Week 1 Prompt:

Write beginning of year blog post (Week 1 Prompt: Reflect on preparing for and delivering the back-to-school Coaching Fellowship session to your staff. How did the planning go? How did the session itself go? What were the reactions from your colleagues? Would you have done anything differently if you were to do it again?)

Week 1 :

Preparing for and delivering the back-to-school Coaching Fellowship session:

I wanted to recreate the excitement we felt while visiting Google in California.

I wanted a photo booth, candy, prizes and swag, and the overall excitement we felt while training for the DLP.  It was so much fun going to the local candy store, Sarris, to get chocolate bikes, chocolate laptop computers, and loads of other delicious candy.  (Look it up: https://www.sarriscandies.com/ )  When I walked in the store, a cashier recognized me as a teacher in McGuffey and told me she knew about my new position with Google.  We chatted and she told me how proud she was that her daughters had me as a teacher and thanked me for my contribution to education in the community.  :)

I set up the library with tables, colorful table clothes, a long candy 'bar,' a prize table, sticky notes, and various swag on the table . I was ready.  Everyone was curious as to what was going on.....

The Session:

Overall, it was great.  I was nervous.  Our staff is working under the old contract which expired in June.  Not too many happy faces stared at me from the audience.  Some were very kind, and very supportive, others, not so much.  The video got them a little curious, and people asked me some questions.  I walked through a mock scenario with one of my dear friends who teachers 7th grade ELA.  More people were curious.  More questions were asked.  By the end of the presentation, many people were on board and ready to get started.  More candy was shared, and the Emoji design went well.  

The Reaction:

I've been the tech leader in the middle school since 2004.  Many of my colleagues were thrilled that I would have this job full time.  They were used to grabbing me in the morning during homeroom, sending me an email for a quick question, attending one of my after school PD sessions, or reading my monthly newsletter.  Now, I'd be available every minute of the day!  How great was that!?!

Some of my colleagues couldn't wait to get started, they asked me questions immediately and booked me on the calendar.  I loved that enthusiasm.

There were a few prickly pears in the audience, but we'll get there.

What would I change?

I must say, the presentation and the PD session went very well and I would not have changed anything, except, I would like to have had more time with teachers that day.  It would have been nice to meet with the cycle 1 teach right away and get some of the preliminary Q&A out of the way.  

Once thing:  I do not like secrets..  The fact that staff did not know I went to Google, did not know I was going to be a coach, did not know I was leaving the classroom, was all very secretive. I understand the reveal of DLP was important, but it was still a little uncomfortable.