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Dianna Radcliff

Teaching Upper Elementary & more

#2GETHERWEAREBETTER ~ Schedules!

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Hey Friends~

I’m here today with my bloggy friends as we link up with Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd & Angie from Lucky Little Learners to talk about schedules. We will be linking up each month on the 2nd with a new topic to discuss.
So where to start…
I use to have a normal daily schedule, but since becoming a Literacy Coach things can vary. It depends on assessments, training’s, meetings, other duties & the need of classroom teachers. It’s honestly the part of my job I like the least. I am such a routine person, it stresses me out! LOL! I feel like I’m being pulled in a variety of directions at times with no follow through at times as well. I really don’t like when I have to do things that don’t involve me being in a classroom, I get grumpy. My closest co-workers know, that when I’m in a classroom I’m happy! It is honestly the highlight of my days. It doesn’t matter if I’m in a classroom observing, assisting or instructing, I just like being around my teachers & their kids.

On a side note… What my schedule below doesn’t currently reflect, is a 30 minute block at the end of my day. I am part of my Kindergarten Rainbow Reading in the afternoon from 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm. We have FLEX GROUPING in K! Yup, we’ve divided students into 9 groups across the grade level based on their data. I get 8 little munchkins for guided writing! I LOVE IT! The time is perfect for me since it’s right before dismissal. Sometimes I have Literacy Coach meetings, but other than that I get to work with my 8 munchkins. It is the one time in the day I feel like a real teacher again & have balance.

Back to schedules…

This idea of 2GETHERWEAREBETTER, couldn’t be truer! I’m not perfect, I don’t know everything, but my motto as a Literacy Coach is working together to make improvements is better than not working together & not changing.I always ask myself, “What would I do if it was me?” when working with teachers. [Sometimes I laugh at my own answers! LOL!] I try to be real, truthful & consistent. Being close to the classrooms & the daily happenings is what teachers need for them to feel like you relate to them. It’s honestly my personality I think to “Keep it REAL” & “Keep it MOVING” because we still have to do our jobs along with all the local & state requirements whether we like it or not. I try to be me too, I like seeing my teachers be themselves as well. It keeps the air open & the momentum going. We do have a lot of laughs & fun, if you can’t do that then it’s a problem. I don’t know if I would consider myself your “typical” type of coach & if this is my calling necessarily. I do know that I will try to do & get whatever my teachers want & need. I will always be there for them. I believe that I am a hard worker that is willing to take on responsibility & I always try my best. I realize I won’t ever be liked in this role by everyone, but I try my best to be there for my teachers & I think they know that & appreciate it. I like having an open door relationship with them all. I may not work with all of them on their instruction, but I can honestly say I can walk in & out of each of their classrooms comfortably. I always say hello, ask if they need anything & tell them they are doing a great job b/c they all work extremely hard! AMEN! Coaches can see the “whole universe” on the campus, while teachers seem to see their “individual planet”. I try to take that in to consideration at all time & gear my time with teachers towards what the “whole universe” needs for a successful future of student achievement.

So the soap box is over… LOL… Back to schedules!

Here is my general schedule…

As you can see, 8:30 am – 12:00 pm most of my building [Gen Ed & Special Ed] are teaching instructing in their Literacy Block. Then I have a handful of teachers who instruct in their Literacy Block in the afternoon. So my mornings are a bit hectic. Then all the way on the right side is the daily M-Th resource time. So M-Th I’m either in a grade level meeting, meeting with a teacher individually during their planning or in a classroom. Or sometimes, I’m working on stuff in my office for teachers, analyzing data or prepping for after school meetings/PD. [That’s another thing not shown in my schedule. I can give Reading PD for teachers to receive credits. So I take my own personal after school time to do so. I offer it & teachers can voluntarily sign up. We did Close Reading the 1st Semester & we are doing Academic Language/Vocabulary the 2nd Semester.] It just depends on the week, day or time of year how my daily schedule will go. On Friday teachers have WAVE, which is just really extended planning. I have no idea what WAVE stands for! LOL! I see a lot of my K-3 teams during those times for various reasons. We have the beginnings of the PLC framework going at my school. We are looking at common assessments & discussing students across the grade level. But I think it’s just nice for me to be around, nod my head & offer ideas or suggestions. Feedback & a smile can go a long way. I think some staff see me as a security that they are doing what they need to or they are on the right track. I also take WAVE time or Thursday Planning time to meet with teams about assessments, requirements & those types of things.

So here is a ย sample schedule…

Sample Schedule
3 week time period in January 2015
So during this time frame I was working closely with 3 teachers.
During my work with teachers I do exactly what I do with students. I did a little teaching, we did a little co-teaching and they did a little teaching. It’s great to learn from each-other first hand. Then we communicated daily, experimenting with what worked for them & their students, rearranging classroom materials, organizing, looked at data for grouping, prepping resources, implementing new rituals & routines & more.
I always make it a point to give some sort of daily feedback during the daily transition process. I also always make sure to spend a few days just being there before I leave the room as well.
Here’s what the teachers requested:
*Teacher A & B wanted to reorganize & change their entire reading block. From mini-lesson, centers & small group instruction.
*Teacher B wanted me to model guided reading with a guided writing in it.
*Teacher C needed assistance with getting progress monitoring done during Literacy Centers along with small groups.

The 3 weeks before Spring Intersession I was in 4 classrooms a day working closely with 4 teachers [all different]. So as you can see, I let teachers tell me what they want & need, sometimes with a little encouragement. Then I schedule them for a period of time & gradually release to move on to another teacher & classroom. I always remember that this is their classroom & their students so I try not to step on any toes. I offer myself & teachers also request help.Then of course I’ve have commitments to committees with their meetings & tasks, Leadership meetings, Literacy Coach meetings & other things I’m involved in. For those of you in North Carolina or states that assess like North Carolina, you know about the following… I’m in charge of the mCLASS K-3 assessments, devices & materials along with the 3rd grade RTA Portfolio assessments & materials. I also help organized our 3rd Grade Reading Camps on intersessions as well. Anything Literacy I basically handle with the help of administration & a few other people. It’s a headache!

So anyhow, I don’t know how helpful this was to many of you to read. But it is a look into the day of a non-homeroom teacher in education like me! I believe their are pros & cons to every position, I still desire to be back in the classroom. Most days I would give anything to grade papers, do report cards, have parent conferences & wipe noses over some of the stuff I have to do! But all in all, experiences make you who you are & these years as a Literacy Coach only make my instructional practices stronger!

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    Comments

    4. Angie Olson says

      Dianna! I loved reading your post! Why did I not know you were a literacy coach? Our district is looking into creating this position right now! It sounds like you do an amazing job at this position too! There doesn't look like there is ever a dull moment during your day! I thought it was interesting to read about your Kinder Rainbow Reading group. We do this same structure for our kindergarten and first graders and we call it Reading Rainbow. All of the paras and teachers are pulled during this half hour for each grade level and we get the groups down to about 5 students. It works really well for us too. We are hoping to do something similar to this in 2nd grade next year too if we can figure out the staffing! Thanks for linking up with us girl!
      Mrs. Olsonโ€™s Lucky Little Learners