I will be serving in a dual role of reading specialist and literacy coach next year. I will be a guinea pig of sorts for my campus and district and I am working diligently to come up with an effective model to present to my principal in the next couple of weeks. I'd love to hear from anyone who has worked with a reading specialist and/or literacy coach. I'd like to hear the good, the bad, and yes even the ugly. What better way to learn than from those who have been there done that Thanks!

[teach72beach]

I absolutely love our reading coach as a friend however I think she is quite overwhelmed. We have almost 1000 students and only 1 yes 1 reading coach. She doesnt have the time to meet with teachers individually or children at all. The only time our grade level sees her is at our data meetings which are supposed to be once per month but it never works out that way. Our data meetings are about an hour to two hours long (they get a sub for our classes) during our reading instruction time...what ever happened to our uninterrupted reading block? Anyway we go over our DIBELS data. That is pretty much it.

[Susan/IN]

It's sad that districts are put in the positions that if they want a literacy coach, it has to be a dual role. I just finished an 18 month stint on our district's literacy committee and it was recommended that all grades have literacy coaches, but to begin we'd like to start with elementary. But, there is no money so who knows when that will happen. We are, however, getting math coaches through a grant from a nearby college; these, too, will be dual roles and will only pay a stipend from my understanding. It is so discouraging. Good luck to you and I will be anxious to follow your path!

Susan/IN

[butterflygirl]

I LOVE our literacy coach!! We have weekly team meetings with her and she's always available to talk to. If you are having difficulty teaching a certain aspect of reading or writing, she will come to your classroom and teach your students a lesson...which I think is awesome. She worked with me last year on report writing and we would switch off days teaching so one day I would watch her teach and the next day she would watch me. She has so many great ideas and most importantly she's enthusiastic about her job.

The only downside is that because she's been out of the classroom for a few years, it seems that she sometimes forgets the demands of being a regular classroom teacher. It seems like new things get thrown at us quite a lot!! But all in all, I think she's a great resource to our school!

[Bonnie gr. 2]

As time goes on, our literacy coach's role has evolved. At first, she was supposed to visit our class with the principal and then meet with us later. We were uncomfortable with this since it sounds a lot like an observation and she is not an administrator. So she came in without an administrator. She tired to set up meetings at lunch time but no one would go. She has presented at faculty meetings. But we are k-5 and what is appropriate for one group isn't necessarily for the rest. And the nurse and music teacher really didn't need to sit through that. So now she does demonstration lessons, has done a novel with the classes, taught how to use The Writer, and some testing. She helps those who request her help. She started out trying to set up formal coaching sessions. I have found that my one on one conversations with her have been the most helpful. I enjoy talking to her myself. I find that what I am doing may not be exactly what she recommends but it is similar and valuable.

[desire2inspir]

butterflygirl,
Thanks for sharing your response. Does your literacy coach work with students at all? When she "team teaches" with you and the staff how is that decided upon (ex: does she ask, do you ask, is it mandated by administration...)? Do you know if she has to document her time and how she supports you...if so do you know how she documents? What would you say most allowed the staff to feel comfortable with her assisting in your room?
I am trying to learn as much as I can from others out there as I can.
Thanks!

[Ladybug2]

Hi esire2inspire

I can answer a few of your questions. I go into a kindergarten classroom to provide reading support. I also have a classroom where each first grade classroom (3 first grade classrooms) comes in. The whole classroom comes into my room for reading centers. The teacher works with a small guided reading group and I work with the two lowest reading groups. I only have fifteen minutes with each group. I also go into each first grade classroom in the afternoon for writing assistance for 45 minutes. I was lucky because my principal creates my schedule for me.

I also team taught or did lessons on my own during the teachers' writing block. I approached the teachers about me teaching whole group during one of our weekly meetings. As for team teaching, it really depends on the cooperating teacher. I have found that some teachers enjoy team teaching while others view me as simply a supportative role. You really just have to feel this out. We do not have document how we used the time. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.