Instructional Leadership in Student-Focused Coaching

Creating Effective Systems to Cultivate Student Success

Daryl Michel, Dawn Brookhart

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781681258287
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Administration

Student-Focused Coaching (SFC) is a highly effective way to improve educator professional development and learning and student outcomes—but to succeed, coaches need to be empowered to lead alongside supervisors and other teacher leaders. Building on Hasbrouck & Michel's widely used guide, Student-Focused Coaching, this book shows educational leaders how to develop and lead a sustainable coaching model. It emphasizes that leadership isn’t defined by a title—anyone with insight, commitment, and a student-focused mindset can serve in a coaching role and make a lasting impact.

Aligned with Implementation Science and developed by two internationally known consultants, this is the practical guidebook educational leaders need to build their knowledge of coaching and master their critical role in the coaching system as instructional leaders. Administrators, supervisors, and other leaders will gain expert guidance, actionable strategies, purposeful exercises, and engaging activities for supporting the transformative work of coaches. As more states mandate coaching as part of their reform efforts, this thought-provoking book will help a wide variety of educational leaders grow sustainable coaching programs that bridge the research-to-practice gap and cultivate student success.

LEARN HOW TO:

• Create the conditions and culture to implement and sustain a coaching model 
• Establish clear and open communication about roles and responsibilities
• Prioritize de-implementation of outdated or ineffective practices before introducing new initiatives
• Plan and execute professional development and learning to ensure the successful transfer of research- and evidence-based skills to the classroom
• Lead complex change—not just manage it—by modeling expectations through shared leadership, collaboration, and continuous learning
• Use a structured Collaborative Problem-Solving Process to strengthen teamwork and prioritize foci

PRACTICAL FEATURES: Instructional leaders will strengthen their skills and take confident next steps with the reflection prompts, application exercises, and action items in each chapter.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Online Materials
• About the Authors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 What Is an Instructional Coach?
• Chapter 2 Student-Focused Coaching
• Chapter 3 The Supervisor–Coach Partnership to Support Teaching Appendix The SAILS Instructional Model
• Chapter 4 Leading Complex Change
• Chapter 5 Systems Thinking
• Chapter 6 Effective Communication: Action-Oriented
• Chapter 7 Differentiated and Sustained Professional Development and Learning Plans
• Chapter 8 Collaborative Problem-Solving Process
• Chapter 9 Team Problem-Solving Meeting Process
• Chapter 10 Collective Leadership to Lead Complex Change Using Implementation Science
• Chapter 11 Bringing It All Together
• Index
• Back Cover