The Coach ADVenture. Amy Illingworth
tion>
Endorsements for The Coach ADVenture
“As leaders, if we truly want to make a dramatic impact on the learning and teaching that occurs in our schools, then we must fully embrace our role as an instructional coach. In The Coach ADVenture, Amy Illingworth (one of the best instructional coaches with whom I have ever had the privilege to work) peels back the layers of this complex work to get to the heart of what impactful coaching entails and the skills you need to do this work exceptionally well. She then meets you where you are and provides you with the practical tools you need to take the next steps on your own coaching adventure. You will benefit from hearing her story and learning from her commitment to Appreciating the strengths in each individual, Designing coaching plans that meet each person’s unique needs, and the Value she places on the collaborative partnership established with each person she coaches.
“In addition to sharing her own journey, Amy offers us the opportunity to choose one of two principals to follow as they embark on their coaching adventure, which gives this book a creative, fun, and insightful look at the very real challenges leaders face and the strategies they use to strengthen their own learning and become more successful in their roles as coaches. Designed to meet you where you are as a coach whether you are just starting out in the coaching role as either a teacher or administrator, you’re frustrated that your coaching isn’t producing the desired results, or you’re a seasoned coach looking for some inspiration, The Coach ADVenture is for you.”
—Shelley Burgess, co-author of Lead Like a PIRATE
“Incredible wealth of information and insight into the process of becoming an effective instructional leader. This book is packed with relevant, practical, easy-to-follow information to increase your skills as an instructional leader. As I read this, I found myself wishing this book had been available at the beginning of my leadership journey. This will definitely be in my go-to books in working with new leaders and in furthering my own coaching effectiveness.”
—Amy Glenn, teacher and former coach, Vista Unified School District, Vista, California
“Dr. Illingworth has captured the essential components of leadership development, mentoring, and coaching to improve student academic performance, purposeful planning, and personal growth. It is definitely from the heart; her personal experiences and journey shared with the reader make this book different from others. Her evidence-based, tried-and-true research and implementation of the essential components herself provide the reader with strategies, questions, and opportunities for self-reflection and action development. The Coach ADVenture is a clever means to practice the skills from the chapters and help the reader wonder and reflect upon their own coaching style and practice. Whether you’re a novice or veteran educator looking to improve student learning and achievement, this book is a must-read.”
—Dianna Carberry, EdD, retired assistant superintendent of leadership development and systems innovation, Sweetwater Union High School District
“Dr. Amy Illingworth is an exceptional educator. Over the twenty years I have known and worked with Dr. Illingworth in education, she has proven that each and every educator and student can succeed with the proper support and learning opportunities. Students, teachers, principals, and districts have excelled under her leadership through her systematic planning and coaching. Coaching is and has been the key to her success! She is a skilled leader and knows what it takes to develop students as learners and masterful educators in a school system.
“Dr. Illingworth’s book, The Coach ADVenture, has provided me with specific strategies, structures, and ideas for how to facilitate learning for my leadership teams as well as a clear instructional leadership plan for myself as I lead my school. What I also love about this book is the clear belief that each and every educator can succeed if given the proper coaching, and it gives you an outline on how to make that happen. This is a must-read for any principal or educational coach, and I plan to use this as an instructional tool for my assistant principal and teacher leaders.”
—Pauline Leavitt, principal, Ramona Middle School, Ramona, California
“The Choose the Coach ADVenture organization really helps novice and veteran instructional coaches alike! As you adventure with the coach of your choosing, you encounter many coaching pitfalls. Choosing your own coaching adventure lets you address these pitfalls one at a time. Coaching can be overwhelming, but this book makes it so much easier to digest. Following Principal Martinez opened my eyes to pitfalls I hadn’t even realized I’d encountered. Seeing how she addressed the problems was invaluable! I now have a much better handle on my own coaching theory of action. Illingworth reminds instructional coaches of the power of listening and asking the right questions. The examples and questions provided are exactly what I needed to narrow my focus for observations and coaching conversations. I’ve been in education as an instructional leader for over twenty years, and this is easily the best coaching book I’ve read. Illingworth gets straight to the point and helps coaches refine their thinking when observing and coaching.”
—Liz Wong, assistant principal, Montgomery Middle School, San Diego, California
“I have had the good fortune of working with Dr. Illingworth on many occasions. She has been instrumental in my growth as a principal. As one of the directors of the Aspiring Administrators and Professional Development team for our district, she consistently shared strong instructional leadership practices that helped shape our district’s goals and plans to address them. In mentoring others, Dr. Illingworth created learning experiences that brought together theory with action; additionally, she consistently modeled these practices at the school site with administrators either through classroom observations or implementation discussions. In all cases, her advice and insights have been timely and effective. The Coach ADVenture is a conversation with the reader covering many of the instructional practices, belief systems, and organizational theory that she shared with our leadership teams. The book allows for reflection and application. I am sure you will benefit greatly as I have from Dr. Illingworth’s insights and leadership experiences.”
—Dr. Ricardo Cooke, principal, Eastlake High School, Chula Vista, California
“In reading Dr. Illingworth’s new book, The Coach ADVenture: Building Powerful Instructional Leadership Skills That Impact Learning, I first and foremost appreciated Illingworth’s attention to her audience. While some books approach the topic of coaching from strictly the author’s point of view or background, Amy is sensitive to the fact that as school leaders, we are approaching this reading—let alone our professional development—from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and with different levels of instructional coaching. I thus enjoyed exploring the journey of Ms. Martinez from Learning for All High School, since I found her sections most relevant to my personal journey.
“Any educator can appreciate an experience where they can have a mental dialogue or ruminations with someone who doesn’t necessarily provide all the answers but poses questions that lead us to greater understanding. The Coach ADVenture: Building Powerful Instructional Leadership Skills That Impact Learning represented the kind of experience that allowed me to ask myself questions and allowed me to take away what was relevant to my professional growth. In this exploratory approach, Dr. Illingworth models not only inquiry in this book of professional learning, she also models equity as she seeks to meet readers’ needs at different points in their coaching journey.
“Although you can simply read one or two chapters from this book to take away something meaningful, this book kept hooking me into continuing on to other chapters that enhanced my understanding on instructional coaching.”
—Alex Salazar, assistant principal, Sweetwater High School, National City, California
Contents