2025 Breakout Sessions

As our school year is well underway, it’s time to pause, reset, and recapture some much needed energy and bandwidth. In this interactive session, we will examine how to coach as a rational optimist, helping to maximize our time and strengthen our connections with those we coach.

Takeaways:

• Understanding principles based in positive psychology that can help increase our happiness at work and at home.
• Small shifts in thoughts, language, and action will be shared for participants to consider using in their personal and professional lives.
  

One of the Seven Success Factors of instructional coaching, and an often overlooked one, is data. During this session attendees will learn and discuss approaches for instructional leaders and coaches to leverage data effectively, featuring 10 rules for best use of data.

Session is based on the book Data Rules by Jim Knight and Michael Faggella-Luby

Takeaways:

• Learn how Data Rules can focus their coaching and leadership efforts, facilitate goal setting, and progress monitoring, and ensure coaching drives unequivocal improvements in both the quality of students’ learning and their well-being and engagement.

In this interactive workshop, instructional coaches will explore how to leverage their own educational experiences to effectively support teachers working with students with special needs. Participants will engage in practical strategies, reflective activities, and collaborative discussions aimed at deepening their understanding of diverse learning needs. Coaches will gain tools to help general education AND special education teachers differentiate instruction, implement inclusive practices, and create a supportive classroom environment. By connecting their past experiences with actionable coaching techniques, attendees will leave empowered to foster meaningful change for both teachers and students, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to thrive.

Takeaways:

• Practical Coaching Strategies: Learn effective techniques to support teachers in differentiating instruction and implementing inclusive practices for students with special needs.
• Reflective Practices: Gain tools for using your own educational experiences to inform coaching approaches and foster empathy and understanding in supporting teachers.
• Collaborative Problem-Solving: Develop skills to facilitate collaboration among teachers, helping them create supportive, adaptable learning environments for all students.

Session participants will become familiar with some of the research-based high-impact teaching practices from Jim’s book, High-Impact Instruction. We will also talk about how to provide support, as a coach or leader, when discussing these practices with teachers. In our time together, we will learn about, practice, reflect on, and apply instructional strategies that increase student engagement and achievement.

Takeaways:

• Participants will walk away with concrete examples and ideas for how to increase engagement or achievement within their school(s) through the use of high-impact instructional strategies.

Coaching and leading are deeply human acts rooted in trust, honesty, and growth. In this session, Dr. Tina Curry reflects on the lessons learned through over two decades of experience as a teacher, coach, and leader. From walking on eggshells to leading with intention, she shares what it means to grow into your role without losing yourself in the process. This session is a space for truth-telling, reflection, and practical insight for anyone navigating the complexities of instructional coaching and leadership. Whether you’re a novice or veteran coach, teacher, or administrator, you’ll leave with hard-earned wisdom and strategies to support your journey and the courage to embrace your own lessons along the way.

Takeaways:

• Recognize the power of self-awareness and how knowing who you are shapes how you coach and lead.
• Understand why permission, timing, and readiness matter in building meaningful coaching relationships.
• Learn how to balance transparency with care and how vulnerability can be a leadership strength.
• Explore the impact of shifting your mindset on your approach to coaching, collaboration, and growth.

This workshop gives participants a deep understanding of the elements of system support that empower coaches to have an unmistakably positive impact on student learning and engagement.

Takeaways:

• Participants will be introduced to the two most important variables in coaching success in schools: who the coach is and how well the coach is supported.

This session will explore The IC Toolkit resource, organized around 7 Success Factors for instructional coaches to increase teacher effectiveness and improve outcomes for students.

Takeaways:

• Completion of a Needs Assessment designed to help participants gauge where they are, or where their coaching program or system is on their journey toward coaching proficiency.
• Consider how we can set up meaningful learning experiences via looking at the concrete tools in The IC Toolkit.

