When principals and teachers co-plan lessons together, great things happen.
Observations and PD are important tools to help teachers hone their craft. But Stephanie Gallegos, principal of Lake County Intermediate School in Leadville, Colorado, takes it a step further. She sits down with teachers to plan literacy lessons side by side.
This practice accomplishes two important goals:
It empowers Stephanie to be active during classroom observations. Since she’s not going in blind, she can provide teachers with more specific, actionable feedback.
It serves as a mini-coaching session for teachers. Rather than waiting for feedback on a lesson after it’s already been taught, teachers are on the same page as leaders before they even step inside the classroom.
Hear Stephanie share her experience trying this method; then see how she plans teacher support alongside her ANet coach, Christina Lippert.
“This year, I feel way more empowered because I’m in classrooms more and I’m actually doing the work with the teacher. I’ve got the module out; I’ve read the module; I’ve read the lesson as much as I can. ”— Principal Stephanie Gallegos, Lake County Intermediate School
Interested in trying this at your school? Brush up on your literacy planning skills by checking out our Lesson From the Field on text-based planning with videos and downloadable guides.