What is coaching?
Coaching School Leadership defines coaching as a confidential, individualized, professional relationship, conducted one-on-one, in a neutral, risk-free environment. Coaching interactions focus on the current, relevant, job-specific challenges faced by principals today. Principal coaching promotes a safe space for leaders to reflect upon their practice in an objective and non-evaluative manner.
What are principals saying about coaching?
In his book, The Principal Coaching Model: How to Plan, Design, and Implement a Successful Program, Dr. Hausner conducted a nationwide survey of current and former principals who had either served as a coach or received coaching themselves. Participants were asked about the benefits they received from participating in a coaching relationship. A qualitative analysis of nearly 1,000 participant responses surfaced key findings:
- Interacting with an experienced coach who provided practical strategies and suggestions helped leaders navigate the day-to-day challenges of the principalship.
- Leaders benefited most from the relationship when guided by an experienced coach who had served as a principal.
- One-on-one coaching conducted onsite focused on job-specific goals accelerated leaders’ growth.
- Unbiased, honest, objective feedback provided in a non-evaluative manner improved self-efficacy for leadership and promoted changes in thinking, behavior, and habits.
- Regular, face-to-face meetings between the coach and the school leader as well as “on call” availability strengthened the trust and efficacy of the coaching relationship.
- Leaders were motivated to change and grow when supported by a respectful, collegial coach willing to confront issues and challenges.
What does coaching look like?
Our coaching model provides a one-on-one personalized learning experience via onsite coaching, virtual eCoaching, or blended coaching approaches. The process provides the coach and principal the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas and experiences, which has the greatest impact on results.
Does coaching make a difference?
Bloom, Castagna, and Warren (2003) suggest that coaching does make a difference and, “…is a worthwhile investment. It is not surprising that principals who receive coaching say they appreciate the support and that it has made a positive difference for them…they are more engaged in instructional leadership, they actually are spending more time on instructional issues and are addressing them with more skill (p. 27.)”
What are the benefits of administrative coaching to districts and schools?
- More effective principals, able to spend more time in the classrooms to support teaching and learning.
- Greater principal retention, saving tens of thousands of dollars and countless resources school districts typically invest in the recruitment, training, and retention of principals.
- A stable and supportive school culture grounded in an environment that values quality leadership.
- A culture of coaching that leads to shaping the lives of students, transforming principal leadership, and significantly improving schools and districts.
- A transparent system of accountability and stronger school leadership.
- Aspiration of principals to move to the district level of administration, leading to improved morale when school districts promote from within.
Who would serve as the coach for our principals?
Dr. Hausner has served as a principal coach for over a decade. He brings more than 20 years’ experience as an educator to the role including 17 years as a principal and K–12 district level administrator. Dr. Hausner’s doctoral concentration focused on K-12 Leadership in Urban Settings at the University of Southern California. His dissertation topic, Personnel resource allocation strategies in a time of fiscal stress, focused on analyzing a Southern California school district’s school level data related to its allocation of resources, and to determine how those resources are used to increase student achievement in that organization. In addition, the research conducted for his book makes him a knowledgeable and influential figure on the subject of principal coaching. Dr. Hausner’s Bio
Results from Dr. Hausner’s Coaching and Principal Experience
coachingschoolleadership.com 