The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) is pleased to announce the expansion of 4-12 Coaching to include lead teachers/department heads, administrators and instructional coaches in grades K-12. This training is long-term professional development designed to support instructional coaches/leaders as strategies and skills are gained to perform the variety of roles necessary to advance professional and student learning.
Primary resources will include the Arkansas Professional Development Toolkit, various texts from the National Staff Development Council with a focus on Taking the Lead. The keynote speaker is Stephen Barkley, Executive Vice-President of Performance Learning Systems and author of Tapping Student Effort, Wow! Adding Pizzazz to Teaching and Learning, and Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching.
The 2008-2009 focus will be:
• understanding how to establish partnership agreements with teachers and administrators in order to further learning,
• developing a deeper understanding of the many roles of an instructional coach,
• understanding the impact of change on adult learners.
In order to support and strengthen the role of the instructional coach/lead teacher, it is critical the principal attend the first meeting on September 15th. Each school will be responsible for training costs including learning resources, travel expenses, and substitute teachers. Please check with the local educational co-op for specific costs.
Please register on-line with the local education service cooperative. Pulaski County Schools should use the school district’s online registration system. Deadline for registration is September 5th.
Anyone wishing to review information from the previous coaching trainings may access materials and videos on the Arkansas IDEAS portal at www.arakansasideas.org in the Library: Resources.