Inspire & Align: Georgia's Coaching Excellence Summit

Event Overview

Inspire & Align: Georgia's Coaching Excellence Summit is a dynamic two-day event designed for instructional coaches across Georgia, focusing on both new or aspiring coaches and experienced coaches. This summit aims to provide foundational coaching knowledge, strategies for advancing school goals through systemic coaching, and a unique collaborative session for school administrators and coaches. Our goal is to facilitate a platform where instructional coaching expertise is shared and aligned with school objectives, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of coaching roles. By attending, participants will gain essential skills and insights to not only inspire educational excellence but also to ensure their coaching efforts are aligned with their school's broader goals, leading to a more impactful and accelerated achievement of these objectives.

The event will be held virtually over Zoom. Day 1 will run from 9am - 3pm, and participants will be divided into two tracks: 1) New and Aspiring Coaches Track, or 2) Systemic Coaching Track for Georgia Distinguished Instructional Coaches and other experienced coaches.

Day 2 will run from 9am - 12pm, and participants will be highly encouraged to have up to two administrators attend virtually with them for structured collaboration, planning, and goal alignment.

Each track can have a maximum of 50 coaches in attendance (100 total coaches per event), and each coach can invite up to two administrators to attend Day 2 of the event with them (we recommend an admin at the district and building level).

Dates:

June 13 & 14, 2024

July 10 & 11, 2024

The Office of Rural Education and Innovation will cover the cost to attend.

Agenda

Day 1: Inspire

New & Aspiring Coaches Track

This track is for individuals who are new to the coaching role or are aspiring to become a coach. This track is recommended for individuals who are ready to explore the foundational principles of coaching and transition from supporting the learning of students to supporting the learning and development of adults. No prerequisite coaching experience is necessary for these sessions.

Time	Session & Description
9:00 - 9:30a	Welcome!
9:30 - 11:00a	Understanding & Communicating the Role of the Coach Not only is it important for you, the coach, to understand the roles and responsibilities of this unique role as you transition from the classroom to coach, but it is also critical to be able to clearly articulate your role to the educators that you serve. We’ll discuss clarifying your role, protecting that role, and communicating and reinforcing your role throughout the year with the educators you serve.
11:00a - 11:45a	Doubt to Powerhouse: Navigate Imposter Syndrome and Broaden Your Coaching Reach Do you question your ability to support certain staff members or content areas? Welcome to the club! Imposter syndrome is a common challenge faced by many instructional coaches, but it doesn't have to hold you back. In this session, we will dive deep into the origins of imposter syndrome in coaching environments and explore practical strategies to overcome it. Discover how to transform doubt into empowerment, navigate imposter syndrome, and become a powerhouse in your coaching practice.
11:45a - 12:30p	Lunch Break
12:30 - 1:15p	Powerful Feedback and Reflective Conversations We know that receiving feedback can be tough, but did you know that many adults report not getting enough of it in their professional lives? Join us as we explore ways to give effective, growth-oriented feedback to teachers that feels welcoming and encourages development.
1:20 - 2:00p	Share Your Impact with Data If a tree falls in the woods, but noone is around to hear it, does it make a sound? In the same vein, if a coach is making a big impact on instruction, but your admin can’t see it, did it really happen? In this brief session, we’ll talk about the importance of collecting data to tell your story as a coach and inform your decisions around teacher-support, and how you can best share your impact story with your admin.
2:00 - 2:45p	Power-Up Your Professional Development Moving from tool focused PD to pedagogy-focused PD can be a tough transition for a technology or instructional coach. In this session, we will cover planning power-packed, instruction-focused PD for your teachers starting with the end goal in mind, differentiating for adult learners, and modeling instructional practices that teachers can take back to their classroom.
2:45 - 3:00p	Wrap Up & Final Thoughts

Systemic Coaching Track

This track is for experienced coaches who are ready to move beyond the fundamentals and into a systemic approach to coaching. This track is recommended for individuals who have at least three years of experience in their coaching role and feel confident in their ability to coach in 1:1 settings and have experience designing professional learning for group settings.

This session requires that attendees bring a copy of their school district/building’s strategic plan or an equivalent document outlining the instructional goals and vision of the school or district.

Time	Session & Description
9:00-9:30a	Welcome!
9:30-10:30a	Understanding the Role of Coaches in Systemic Change What does “systemic change” mean? Evaluating the health of our current systems. Taking ownership of the systems we support as coaches. (Year of PD, coaching alignment with building goals, data-tracking on progress, advocating for needs of all stakeholders)
10:45-11:45a	Moving the Needle in Resistant & Overwhelmed Environments Progress must be made- for our teachers & for our students. We MUST coach and improve instruction. But how do we grow our staff when they are buried in tasks, student behavior issues, and over-loaded calendars?
11:45-12:30pm	Lunch Break
12:30-1:30pm	Building Your Bench You are a wealth of knowledge. You are inspirational. You are solution-minded. You are great at what you do. But, there is only one you. One you and many many teachers and many more students. This session explores how you can create a culture of coaching, leverage teacher-leaders, and amplify the impact of coaching across your building.
1:30-2:30pm	Creating a Strategic Plan for Coaching This work-shop style session will guide coaches through the creation of a strategic plan to put the day’s learning into a concrete plan of action.
2:30-3:00pm	Wrap Up & Final Thoughts

Day 2: Align

Instructional and technology coaches are powerful forces for staff development and change management. This administrator and coach focused day of learning explores how coaches can be leveraged to support strategic initiatives and focuses of school leaders to achieve district-wide transformation. Engage in collaborative workshop style learning to develop an actionable plan for leveraging the work of coaches in your building.

It is highly encouraged for coaches to attend this day with their primary administrator. It is recommended that attending coaches partner with their primary supervisor (either at the building or district level) to gain the most value from the sessions.

Time	Session & Description
9:00 - 9:30a	Welcome!
9:30 - 11:00a	Leverage the Impact of Instructional Coaches Instructional coaches are powerhouses for growth that can easily go underutilized and get lost in the shuffle of new district initiatives and goals. Join us in exploring how instructional coaches fit into the complex puzzle of educational systems and how to utilize their specialized skill set to maximize impact in your district.
11:00 - 11:45a	Goal Alignment for Maximum Progress Structured, collaborative work time to allow admin & coach(es) to strategically align efforts for the school year to achieve maximum progress toward goals.
11:45a- 12:00p	Wrap Up & Reflection