School leaders in Calaveras, Amador, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties now have a leadership coaching program to call their own.

The CASST Leadership Coaching Program – named after the five counties – is administered through ACSA’s Region 7 and the San Joaquin COE. It provides leadership coaching services for school site principals to help foster growth through shared leadership with the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement.

Through the program, candidates are paired with veteran principals who provide one-on-one support at the school site six hours a month, 10 months a year for two years. In addition, they provide support via e-mail and telephone when needed.

The program is designed to help candidates overcome identified challenges posed by diverse and unique school and district cultures; develop new or strengthen existing professional learning communities; support the best research-based instructional practices; establish trust by nurturing positive and collaborative professional cultures; develop productive leadership and communication habits; build ongoing capacity for growth through reflective practices; analyze data to inform curriculum and instruction to improve student achievement; and understand and address behaviors, dispositions and biases that get in the way of effective leadership.

Coaching candidates eligible for the program are principals in or at the beginning of their careers as well as those transitioning to new schools or districts. It is ideal for principals of Program Improvement schools, High Priority Schools Grant schools, School Assistance and Intervention Team schools and Quality Education Investment Act schools.

Coaches must have a minimum of five years as a successful site principal, completed ACSA’s Coaching Leaders to Attain Student Success training, be certified in coaching methodology, skilled in the use of blended coaching, and be able to support principal candidates in building their capacity as effective leaders. Rhonda Cicolani, director of school equity at the San Joaquin COE, said leadership coaching is essential to building skills as an effective leader because of the changing nature of the profession.

“Coaching is so important right now because the duties, responsibilities and expectations of site leaders have grown exponentially,” she said.

Too often, principals are so overwhelmed by the day-to-day job they don’t have a chance to take a step back and look at what they’re doing as leaders.

“The coaching allows the principal to be reflective of what they’re doing while keeping the school moving forward,” Cicolani said.

Through the program, the coach is on site throughout the day, accompanying the candidate on walkthroughs, teacher evaluations, staff meetings and parent-teacher conferences, Cicolani said. “Virtually everything the principal does during the day, the coach is there,” she said.

Like counties throughout the state, those in Region 7 have a high retirement rate for school administrators, leaving many positions needing to be filled. In fact, Cicolani said where before there would be one or two openings in a district each year, there are now as many as 10, and some with 100 percent turnover.

While this may be bad news from a staffing standpoint, it is good news from a coaching standpoint. Many of these retirees are looking to remain connected with education, and coaching the next generation of school leaders allows them to do just that.

“The people I see retiring now are enthusiastic educators who have spent 30 or more years in education,” Cicolani. “They want to be continuous learners. We all have our roots as teachers. Coaching is part of teaching and learning at a school. They’re doing what’s right for kids and they get to be part of a school site.”

Cicolani said she believes the leadership coaching program is invaluable, because when she became a principal she didn’t have that support herself.

“If I had someone to talk to who understood the position and walked in my shoes it would have been very beneficial,” she said. “Anything that is going to enhance the skills of an educator is always beneficial, because enhancing skills directly affects student achievement.”

For more information on the CASST Leadership Coaching Program, contact Cicolani at (209) 468-9052 or rcicolani@sjcoe.net.