the University of Georgia, where she also received her Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Education degree. Since 2002 she has been an assistant principal at the middle and high school levels in the Gwinnett County Public School District, a metro-Atlanta school system. She has served in leadership roles for special education, technology, professional learning, curriculum, and assessment, and she has taught courses in professional learning at the University of Georgia.