Do you scaffold? We know you do! But how many dimensions of scaffolding do you regularly integrate into your planning, teaching, and assessment? Come to this session to learn about the nine approaches to scaffolding—instructional, linguistic, multi-modal, multi-sensory, graphic, digital, interactive/collaborative, social-emotional, and environmental—with specific focus on multilingual learners’ language and literacy development.

Takeaways:

• Participants will review and evaluate each of the nine approaches to scaffolding—instructional, linguistic, multi-modal, multi-sensory, graphic, digital, interactive/collaborative, social-emotional, and environmental—and apply them to their own teaching and coaching practices.
• Participants will determine how to select the most appropriate scaffolding approach(es) to create an equitable learning experience and the right amount and type of support for multilingual learners.

When students believe they have a voice, they are 32% more likely to report having self-worth. This interactive session will focus on creating the conditions necessary to enhance self-worth and establishing practices that allow student voice to thrive. Participants will engage in collaborative activities and discussions that explore how the conditions of belonging, heroes, and sense of accomplishment can be leveraged to inspire and empower students to take greater responsibility for their own learning and a healthy school culture.

Takeaways:

• An understanding of the connection between student voice and self-worth.
• Activities and discussions that can be replicated at participant schools related to the conditions of belonging, heroes, and sense of accomplishment.
• A variety of resources to support customizing and implementing concepts from this session in participant classrooms and schools.

In a time when education is under intense public pressure and debate, supporting teachers requires more than pedagogical expertise and basic coaching skills—it calls for emotional intelligence, political awareness, and a deep commitment to people. But those qualities aren’t enough without a sound strategy. Grounded in the best-selling book Belonging through a Culture of Dignity, this session offers a principled framework for coaching with clarity and care. Co-authors Dr. Floyd Cobb and John Krownapple will share practical tools for honoring dignity, fostering belonging, and helping teachers in these complicated and uncertain times.

Takeaways:

• Deepened knowledge of dignity and belonging.
• Practical tools for effective coaching relationships.
• A comprehensive framework for ensuring teachers and students experience the conditions to thrive.

How does coaching work in a virtual setting? What opportunities are there to utilize virtual strategies with brick and mortar teachers? Our virtual school has the advantage of consistently using video to identify current reality and gather data to measure progress toward PEERS goals. We will learn how to build teacher partnerships in virtual coaching, identify strategies to ensure student outcomes are measurable, and discuss how to gather usable data. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn from the experience they gain in this session to “workshop” PEERS goals in the same learning opportunity our instructional coaching team has engaged in this school year.

Takeaways:

• Structure a district-wide coaching model that positions coaches as partners in growth rather than evaluators, fostering psychological safety and teacher agency.
• Implement specific strategies to help campus administrators understand and support the coaching role while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
• Create systems and protocols that enable coaches to build trust, facilitate teacher voice, and support continuous improvement at both individual and team levels.

Experience how Prosper ISD positioned instructional coaching as the cornerstone of teacher support and continuous improvement. This session reveals our systematic approach to building a coaching culture where every educator receives non-evaluative support through district-based coaches.

Learn how we’ve structured coaching to ensure teachers feel heard while maintaining strong partnerships with campus administration. Discover practical strategies for helping district and campus leaders understand and champion the role of instructional coaches in supporting teacher growth.

Takeaways:

• Structure a district-wide coaching model that positions coaches as partners in growth rather than evaluators, fostering psychological safety and teacher agency.
• Implement specific strategies to help campus administrators understand and support the coaching role while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
• Create systems and protocols that enable coaches to build trust, facilitate teacher voice, and support continuous improvement at both individual and team levels

Viewing Instructional Strategies in Teams (VISIT) is a program developed for teachers utilizing work from Focus on Teaching by Jim Knight and research on micro-teaching. VISIT is designed to build a safe, collaborative culture around the learning of high-impact instructional strategies in order to improve student learning. Teachers from all disciplines participate in small groups with an instructional coach to learn from each other around an agreed upon goal. VISIT uses video to spark authentic, strategy-focused conversations and is used as a recruitment tool for 1-1 Impact Cycle work. Participants will be able to apply what they have learned over the course of this session to their own school and/or district.

