Teacher Preparation Blog

The Art of Coaching Teachers

Elena Aguilar, an experienced K-12 educator, trains individuals and teams to build resilient, just communities. She is the author of The Art of Coaching (2013), The Art of Coaching Teams (2016), and Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018). She is also the founder of Bright Morning Consulting (brightmorningteam.com) and is active on social media. This blog is no longer being updated.

Education Opinion 'How Do You Become a Coach?'
To answer the question of how one becomes a coach, we must identify what kind of coach it is that we want to become and what kinds of coaches we need in our schools.
Elena Aguilar, February 18, 2013
4 min read
Education Opinion Which Is Better: Coaching or a Chat Room?
I'm not offering advice today, at least not to coaches. Coaches already know the answer to this question that's being asked by the Gates Foundation.
Elena Aguilar, February 11, 2013
2 min read
Education Opinion 'Coaching Is Harder Than I Thought'
A coach who asked to remain anonymous sent this email to me last week: "This is my first year coaching after 15 years in the classroom and I had no idea that coaching was this hard."
Elena Aguilar, February 5, 2013
3 min read
Education Opinion Exploring Boundaries Between Coach and Coachee
A coach who wishes to remain anonymous emailed this question:
Elena Aguilar, January 24, 2013
2 min read
Education Opinion Coaching Towards Common Core State Standards
I've received many emails related to coaching towards the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). I'm going to address some by responding to Leah's email in which she raises the challenge of coaching towards CCSS in a context of change and distrust. Please continue to email me with other coaching questions, related to CCSS or anything else!
Elena Aguilar, January 8, 2013
4 min read
Education Opinion When Teachers Show No Growth
Anyone ever felt like their coachees aren't making the kind of growth you want to see? Read this email from a coach in San Diego, CA.
Elena Aguilar, November 27, 2012
4 min read
Education Opinion When Coaches Are Stretched Too Thin
A coach in Seattle writes the following:
Elena Aguilar, November 1, 2012
2 min read
Education Opinion Letter From an 'Angry Black Man': Am I a Good Coach?
Here's an email I received a few weeks ago from a coach who wishes to be anonymous:
Elena Aguilar, October 15, 2012
4 min read
Education Opinion 'How Can I Encourage Teachers To Use Me as a Resource?'
Jenny from Midland, Mich., writes:
Elena Aguilar, September 26, 2012
3 min read
Education Opinion "How can I Keep Teachers Happy and Energized?"
Dear Coaches,
For years I've been craving conversations with coaches and thinking about how there must be other lonely coaches somewhere. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when after my first post on this blog I received over 100 emails in 24 hours. They've continued to pour in from coaches all over this country and the world. There was lots of excitement for the idea of this blog and many thoughtful questions including: What do we do about the "resistant" teachers? How do we coach towards Common Core? How do we coach when there's no curriculum? How do we develop roles and responsibilities for coaches? And what makes a strong coaching program?
Elena Aguilar, September 16, 2012
6 min read
Education Opinion Instructional Coaches: An Invitation to an Advice Column
I'm going to come straight out and confess: I'm on a mission to see effective coaching programs in all schools. I dream of seeing coaches supporting teachers, principals, and superintendents, of coaches working with educators at all levels of an organization.
Elena Aguilar, September 4, 2012
3 min read