By PIIC RMC Virginia Glatzer and IU PIIC Mentor Carol Adams

When we sat down to write this piece, we realized that so much depends on confidentiality.  We wondered, “What do we mean by 'Confidentiality'?" Our first thought had to do with entrusting someone with private information.  Yet, when we think about this in the context of school transformation, we realize that strictly to hold confidentiality is not the full picture.  The etymology: to hold trust.  So, how do we transform the facts of the particular situation into the truth about the whole—the organization, the student body?  How do we, as coaches, best translate the private to the public trust?

It starts with the coach.
The coach creates a clear intention for him/herself and their work. This intention relates to how s/he establishes and maintains a coaching presence (trust and rapport, openness to possibility, empathetic nature, and the ability to keep positive.) The coach shares their intention and operates based on it day-in and day-out.  When meeting with teachers, the coach is listening and looking for common threads. The coach cultivates the art of conversation so that they are able to say what needs to be said while holding fast to their integrity. Teachers come to trust that everything the coach does, including building relationships with administrators, is related to that intention.

Build a culture of coaching.
The principal sets the tone by introducing the role of the coach in a way that builds a culture of coaching. To be effective, the role of the coach must be clearly articulated by the principal; then, embraced and agreed upon by the community. The principal’s words and actions reflect a professional respect for what the coach does.

When we build transparent and authentic relationships that focus on real student growth, teachers, coaches, and administrators focus on the community and the shared vision, not on the individual stories that occur throughout the day.  Remember that even celebrating a teacher’s successes requires a teacher’s permission. A shared vision takes work to implement. Even when there is no apparent topic to discuss, holding regularly-scheduled meetings with the school leader is important.

Work together.
Coaches are in classrooms working with teachers, seeing the pressures that they face each day. In their dialogue with administrators, they witness those pressures from a different perspective. Coaches help to create the common ground. When coaches, administrators, and teachers work together, the seemingly unrelated silos can be intertwined in a way that returns them to their shared vision.

Above all:  Acknowledge each other’s point of view. Validate each other’s role. Celebrate the journey.

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