Coach It Further

Peter DeWitt (Ed.D) is the founder and CEO of the Instructional Leadership Collective. He was a K-5 teacher for 11 years and a principal for 8 years. For the last 10 years, he has been facilitating professional learning nationally, and internationally, based on the content of many of his best-selling educational books. DeWitt's professional learning relationships are a monthly hybrid approach that includes both coaching and the facilitating workshops on instructional leadership and collective efficacy. Additionally, in the Summer of 2021, DeWitt created a year long on-demand, asynchronous coaching course through Thinkific where he has created a community of learners that include k-12 educators in leadership positions. DeWitt's work has been adopted at the state level, university level, and he works with numerous school districts, school boards, regional networks, ministries of education around North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the U.K. Peter writes the Finding Common Ground column for Education Week, which has been in circulation since 2011. In 2020 DeWitt co-created Education Week's A Seat At the Table where he moderates conversations with experts around the topics of race, gender, sexual orientation, research, trauma and many other educational topics. Additionally, DeWitt is the Series Editor for the Connected Educator Series (Corwin Press) and the Impact Series (Corwin Press) that include books by Viviane Robinson, Andy Hargreaves, Pasi Sahlberg, Yong Zhao and Michael Fullan. He is the 2013 School Administrators Association of New York State's (SAANYS) Outstanding Educator of the Year, and the 2015 Education Blogger of the Year (Academy of Education Arts & Sciences), and sits on numerous advisory boards. Peter is the author, co-author or contributor of numerous books. Click on title to purchase. They include: Dignity for All: Safeguarding LGBT Students (Corwin Press. 2012). Flipping Leadership Doesn't Mean Reinventing the Wheel (Corwin Press. 2014) Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most (Corwin Press/Learning Forward). School Climate: Leading With Collective Teacher Efficacy (Corwin Press/ Ontario Principals Council. 2017). Coach It Further: Using the Art of Coaching to Improve School Leadership (Corwin Press. 2018). Instructional Leadership: Creating Practice Out Of Theory (Corwin Press. 2020). Collective Leader Efficacy: Strengthening the Impact of Instructional Leadership Teams (Corwin Press. Learning Forward. 2021). De-implementation: Creating the Space to Focus on What Works (Corwin Press. 2022). Leading with Intention - Developing self-awareness to fostering an unreasonable human interconnectedness to impact the school community (co-authored with Michael Nelson. Corwin Press. 2024). Peter's articles have appeared in educational research journals at the state, national and international level. His books have been translated into numerous languages. Some of the organizations Peter has worked with are the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), Learning Forward, National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), University of Oklahoma, Cognition Education (New Zealand), Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL), Victoria Department of Education (Australia), University of Rotterdam (Netherlands), Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA), Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), the National Education Association (NEA), New Brunswick Teacher's Association (Canada), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), Education Scotland (Scotland), Glasgow City Council (Scotland), Kuwait Technical College (Kuwait) the National Association of School Psychologists, ASCD, l'Association des directions et directions adjointes des ecoles franco-ontariennes (ADFO), the Catholic Principals' Council of Ontario (CPCO), and the Ontario Principals' Council (OPC), National School Climate Center, GLSEN, PBS, NPR, BAM Radio Network, ABC, and NBC's Education Nation. Learn more about bringing Peter DeWitt to your school or district at petermdewitt.com

