Curriculum renewal is a multi pronged process that involves every part of the school community. To ensure long lasting impact, I’m available to work with administration, teachers, teacher assistants and parents to support school wide understanding, implementation and support of literacy best practices. I’ve worked with many different schools, both in the United States and around the world at various points on their journey to implement balanced literacy in their schools from schools just starting on this journey to schools deeply into this work and everything in between.
Schools that are engaging in literacy renewal projects often begin this work with a literacy audit. This audit includes a review of curriculum and assessment data as well as an onsite school visit. The number of days for the visit depends on the size of the school. An audit report is provided to the school within one month of the visit. The report outlines strengths of the present program as well as noting possible next steps. A preliminary report can be provided to the staff and administration at the end of the visit that includes key findings.
Workshop topics include:
My Doctorate is in ELL so I’ve also conducted ELL audits and done much of the what is listed in balanced literacy category related to ELL needed. I’ve assisted administration to develop plans to better address the needs of ELLs.
Typically, the peer coaching training has been part of a model that supports other training I’ve provided such as literacy or ELL training. There are a few versions of this structure that I’ve assisted schools to implement but basically it assists schools to ensure that the training I provide is transferred to regular classroom use. It allows classroom teachers (in addition to coaches) to support their peers in transferring their learning into daily classroom practice. It’s a powerful model that can develop as deeply as the school wishes.
Instructional coaches are used in various areas within schools but often administrators and teachers are unaware of how to best use a coach and the prerequisite skills a coach should have to be effective. I’ve trained cohorts of literacy coaches for international schools and provided workshops to guide administrators to hire and use coaches to enhance instruction and student achievement.
I have worked with Special Education and ELL teachers and classroom teachers who wish to expand their co-teaching work. Just because teachers know their field of expertise (ELL or Special Education) doesn’t mean they have the requisite skills to co-teach with a classroom teacher and vice versa. I find that many schools have great intentions but are struggling to implement this model effectively. Once again, I can work with admin and teachers to create a vision and provide the training needed to support teachers in this work.
I’ve also worked with administrators coaching them. I use a blended coaching model that assists administrators to reach their full potential. This coaching can be short or long term depending on the needs and requests of the individual administrator.
References:
Damon Rickett: Principal at Verdala International School
Kimberly Shannon: Prior Coach at Pechersk School International
Marwa Nsouli: Early Learning Coordinator International School London
© 2024 by Monica Medina
