Teacher Coaching & Collaborative Problem Solving
"Listening first, asking good questions, and helping teams find answers that keep kids at the center."
The challenge
Some of the hardest conversations in a school happen when academic, behavior, attendance, and family struggles all collide. They're emotional, and they take care.
My leadership
One that stuck with me involved a first grader who was missing a lot of school and falling behind, with worry building on both the teacher's and the family's side. Before the family meeting, I sat down with the teacher just to listen, then asked questions to help us think about what might be going on underneath. When we met with the family, we learned they were dealing with a job loss and no reliable transportation. That changed everything. Instead of frustration, we problem-solved together and built a plan: a transportation fix, a simple incentive for the student, and steady communication between home and school.
The impact
Because everyone felt heard before we jumped to solutions, we got to the real issue. The teacher felt supported, the family felt understood, and the student started showing up and engaging again.