Takeaways:

• Participants will understand the research behind micro-teaching and its impact on teacher efficacy and student learning.
• Participants will learn how to develop a program for micro-teaching and apply their knowledge to their own school and/or district.
• Participants will leave with ideas for how to move participants in a one-off PD program into 1:1 cycle work.

Create a classroom where inclusivity, connection, and belonging are the heart of learning. Join me for an enriching session where you’ll discover how to foster an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered.

In this session, you will learn how to:

• Co-Create a Dignity Promise & Code of Collaboration – Build a shared vision and framework that fosters mutual respect and a sense of community.
• Cultivate Connections That Honor Dignity – Discover the power of relationship-building practices that nurture trust and belonging.
• Embrace Ideas That Highlight Dignity – Learn effective strategies to recognize the inherent value in every individual, while exploring the richness of our differences.
• Create a vibrant classroom environment where dignity is the foundation of every interaction!

Takeaways:

• Applicable strategies to enhance student engagement.
• Activities to strengthen connections and foster inclusivity.
• Practical tools to keep dignity at the heart of your teaching every day.
• Transform your classroom into a thriving space where dignity empowers everyone to succeed!

Feeling stuck, micromanaged, or powerless in your role? Autonomy is essential for engagement, motivation, and productivity—but many educators and leaders struggle when faced with rigid policies, unclear expectations, or uncontrollable circumstances. In this session, straight from Dr. Kim’s Radical Learners Course: Coaching for Connection, Certainty, and Autonomy, we’ll identify signs of diminished autonomy, explore the impact of control (and lack of it), and learn actionable strategies for navigating uncontrollable circumstances effectively.

Takeaways:

• Explore autonomy and the effects in our practice.
• Practice coaching while applying the “Traffic Light Tool”.
• Develop strategies to navigate uncontrollable circumstances.

Instructional coaches aim to help teachers make a greater positive impact on the lives of students. One of the most direct ways to do that is to focus on student achievement. This session will present strategies to help coaches and administrators increase achievement by partnering with teachers to remain in touch with student progress toward clearly established goals.

Takeaways:

• Learn how to set clear achievement targets for students.
• Identify how to measure students’ progress toward achieving the targets.
• Learn how to partner with teachers to make adaptations until students hit the targets.

Participants will engage in learning that encourages them to recognize that when people are committed to goals, they can do great things. Leading change is more about creating alignment than about overcoming resistance. Our goal is to share how people can use the Partnership Principles to help others move out of compliance and into commitment.

Takeaways:

• Participants will walk away with ideas about what motivates people to set and reach goals and how a partnership approach to coaching and leading is what really builds commitment.
• We will also learn, practice, and apply communication skills that will support our coaching and leadership in our school(s).

Learn a highly effective universal model for change that helps teachers figure out where they are and where they want to be by setting a powerful, student-focused goal, determining how they are going to get there, and making adaptations until the goal is met.

Takeaways Include:

• Participants will leave with a better understanding of The Impact Cycle, the importance of student-focused goals being the driving force in a coaching cycle, and how to motivate teachers through a change process through choice.

Too often, coaches are evaluated with rubrics designed for teachers and used by people who don’t understand coaching. This workshop addresses one of our most frequently asked questions: How do you evaluate coaching programs and coaches as employees?

Takeaways:

• Gain an understanding of how to evaluate coaches and coaching programs.
• Become familiar with the standards for coaching.
• Learn how to apply the standards for coaching to evaluate instructional coaches and coaching programs.

