The Coaching Letter
The Coaching Letter is written by Partners’ staff member Isobel Stevenson, who has extensive experience as both a leader and a coach. The Coaching Letter’s perspective is that leaders could be a bit more successful if they thought and acted more like coaches, and coaches could be a bit more successful if they thought and acted more like leaders.
Coaching Letter #167
Hello, I hope you are well and that you are reading this after you get back from vacation. This Coaching Letter is ONLY about the tools that I use to keep myself organized and (more or less) productive. This is in response to multiple requests over the last few months—it’s not like I think I have a lock on productivity, but I have spent some time trying to figure out how to make apps & extensions work for me, because
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Coaching Letter #166
Good morning. Today is Day One of Milford’s HQI Live!, which for me is a Very Big Deal. I wrote about it the first year it took place, and this year it’s significantly more ambitious, with 100 teachers from across the district coming together to watch teachers teach real kids in real time, sandwiched between activities designed to engage adult learners on important questions about instructional practice (What is high quality instruction? What matters in giving and receiving feedback? What’s
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Coaching Letter #165
Hi, how are you, I hope you had a good Fourth of July weekend. I remember when it used to be a big deal for us to go someplace to watch fireworks, but now I’m just grateful for some time off. I had a great week last week with the Bridgeport Teacher Leaders; it was a great way to round out a very full and challenging year, and I am grateful for the thought and energy they invested, the support
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Coaching Letter #164
June 24, 2022 Good afternoon, I hope this finds you well. This Coaching Letter is a challenge to everyone currently involved with us in connection with action research/improvement science/continuous improvement (which is a lot of you!) OR anyone interested in getting a better idea of what I’m talking about when I write about action research/improvement science/continuous improvement (which must be everyone else?). It also, and perhaps just importantly, uses a familiar situation to teach the stages of continuous improvement. The
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Coaching Letter #163
Hello, I hope this finds you well. Sorry it’s been such a while since the last Coaching Letter—I’ve been busy. This CL is a continuation of the last one, because it too is about critical thinking; but it is also a standalone piece about critical thinking in the curriculum. 2. Critical Thinking in the Curriculum. I asked in Coaching Letter #159 about where the traits listed in the Portrait of a Graduate (which all the districts I work with either have or are developing) actually show up in the curriculum.
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Coaching Letter #162
Hello, I hope you’re well. We are between the two big spring break weeks in Connecticut—almost everyone is on break either last week or next—so if that includes you I hope you get some rest and some sunshine. Remember to register for our Coaching In-Depth on May 18 and the Coaching Institute in September; not just for coaches—I am on a permanent campaign to convince leaders that they would be better leaders if they had coaching skills (which is different
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