Get all your teachers committed to improving student reading

SNAPSHOT: Are you interested in developing a literacy coaching program to help teachers improve the literacy of their students, but worried you'll get the not-my job response? "My job is to teach science, social studies, literature. It's not my job to teach a 10-year-old, a 13-year-old, a 16-year-old to read. Of course, I want my students to be good readers, but what does a literacy coach know about teaching my subject? Shouldn't students be learning to read somewhere else?"

Learn from the trial-and-error experiences of the Boston Public Schools which developed a successful literacy coaching program for teachers of grades 4-12. After much fine-tuning, the program, launched 10 years ago, is now used in most of the district's 139 schools. In the 2-hour webinar, How to Create a Successful Literacy Coach Program for Teachers in Grades 4-12, Cathleen C. Kral, Instructional Leader for Content Area Literacy 4-12 for Boston Public Schools, will show you how to avoid the same mistakes and how to set up your own Collaborative Coaching & Learning (CCL) process.

To get teachers working with literacy coaches, Boston's program builds a professional learning community and is guided by the principle that teachers (and coaches) have a lot to learn from each other. Coaches work with changing groups of teachers who meet for inquiry, observation of a demo lesson in classrooms, and collaborative analysis of the lessons. Groups are organized around grades, subjects or can be multi-disciplinary, especially at the high school level.

CD-ROM with instant access $197 You will be able to both hear the conference and view the Powerpoint slides on your computer. CD-ROM is shipped immediately. LISTEN NOW!>> Once you order the CD-ROM, we will email you a confirmation with instructions for instant online access! Need to pay by purchase order? Click here for information. Questions? Call 207-632-1954.

CONFERENCE TOPICS: In her presentation, Kral discusses:

• How to select literacy coaches--what qualifications and characteristics are most important?
  
• How to overcome initial teacher resistance and establish the right school culture
  
• How to create a collaborative process between coaches and teachers

• The coach's role as part of a team
  
• How administrators can best provide support
  
• How to provide the right kind of professional development for coaches
  
• How to set standards--Defining the role of secondary coaches in helping content-area teachers
  
• Using data to help set the agenda for literacy coaching
  
• True stories of challenges and successes of literacy coaching in the Boston Public Schools.

In a new study of 35 teachers who worked with literacy coaches published by Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse, researchers report that one of the major benefits for teachers is that they were more willing to go back to the classroom and experiment with different approaches to improve student literacy. They reported they were also more likely to modify instruction based on students' needs as a result of a literacy coaching program in their schools.

In her presentation, Kral also talks about:

• the four elements of collaboration--classroom experience, inquiry, reflection, theory and knowledge
• one-on-one coaching of teachers and long-term support
• data collection by coaches
• building on teachers strengths rather than taking deficit approach
• creating trust.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Cathleen C. Kral is Instructional Leader for Content Area Literacy 4-12 for Boston Public Schools. She serves on the National Advisory Board of the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse and has been a consultant for WestEd's Reading Apprenticeship Framework since 2002. Krahl represents Boston Public Schools as a member of the Aspen Institute's National Urban Literacy Leaders' Network and will graduate from the National Staff Development Council Leadership Academy Class in 2009. She was a member of an expert panel on literacy that co-authored the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Practice Guide on Adolescent Literacy (2008). At the request of the Federal Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Krahl offered professional development in adolescent literacy to federal grant recipients across the U.S.

CONTACT INFO:
Educational Research Newsletter
PO Box 2347
South Portland, ME 04116
Tel: 207-632-1954
Fax: 815-461-5647