Let's start with what a literacy coach is not!
1. A literacy coach is not an administrator who comes to observe a teacher for evaluative purposes. A literacy coach is a teacher (unless a particular district has a very specific arrangement that should be transparent) whose job it is to help teach teachers about good teaching.
2. A literacy coach is not a co-teacher who comes it to take half the class and work with them. A literacy coach's main student is the teacher!
3. A literacy coach is not a special teacher who comes in to relieve the teacher during literacy time. Working with a coach in your class is the prime time to make improvements in your practice and in students' achievement!
If you have a literacy coach in your school, that should feel good. He or she is someone to study with, whose role it is to improve student work by helping to develop teacher work.
Literacy coaches should be working with many teachers across the span of a year. Working in cycles of time (4-6 weeks) is the best way to enhance teachers' work, as it creates a formal learning relationship.
What kinds of success stories or questions do you have regarding working with your coach?