This article describes the development and implementation of the Clinical Literacy Coaching Framework (CLCF) as a promising practice that was implemented in a large elementary school in the Southeastern part of the United States. The framework was implemented when the school was improving literacy instruction and student achievement. This article…

Much has been written about the roles and responsibilities of literacy coaches, including the ways in which they can effectively communicate and work with teachers. Teachers, however, are often less certain about their roles and responsibilities when working with coaches. Many teachers also lack a clear picture of the varied opportunities…

Literacy coaching is a professional learning model designed to provide teachers with supportive partnerships as they enhance their literacy instruction (L'Allier et al., 2010). However, the enhancement of instruction requires teachers to make changes to long-standing instructional practices. To prepare for change, teachers must have the…

This paper responds to Ippolito et al.'s (2021) "wonder," "What preparation and in-service support do coaches need to become systems thinkers, thought leaders, and change agents within their schools" (p. 182) by describing the obstacles and complexities experienced by two first-year literacy coaches as they transitioned from…

This article advocates for investments in curriculum and in coaching to support the work of teachers. It recommends coherent systems of professional learning to include active work with curriculum before it is used and support from coaches during use. To facilitate this work, the author provides a theory of change to move from curriculum and…

The authors aim to build awareness of questioning strategies and techniques in specialized literacy professionals (SLPs), specifically those in a literacy coach role. Whereas questioning is a technique that may promote reflective thinking in teachers, the authors note, providing examples and solving problems for teachers may come more naturally to…

As schools continue to focus on elementary student achievement and literacy growth, the role of the elementary school-based literacy coach is as imperative as ever. However, as a lever for reform and professional learning, the literacy coach role remains underspecified, variable, and often misunderstood in practice. This article aims to address…

Read Two Impress Plus (R2I+) is a fluency-building routine involving students and a more experienced reader in an echo reading process using culturally and linguistically authentic texts. R2I+ was offered as a partnership-centered, culturally and linguistically affirming family engagement to improve the literacy proficiency of students, aged 7-12,…

The authors describe a method for integrating video into the work of elementary literacy coaches. Drawing on their research in developing an online application of a successful literacy-coaching program called Content-Focused Coaching, the authors describe an approach that coaches can use to reflect with teachers on their video recorded lessons to…

Serving both teachers and students in a hybrid literacy professional role requires thoughtful planning and reflection. In this article, the authors reflect on their work over the course of one school year to determine how to manage time effectively to combine the job descriptions of reading specialist and literacy coach. Strategies are presented…

Literacy coaches are more effective when they have a clear plan for their collaborations with teachers. This article provides details of such a plan, which involves identifying a problem, understanding the problem, deciding what to do differently, and trying something different. For each phase of the problem-solving model, there are key tasks for…

Practitioners face many challenges when working with students who are experiencing difficulty with comprehension. The act of creating meaning with texts is complex, and comprehension is often measured in schools as a product of reading. Product assessments, such as answering questions or retelling a text, take place after reading, which makes it…

As teacher education programs shift to more practice-based methods in the preparation of literacy teachers, the ways in which teacher educators support the learning of their preservice teachers (PSTs) becomes paramount. In an effort to support PSTs in developing competency in instructional literacy routines, coaching has been found to support…

The use of culturally relevant texts can support students' reading development, foster a love of reading, help students form positive identities, and broaden their social consciousness. Well-matched culturally relevant texts have particular promise in increasingly diverse classrooms. Drawing on the academic literature and their experience as…

An elementary mathematics coach describes her process and instructional strategies for using academic word lists to support students' disciplinary literacy development. Using teacher coaching, the author explores methods for classroom teachers to embed and authentically integrate best practices in vocabulary instruction to support disciplinary…