"To produce drastic gains in the academic achievement levels of our students we need the strongest, most prepared teachers. The Art of Coaching provides concrete, actionable steps to move teachers along the continuum of excellence to meet this challenge head on." —Heather Lechner, turnaround school leader, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Art of Coaching
The Art of Coaching: Effective Strategies for School Transformation
By Elena Aguilar
Currently, coaching is a vague and undefined practice, which can vary
from school site to site. There are few training courses, no required
certification and no nationally accepted standards for assessing a
coach’s work. Additionally, the great majority of coaches in our public
schools were strong teachers who were encouraged to take up coaching.
This presents a challenge because coaches need to be more than strong
teachers. Exceptional coaches require an understanding of adult
learners, change management theories and systems thinking, as well as
organization, facilitation and communication skills.
The Art of Coaching (March 2013, Jossey-Bass, also available in ebook
format), by Elena Aguilar, fills the tremendous un-met need for
coaching resources. It is the guidebook to for coaches, principals,
district leaders and other administrators to acquire the skills and
knowledge necessary to fulfill the potential of coaching. It offers the
foundational skills and tools needed by new coaching educators and
offers established coaches’ ways to deepen and refine their coaching
practice. It presents an overview of the knowledge and theory base
behind the practice.
The book demystifies the process of coaching with easy-to-apply,
immediately actionable ideas. Aguilar offers a model for
transformational coaching that can be implemented as professional
development in schools or districts anywhere. Although she addresses the
needs of adult learners, her model maintains a student-centered focus,
with a specific lens on addressing equity issues in schools.
This comprehensive research and practice-based guide covers:
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How to create a coaching vision
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How to build trust and listen well
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How to ask powerful questions
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How to develop a work plan
The Art of Coaching also addresses coaching conversations and
describes dozens of coaching activities to develop an educator's
practice. It highlights common challenges followed by creative solutions
and is filled with numerous practical tools: rubrics, cheat sheets, and
coaching sentence stems. The concluding section on professional
development is geared for coaches and those who supervise them.
It’s the hand-on resource for new and established coaches. For more
information, readers can go to The website, www.elenaaguilar.com,
provides a wealth of additional tools and tips.
Samantha Rubenstein
Publicist
srubenstei@wiley.com
415-782-3213