School Provision #108: Evocative Coaching in Educational Leadership
by Bob Tschannen-Moran, August 5, 2011

It is exciting to announce the publication of an article written by Megan and me in the October issue of Educational Leadership magazine. This magazine, published by ASCD, is distributed widely to schools and school leaders in the United States and around the world. The focus of the October issue is on "Coaching: The New Leadership Skill" and our article, "The Coach and the Evaluator," leads off an exceptional collection of articles by prominent authors and researchers in the field.

I encourage to read our entire article and to check out the other articles as well. Since our article leads off the October issue, it will remain available to the general public on the ASCD website. You do not need to subscribe to the magazine in order to read the article. So forward this email or the article link to as many people as possible. We trust you will find it both instructive and inspirational when it comes to best practices in coaching.

Anyone who has read our book, Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time, will recognize the frameworks and principles we identify in the article as being crucial to coaching success. After clearly describing the functional differences between coaching and evaluation in schools – two essential but very different tasks – we highlight the five concerns and three principles that govern not just the evocative coaching model but any successful example of relationship-based professional development. These are the concerns and principles that make for transformational learning.

Although these same concerns and principles are discussed in Chapter One in our book, which you can download and read for free on our website, the Educational Leadership article adds important illustrations or case stories that demonstrate exactly how these concerns and principles work in schools. Megan and I want to acknowledge and salute the growing community of evocative coaches for their help in developing these examples. We put out a call to the alumni and trainees of our coaching training program, and they came through with some fantastic, illustrative material. Out article would not be as good as it is without their behind-the-scenes contributions.

Would you like to become a part of the evocative coaching community? Now is the time to register for the January training program, in order to take advantage of the early-bird pricing. More than 125 people have already gone through the training, and the feedback has been fantastic. With the help of our convenient, phone-based, virtual classroom, people from around the USA and around the globe are finding high value in this hands-on, distance-learning opportunity.

Is this program right for you and your organization? Allow me to highlight a few of the folks who have already gone through the program:

• Teachers and teacher-leaders have gone through the program to enhance their effectiveness with peer-coaching and supervision.
• One school district enrolled all 50 of their Title I teachers and resource personnel to improve their 1-on-1 interactions with people.
• A central office and a high school have each sent five administrators through the program to shift their school cultures.
• Independent coaches and consultants have gone through the program to bolster their coaching skills and presence.

There is no limit as to who might benefit from this program. Indeed, many trainees have commented on how helpful the program has been not only professionally but in their personal lives as well. Given the opportunities to become a "Certified Teacher Development Coach" or a "Certified School Leader Coach" through the Center for School Transformation, the value-added nature of this 20-hour training program rises above the pack.

Especially when you consider the affordable price point. The regular cost of the training is $895 US per person. With the early-bird discount, the price comes down to $795, which is less than $40 per training hour. The January cohort will be the last cohort to also receive complementary behavioral style and emotional intelligence assessments as part of an ongoing research project. This $300 value is yours free for participating in the January program. Affordable, 3-month payment plans are also available.

Thirteen, 90-minute classes are currently scheduled for Wednesdays, starting on January 18, 2012, at 8 PM Eastern US Time. More sections will be added as registrations increase, and you will be able to move to other sections if those the dates and times work better in your schedule.

Let us know if you are interested in signing up or learning more. Individuals or groups can register for the January training program through our secure server. Groups of 20 or more can contact us to make special arrangements for a dedicated cohort that may start and run at your convenience. We look forward to hearing from you

May you be filled with goodness, peace, and joy.

Bob Tschannen-Moran, CEO & Co-Founder
Center for School Transformation • www.SchoolTransformation.com