Foreword Preface Why We Need Coaches in Educational Leadership Stories Matter Audience for This Book The Self-Efficacy of Leadership Leadership Shouldn't Be a Solitary Pursuit Coach's Corner: Virtual Coaching Special Features Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter 1: Beginning a Coaching Relationship What to Do Versus What Not to Do Coach's Corner: Strategies for Coaching Assistant Principals Am I In Over My Head? Coach's Corner: Strategies for Addressing Insecurities Coach's Corner: Leadership PLCs on Voxer It's Time for a Coach Chapter 2: Gavin "Accepts" Coaching Coaching Credibility Introducing Leadership Coach Michelle Hebert Coach's Corner: Credibility Matters Of Course I Want to Be Coached! Coach's Corner: The Preengagement Survey Let Go of Coaching Myths Coach's Corner: Sample Questions for Coaches to Ask Leaders Chapter 3: Fostering a Supportive School Climate Interact With Students and Staff at the Beginning of Each Day Emphasize the Positive Coach's Corner: Student Focus Groups Be Transparent About the Coaching Invite Everyone to Work Toward the Mission Coach's Corner: Improving the Culture of the School Embrace Vulnerability Believe in Your Own Capability Coach's Corner: Self-Efficacy Review Improve the Climate First, Then the Culture Coach's Corner: Fostering an Inclusive School Climate Coach's Corner: Coaching and School Climate Coach's Corner: Where Do You Want to Start? Where Should Gavin Start? Coach's Corner: Ways to Strengthen a Collaborative Culture Chapter 4: Gavin Becomes More OPEN to Coaching What It Means to Be More OPEN to Coaching Coach's Corner: Set Ground Rules Coach's Corner: Walk-Throughs Whose Agenda Is This? Coach's Corner: Understand Your Coachee's Needs Gavin Seeks Advice From a Friend Chapter 5: Gavin Establishes His Goal Why Does Collective Efficacy Still Matter? Coach's Corner: Understand the Research You Promote Coach's Corner: Raise Self-Efficacy Coach's Corner: Assess Your Own Style of Coaching Four Priorities of Leadership Chapter 6: A Survey That Inspires Collaboration The Survey That Inspired It All Coach's Corner: Collaborative Leadership Team (CLT) The Morning After Coach's Corner: Create a Collaborative Leadership Team (CLT) Collaborative Leadership Team Coach's Corner: Strategies to Overcome the Challenges of Distance Surface to Deep Chapter 7: Priority I-Collective Efficacy How Can Gavin Maximize His Time? Coach's Corner: Do What You Love Coach's Corner: Beware of Educational Jargon Coach's Corner: Strategies to Increase Trust in Schools Coach's Corner: Coaching Your Assistant Principals Chapter 8: Priority II-Communication Enabling Conditions Coach's Corner: Assess Your Communication Practices Coaching Communication Coach's Corner: Establish Communication Frequency Complications of Communication Communication With Assistant Principals Communication With Staff Coach's Corner: Communication Mistakes to Avoid Coach's Corner: Feedback Triggers to Watch Out For Coaching Challenging Conversations Coach's Corner: Ways to Challenge in Conversations Chapter 9: Priority III-Student and Community Engagement Collaborative Leadership Team Explores Family Engagement Coach's Corner: Encourage Coachees to Assess Family Focus The Collaborative Leadership Team Realizes All Doesn't Mean All Working With Outside Organizations Coach's Corner: Encourage Community Engagement What Should Community Engagement Look Like? Michelle's Community Engagement Coaching Conversation Chapter 10: Priority IV-The Political Climate Negative Rhetoric Affects Us Too Hattie's Politics of Distraction Coach's Corner: Beware of the Politics of Distraction The Collaborative Leadership Team Gets Distracted Epilogue: Where Does Gavin Go From Here? Understanding Priorities Four Priorities Afterword References

Dr. Peter DeWitt writes from the perspective of someone who has had an exceptionally varied combination of life experiences; the struggling student, the honors student, the teacher in both urban and rural educational settings, the administrator, the scholar, and the advocate for those in need of support. He is a rare combination of theorist and pragmatist and his insights on leadership and coaching are both thought-provoking and useful. They also may help many educators get closer to that ever-elusive good night's sleep. -- Ron Mulson In this well-timed book, Peter DeWitt uses evidence-based stories to illustrate how educators can engage in the art of leadership coaching. School administrators will make multiple connections to the realistic, varied, and detailed examples DeWitt uses to illustrate the complexities of leadership. If you're looking to improve the quality of leadership coaching in schools and districts, you'll find thoughtful insights and practical suggestions contained throughout. -- Jenni Donohoo Coach It Further is a must-read for school leaders and leadership coaches. This is not your typical professional learning book. I promise you will enjoy reading as you follow the scenario of a principal learning to be coached. You will also make connections with the real struggles of leadership and coaching. This book is chock full of research, tips ,and examples to help you build your self-efficacy as a leader and lead your school to build collective efficacy. -- Jessica Johnson Peter DeWitt has a credible authenticity that strikes a chord of recognition with teachers and principals. In Coach It Further he further develops the critical factor of collective efficacy and shows how a skilled coach can help a principal break a school cultural impasse and move a struggling school forward. This excellent book has a readability quality that will engage all readers. -- Neil MacNeill, Head Master Ellenbrook Independent Primary School Western Australia