How Coaches Get In

While coaches can have a positive impact on teachers' practice and students' learning, in many school districts teachers have the autonomy to decide whether and when to work with a coach. Coaches then must work to gain access to teachers' classrooms. In a recent study of 28 content-focused coaches, researchers Jen Munson and Evthokia Stephanie Saclarides found that coaches used six types of strategies to gain access, typically coordinating multiple strategies tailored to the context. In this article, they describe these strategies and provide a reflection tool coaches can use to identify strategies they might use to increase their classroom access to support teaching and learning.