12-04-05

I have just returned from the National Reading Conference (NRC) in Miami where I presented a short paper on literacy coaches, their problems and promise.  As I said in my brief talk, literacy coaches are probably the best solution we have to much-needed improvements in professional development for teachers.  However, we do not, yet, know much about literacy coach models.

In my paper, I presented some information about the confusions related to literacy coaches, and I suggested that we focus on the first, most important area, school leadership.  

I promised to create this page in BalancedReading.com to share both my PowerPoint overheads, and a draft of my paper with conference participants, and I promised to create this site right away.  The paper is still very "drafty," and I believe this page will grow rather rapidly, but in the spirit of the promise I made, I'm sharing this very, very rough draft.  

I will revise this paper and this page in the very near future.  If you want me to notify you when I make those changes, send me a note through the Feedback Page.

First things first, Sharon Walpole and Michael McKenna have already created a great website full of resources for Literacy Coaches in their Georgia Reading First project.  Check out their site here.

Also, here, in PDF format, is a shockingly rough draft of my paper.

And here are the PowerPoint slides I used in my presentation.

I promise to revise this page soon, and make it a little less drafty.

Cheers.