The Coach Approach to School Leadership: Leading Teachers to Higher Levels of Effectiveness, May/2017

In The Coach Approach to School Leadership, Jessica Johnson, Shira Leibowitz, and Kathy Perret address a dilemma faced by many principals: how to function as learning leaders while fulfilling their evaluative and management duties. The answer? Incorporating instructional coaching techniques as an integral part of serious school improvement.

The authors explain how principals can

1. Master the skill of “switching hats” between the nonjudgmental coach role and the evaluative supervisor role.
2. Expand their classroom visits and combine coaching with evaluation requirements.
3. Nurture relationships with teachers and build a positive school culture.
4. Provide high-quality feedback to support the development of both teachers and students.
5. Empower teachers to lead their own professional learning and work together as a team.

Drawing from the authors’ work with schools as well as their conversations with educators across the globe, this thought-provoking book speaks to the unique needs of principals as instructional leaders, providing solutions to challenges in every aspect of this complex endeavour.

Book Reviews for The Coach Approach to School Leadership

The Coach Approach to School Leadership will change the conversation about how principals can serve as instructional leaders. Providing principals with tools and strategies to "put on their coach's hat" is a much-needed step for teaching and learning in our schools. So often, principals wonder how to provide relevant support to teachers, and serving as a principal-coach is a way to do just that. The authors' breadth of knowledge around both leadership and coaching makes this book a must-read for principals. 
—Diane Sweeney, author of Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves

Among the most significant actions great principals do differently is getting out of the office and into classrooms to help teachers improve their skills. In this must-read book for school leaders, the authors of The Coach Approach to School Leadership present both a mindset and practical tools supporting school leaders to address the paradox of being both coach and supervisor. Through a focus on instructional coaching techniques and a deep understanding of the many challenges facing principals, The Coach Approach to School Leadership offers extremely valuable guidance in the vital work of leading teachers to higher levels of effectiveness.
—Todd Whitaker, professor, speaker, and author of What Great Principals Do Differently

The Coach Approach to School Leadership is a must-read book for all administrators who have been searching for a framework to help them move beyond the traditional practices of supervision and evaluation of teachers to that of learner and coach. Johnson, Leibowitz, and Perret not only provide specific resources and strategies to help you build your capacity, but also challenge you to reflect on the positive impact that effective coaching techniques can have on your overall school culture. This is a book that I will keep close by and continue to refer back to time and time again. 
—Jimmy Casas, author, speaker, and senior fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education

The expertise of this author team shines a spotlight on perhaps the most impactful work of the school principal: coaching. If we're not spending our time supporting our teachers, building their capacity, and emphasizing instructional quality, then what are we really doing? This book hits the mark with practical tools, examples of what principal-coaching looks like, and ammo to fend off the counter-arguments--prepare to restart your principalship!
—Pete Hall, former school principal and coauthor of Building Teachers' Capacity for Success

The Coach Approach to School Leadership casts a compelling, elegant, and even beautiful vision for leading learning. It presents an ambitious yet workable approach to managing the central paradox of the principalship, showing how we can wear the "coach's hat" as often as possible while holding staff to high standards. Essential reading for every school leader. 
—Justin Baeder, director, The Principal Center, and creator of the Instructional Leadership Challenge

The most successful school leaders recognize the profound impact they can have when they step into the role of a learning leader. In The Coach Approach to School Leadership, the authors offer a candid and explicit description of this role and argue convincingly that in order to lead teachers to higher levels of effectiveness, we must be able to weave instructional coaching practices into our work as principals. Filled with practical and applicable suggestions and tools, this book is a wonderful handbook for any administrator's desk.
—Alisa Simeral, educational consultant and coauthor of Building Teachers' Capacity for Success

Jessica, Shira, and Kathy have provided me with wonderful learning opportunities at #educoach on Twitter for the last several years. Now, in The Coach Approach to School Leadership, they have extended that learning opportunity to principals, offering specific strategies, tools, and illustrative scenarios as well as responses to barriers and challenges. As a bonus, you can join in the dialogue and continued learning at #educoach and #coachapproach on Twitter. Your investment in "The Coach Approach" will positively impact your teachers and students.
—Steve Barkley, PLS3rdLearning

For too long, building principals have been seen as those who went to the dark side when they entered into school leadership. This is flawed thinking: many principals go into leadership because they want to help everyone around them improve, including themselves. The Coach Approach to School Leadership provides effective ways for principals to promote the self-efficacy of the teachers around them. Johnson, Leibowitz, and Perret rely on their numerous years of experience to offer an important resource to any school principals who want to use their power for good and not evil.
—Peter DeWitt EdD, author, consultant, and author of Finding Common Ground (an Education Week blog)

The Coach Approach to School Leadership takes the challenging task of instructional coaching by school leaders and breaks it down into achievable, understandable, and meaningful chunks. Whether you are a leader adding coaching to your tool belt or a veteran coach, you will see yourself in the many vignettes and interviews throughout the book and gain from the authors' perspectives and experiences. This engaging and easy-to-read book will help you start conversations, initiate reflection, and inspire growth. You will gain insight into your own practice through the authors' honest reflections, sharing of successes and challenges, and provision of real-world tools to support leaders wearing their coach's hats.
—Melanie Eisen, associate director for professional development, Prizmah: The Center for Jewish Day Schools

About the Authors:

Jessica Johnson is the elementary school principal and district assessment coordinator for Dodgeland School District in Juneau, Wisconsin, and an adjunct professor in the Educational Leadership Department at Viterbo University. Named the 2014 Wisconsin Elementary School Principal of the Year, she has previously taught in Minnesota and served as an instructional coach and assistant principal in Arizona.

Dr. Shira Leibowitz is founding lower school director of Portfolio, designed as a network of schools reimagining the possible in education through student-centered interdisciplinary project-based learning. Prior to joining Portfolio, Shira led independent schools in the greater New York City area for 20 years, serving as department head and curriculum coordinator, lower school principal, and head of school. She has coached teachers throughout the United States in implementing project-based learning and has led online communities of practice focused on educational innovation, teaching and learning, and instructional coaching.

Kathy Perret is an educational consultant for Northwest Area Education Agency in Sioux City, Iowa, focusing on the areas of teacher leadership, literacy, and English as a second language, and an adjunct professor at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. She has been an instructional coach at the elementary and middle school levels and currently serves as an educational enhancer for her private consulting business, Kathy Perret Consulting. Prior to her consulting and coaching work, Kathy spent 18 years as an elementary teacher in Iowa.