Reflective practice is a powerful tool for continuous learning, professional development, and meaningful collaboration. This interactive workshop explores how structured reflection enhances self-awareness, refines our coaching development, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Takeaways:

• Understanding the Power of Reflection – Gain insight into how structured reflective practice enhances professional growth, coach development, and leadership effectiveness.
• Learn about the Coach Reflective Practice model and how it fosters deeper thinking, learning, and collaboration.
• Practical Techniques for Reflection – Explore evidence-based strategies and frameworks to facilitate meaningful reflection in yourself and others.
• Enhancing Peer Learning & Collaboration – Discover how to engage in structured peer discussions that build trust, encourage diverse perspectives, and drive continuous improvement.
• Building a Sustainable Reflective Practice – Develop actionable steps to embed reflective habits into daily practice, ensuring ongoing professional growth and school-wide impact.

Students Coaching Students introduces a powerful peer coaching model that empowers students to support each other’s learning, growth, and wellbeing.

In this 90-minute interactive session, participants will explore the foundations of effective coaching conversations and how they can be adapted for student-to-student contexts.

Drawing on the GROWTH coaching framework, this session blends brief theory with practical strategies to develop active listening, questioning skills, and goal-setting techniques that students can use with their peers.

This is an ideal introduction for those curious about building or expanding a coaching culture to student leadership, wellbeing, and/or peer mentoring initiatives.

Takeaways:

• Through discussion, demonstration, and hands-on activities, educators will experience the 3 core elements for effective student coaching, unpack into the GROWTH framework, and reflect on how to implement this within their unique school setting.

The skills needed to be an excellent instructional coach are complex and not something teachers learn in their teacher preparation program. How do we recruit, train, and continually develop instructional coaches? Based on 10 years of practice, we will share the most important characteristics of effective professional learning for both new and veteran coaches using video interviews from coaches. Participants will leave with a list of strategies they can implement in their schools and districts for recruiting, training, and developing coaches.

Takeaways:

• Strategies for recruiting, inducting, and retaining coaches.
• Tips for supporting on-going professional development for coaches.
• A plan for improving their professional learning for coaches in their schools/districts.

The Ripple Effect of 1-on-1 Coaching: What happens when a coach and a teacher engage in true partnership and reflection? The impact goes far beyond the two individuals—it creates a ripple effect that transforms teaching and elevates student learning. In this session, you’ll step into the coach’s shoes and experience the journey of support, growth, and transformation. We will see the positive impact of when a coach is supported with quality, 1-on-1 coaching for themselves. They are able to reflect and refine their own coaching practices in real-time during a coaching cycle with an experienced coaching consultant. We’ll explore the importance of continuous learning for coaches, the power of reflection, and the critical role of fidelity in coaching cycles. Through real stories and key insights, you’ll see first-hand how intentional coaching leads to measurable growth—not just for teachers, but for students as well. Walk away with practical strategies, inspiration, and a renewed perspective on the power of 1-on-1 coaching to create lasting change.

Takeaways:

• The Transformative Power of Coaching Partnerships – Understanding how a strong coaching relationship can create a ripple effect that positively impacts teaching practices and student learning outcomes.
• Real-Time Reflection and Practice Refinement – The importance of real-time reflection during coaching cycles, and how coaches’ own professional growth can directly influence the effectiveness of their support for teachers.
• Continuous Learning for Coaches – Recognizing that just as teachers need ongoing development, coaches must engage in continuous learning to enhance their own practice and better support others (1-on-1 coaching model for support).

BPS Office of Health and Wellness Instructional Coaches will share their experience planning and beginning implementation of the Impact Cycle for physical educators across Boston. This session will highlight the lessons learned from leaving the 5-Day Intensive training in April 2024, going through a rigorous planning and preparation process, and ultimately implementing the Impact Cycle across SY24-25. Given the unique challenges of urban PE, this approach fosters equity, skill development, and active participation. The coaches will share their insights, experiences, major takeaways and key next steps.

