Instructional Coaches and the Instructional Leadership Team: A Guide for School-Building Improvement

Supercharge school improvement with instructional coaches!

For instructional coaches, no two days are ever the same. This unique companion melds theory and practice to show how coaches can seamlessly integrate themselves into the fabric of the school and help teachers improve their practice from day one. Dean Spaulding and Gail Smith address common challenges of coaches and instructional leadership teams, including:

• Observing classrooms and providing formative feedback
• Reaching out to the hesitant or resistant teacher
• Adapting data and analysis into usable information for the team
• Recruiting, training, and supporting new instructional coaches

Journal entries based on the real-life experiences give an inside look at the day-to-day work of an instructional coach and the power of coaching to improve teacher effectiveness. The book also includes field-tested activities, materials, and forms for collecting data, navigating busy days, and organizing information.

Instructional Coaches and the Instructional Leadership Team is ideal for those wanting to learn best practices to engage educators and support teacher evaluation reform.

"This book would have made my life SO much easier. I highly recommend it to new and experienced instructional coaches alike!"
―Kathy Ferrell, Instructional Coach
Excelsior Springs Middle School, MO

"This is a wonderful resource. Even schools without instructional coaches will benefit from the strategies and suggestions included. It′s an excellent book even for those who shy away from data analysis!"
―Ann Dargon, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Westport Community Schools, MA

Dr. Dean T. Spaulding is currently an assistant professor at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, where he teaches educational research and program evaluation. Dr. Spaulding is the former chair of the Teaching Evaluation SIG for the American Evaluation Association. He also has been a professional evaluator/researcher for fifteen years and has in-depth experience serving as an evaluator on multiple state and federally funded projects. More specifically, he has conducted evaluation for programs focusing on K-12 settings, the use of technology in the classroom, as well as working in the area of teaching and learning with at-risk youth populations. At the government/state agency level, Dr. Spaulding has conducted research and provided programmatic feedback for New York State Department of Education, New York Sate Department of Public Health, and the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). Dr. Spaulding also is one of the authors of Methods in Educational Research: From Theory to Practice, 2006, Jossey-Bass Wiley, San Francisco, and the author of Program Evaluation in Practice: Core Concepts and Examples for discussion and Analysis (2008), Jossey-Bass Wiley, and Action Research for School Leaders (2012). Dr. Spaulding is also a consultant at Z Score Inc. dspaulding@zscore.net

Gail Smith, a native of Brooklyn New York, received her BA and MS at State University College at Oneonta, NY. She received her masters’ in education administration at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Her thirty-six year career at an upstate New York urban school district included positions as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent of schools. In 1988, Gail was one of five finalists for New York State Teacher of the Year. After retiring, Ms. Smith worked for two years as an administrator at two different schools on Native American reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. She returned to her home district in July 2008 to work as a consultant and mentor for their Instructional Leadership/Instructional Coaches project. She also is the proud mother of three children.