Student-Focused Coaching

A recent research report from the International Literacy Association (ILA, 2015) discussed the current challenges facing today's educators, noting the increasing diversity of students' backgrounds and needs, coupled with the higher expectations and standards being widely adopted to prepare students for 21st-century skills. The ILA (2015) document stated that due to this combination of circumstances, there appeared to be both a need for and a benefit from specialized literacy professionals working in schools to improve literacy instructional practices (p. 4). One important role of a specialized literacy professional is that of coach, commonly defined as a professional educator working to improve classroom instruction by supporting teacher learning. The purpose of this article is to describe one model of coaching currently being used in schools called Student-Focused Coaching.