Takeaways:

• Hear about some of the successes and challenges of creating a playbook tailored to specific content and demographics.
• Learn how to tailor the implementation of the Impact Cycle to support the continuous professional growth of first-year and veteran teachers in an urban school setting.
• Take away tips for tracking, storing, and sharing important resources with teachers as they strive to achieve their PEERS goals.
• Understand the importance of utilizing the partnership principles to foster relationships with teachers rooted in trust and authenticity.

In this session, we’ll explore how instructional coaches can harness their own experiences to decide if, when, and how to make a suggestion during a coaching session. There are times you’ve been delighted to hear a teacher respond like this to your suggestion: “I’m excited to try this out and would love to work together on some ways to kick it off effectively.” You may have also heard this response at times: “I’ve been teaching this way for years and it’s worked fine for me; I don’t see a need to change my approach now.” Strategies to explore the co-construction of ideas as well as “reading” a coachee’s readiness and openness for suggestions or advice will be presented, modeled, and practiced. Knowing when to step in and how to approach these coaching moments can significantly impact the effectiveness of the coaching relationship and the teacher’s professional growth.

Takeaways:

• A decision-making framework to determine when a suggestion is needed during a coaching session.
• Strategies for identifying the optimal timing to offer feedback that resonates.
• Best practices for articulating suggestions in a supportive and constructive manner.
• Insights into balancing direct advice with reflective inquiry to promote teacher autonomy.
• Practical examples and tools that enhance everyday coaching practices.

Leading in learning communities with multilingual students requires a data before differentiation (dBd) approach. What data points are used (or not) to help support positive student outcomes? This session will provide insight and action steps for leaders across various ecosystems who want to learn and do more for linguistically diverse students.

Takeaways:

• Self assess depth of knowledge of federal obligations for multilingual learners.
• Learn and understand federal obligations for multilingual learners.
• Prioritize, plan and implement short and long term student goals and outcomes by using a data before differentiation (dBd) approach.

Using the Compassionate Dialogue Framework, participants will learn sustainable communication techniques aimed to manage conflict in both professional and personal settings, ultimately empowering authentic use of one’s voice. When implemented, the RIR Protocol becomes an effective strategy to keep the user grounded and focused during conflict, acknowledging rising emotions while not allowing them to hijack the interaction. This interactive workshop introduces the Compassionate Dialogue Framework through reflection and practice with the tools allowing for multiple opportunities to engage in small group discussions, reflect and share personal lived experiences and engage in role play activities.

Takeaways:

• Understand Compassionate Dialogue
• Learn the RIR Protocol – Recognize, Interrupt, Repair
• Learn Self-Regulation Strategies
• Practice Compassionate Dialogue Approaches and Strategies

In this session we will have an honest discussion of what it is like to coach in Early Childhood. We will talk about the reality of how different it is than coaching in other age groups and go through different tools to help us be successful.

Takeaways:

• Walk away with better ideas and tools to help you understand how to coach in Early Childhood AND forms to get you started.

Navigating conversations is an inevitable part of our interactions as educators. Based on our one-day course Managing Challenging Conversations, this interactive workshop equips educators and coaches with practical strategies to navigate discussions with confidence and clarity. Participants will explore key frameworks for managing ourselves and others while fostering psychological safety and maintaining a solution-focused approach.

Takeaways:

• Actionable techniques to turn challenging conversations into opportunities for growth and collaboration.
• Frameworks and strategies to approach discussions with confidence and clarity.

To be effective, coaches need to have a deep understanding of high-impact teaching strategies. They also need to be able to clearly explain those strategies. Creating an instructional playbook addresses both these aspects of coaching. This workshop guides coaches and administrators through the development of an instructional playbook, an essential tool for every coach

Takeaways:

• Identify the highest-impact strategies.
• Deeply understand those strategies.
• Clearly communicate them to others.

In our current chaotic times, educators are feeling more overwhelmed and worried about students, community, and most important, themselves. The adage, ‘you can’t give what you don’t have’ comes to mind. Learn some strategies to increase educator well-being and re-humanize the workplace.

