The Reading Coach is a necessary addition to the library of every reading coach, specialist, school administrator, and teacher who wants to raise students’ literacy levels. With the expanding focus on improving the literacy skills of students at all grade levels, reading coaches are being used in many schools to provide professional development and support to teachers. Look to The Reading Coach for answers! It’s a comprehensive handbook with practical “how to” advice for reading coaches, specialists, tutors, or any education professional providing support and guidance in the area of literacy to other teachers. The Reading Coach:

 

• Defines the role, responsibilities, and effective methods for a reading/literacy coach or mentor

• Identifies and provides training in the essential skills and competencies needed by a reading/literacy coach

• Addresses real-world concerns such as time management, effective communication, classroom observations and modeling, facilitating school-wide change, and providing professional development

• Contains a complete resource section—advice on helpful products, Web sites, and related publications.

The Reading Coach 2 revisits the role of the Reading Coach, explaining how coaching, when skillfully executed, can bridge the gap between research-based “best practices” and successful implementation of those practices in the classroom. Indeed, coaching is regarded by many as the optimum professional development because it is sustained, individualized, and offers personalized support. The authors also review various coaching models and expand on their own model, Student-Focused Coaching (SFC), which is grounded in their work as coaches, the training they’ve provided, and current research in this area. Administrators, teachers, and, of course, Coaches will appreciate this companion to the original Reading Coach book with it’s the real-life approaches and fresh ideas. Topics include:

 

• Incorporating the SFC model into a multitiered Response to Intervention (RTI) process.

• Problem solving within SFC (including descriptions of team problem solving roles).

• Designing academic and behavioral interventions for students with reading difficulties.

• Adapting instruction to support student growth.

• Using classroom observations to effectively provide coaching support to teachers.

• Helping reluctant teachers feel not only comfortable, but engaged, in the coaching process.