Takeaways:

• Personal and professional actions to keep learning and moving forward.
• Leadership is important and can influence others to create positive cultures.
• How to bring joy back to the profession.

The central premise of ‘Growth Talk’ is that every interaction between members of a school community are potential opportunities to enhance learning, growth and progress. In these moments, no matter how fleeting or informal, Growth Talk is about intentionally bringing the key elements of coaching into play to best support the thinking and progress of our conversation partner. This practical session will focus on how to lead those brief, in-the-moment conversations.

Takeaways:

• Immediately implementable strategies to make every conversation count.
• How to adopt a ‘coaching approach’ in brief, in-the-moment conversations.
• The concept of ‘stance’ as a conversation leader.
• Tuned listening and attentiveness in-the-moment.
• Enhanced self-awareness and confidence to lead ‘Growth Talk’ conversations

We know that coaching is recognized as one of the most practical and deep means for improving teaching practice; however, not all schools have the resources and capacity for instructional coaches or leaders to work directly with teachers in an ongoing way.

Peer Coaching – classroom teachers coaching other classroom teachers – enables the benefits of coaching to be accessible, equitable, and scalable.

This session looks at the pre-conditions and structures that support teachers to access powerful cycles of reflection, learning, and improvement through reciprocal coaching partnerships with a teacher next door. It will also explore the role that video and AI can play in enhancing and streamlining the improvement process.

Takeaways:

• How can teachers work together to make coaching accessible and scalable, without the need to be instructional experts?
• What pre-conditions and structures are essential for fostering reciprocal cycles of reflection and improvement?
• How can video and AI tools enhance professional growth and streamline the peer coaching process?

Each year, it becomes increasingly clear that teachers and administrators need meaningful support to positively impact student achievement. Teachers thrive with autonomy and value having a non-evaluative partner to help elevate instructional practices. In this session, discover how one district audited its resources, clarified coaching roles, supported growth through targeted professional learning, and refined systems to implement The Impact Cycle effectively. Participants will be equipped with actionable steps to articulate a clear coaching vision and foster a culture of collaboration and commitment among teachers and leaders.

Takeaways:

• Clarifying the coaching vision
• Building the coaching structure, implementing coaching practices that will drive impact, and using data to sustain and scale the coaching program.
• Understand the purpose of instructional coaching and how it aligns with district and school goals, the key components required to establish a sustainable coaching program, coaching practices that lead to measurable improvements, and how to use data effectively to measure the success of coaching initiatives.
• Skills acquired during the session include crafting and communicating a vision statement for your coaching program, aligning coaching goals with instructional priorities and outcomes, providing actionable, growth-oriented feedback, and collecting and analyzing data from coaching cycles.
• Acquire actionable steps to articulate and promote a clear coaching vision that inspires commitment and collaboration from teachers and leaders.

This session explores the development of a comprehensive school-wide instructional and leadership coaching programme. It examines the three key stages of development: exploring, engaging, and embedding coaching culture. Drawing from both successes and challenges, I’ll demonstrate how we created a professional growth cycle that enhances staff practice and ultimately improves student learning. The journey highlights the invaluable guidance of Dr Jim Knight and Tom Sherrington, whose expertise helped shape Bangkok Patana School’s unique and impactful coaching programme. Their influence has been instrumental in creating a sustainable model of professional development that benefits our entire school community.

Takeaways:

• Discover how to strategically implement a school-wide coaching program, learning practical steps for each development phase while understanding how to avoid common implementation challenges.
• Learn to build a sustainable professional growth cycle that combines instructional and leadership coaching, with clear strategies for enhancing teacher practice and student learning.
• Master the essentials of creating a coaching culture built on trust, including practical approaches to staff engagement, impact measurement, and program scaling.
• Develop expertise in adapting proven coaching methodologies, (drawing from Dr Jim Knight’s and Tom Sherrington’s approaches) to create a bespoke model that serves your school’s specific context and needs.