Michelle Provo was leading her first instructional team meeting at Bleyl Middle School in Houston when a loud noise echoed in the building.
Provo, the newly appointed principal, and the school鈥檚 director of instruction rushed out of the room to find out what was happening.
Her coach, Robert Borneman, who was observing and taking notes, had a simple, but pointed, question for Provo when the meeting ended: Why did Provo feel that both she and the director of instruction鈥攖he two people leading the meeting鈥攈ad to leave during the commotion?
Provo and the instructional director both had spent years as assistant principals, where putting out fires comprised a huge part of their jobs. But as principal, Provo no longer had to be the first one out the door.
鈥淭hat was a time I had to reflect and think, 鈥業 am not the AP anymore,鈥欌�夆�� she said.
As one of the 14 coaches in Texas鈥� Cypress-Fairbanks district, a school system of some 116,000 students, Borneman鈥檚 job is to help new and early-career principals like Provo keep their eyes on the big picture as they dive headfirst into the challenges and complexities new school leaders face.
鈥淲hen you step through that door of the principal鈥檚 office, you really don鈥檛 know what you don鈥檛 know,鈥� Borneman said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much. This program allows the new principals an opportunity to have somebody walk alongside them鈥擺someone] who鈥檚 been there.鈥�
While coaches can smooth the entry into school leadership, only 23 percent of elementary school leaders report having a coach or mentor, according to a by the Learning Policy Institute and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Several factors鈥攊ncluding funding鈥攈ave inhibited school systems鈥� ability to provide this critical support for all school leaders.
More school districts have started relying on their principal supervisors to coach principals in recent years. Research shows that these coaches can play an integral role in supporting school leaders, regardless of where those principals are in their careers.
Districts such as Cypress-Fairbanks, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, in Charlotte, N.C., and Columbus City Schools, in Columbus, Ohio, have built up a cadre of trained coaches dedicated to helping principals navigate the early years on the job.
Cypress-Fairbanks launched its coaching program in the 2010-11 school year, when it hired 17 new principals鈥攁 crop of new hires that was beyond the capacity of one associate superintendent and two assistant superintendents to support.
While the district had a bench to draw from to fill most of the elementary school leadership slots, officials worried how they鈥檇 respond if they had such a large exodus again, said Roy Garcia, the chief officer for school leadership and associate superintendent.
The district started exploring what it would take to not only develop principals but keep them. It also saw an opportunity to capitalize on the skill and expertise of the school leaders who were walking out the door.
鈥淲e strongly encourage them to have six months off, and if they think they鈥檇 like to coach, let us know,鈥� Garcia said.
Building a three-year relationship
New principals in Cypress-Fairbanks are matched with coaches for the first three years. (They鈥檙e also assigned a mentor, a current district principal, in their first year.) Principals meet with their coaches weekly in their first semester, with the frequency of those meetings reduced to every other week the second semester and once a month in the second and third years, depending on the principal鈥檚 needs.
The two-hour meetings involve an hourlong session, where coaches and principals discuss the school leaders鈥� priorities, challenges they鈥檙e facing, and upcoming projects. They also review what鈥檚 happened since the coach鈥檚 last visit.
Coaches then spend another hour with the principal in the school, walking the hallways, observing the principal鈥檚 interactions with students and staff, and attending leadership or instructional team meetings. They then debrief the principals about what they observed: what went well, what didn鈥檛, what they would do differently, and changes they鈥檇 make the next time around.
In meetings, for example, Donna Sheppard, a former Cypress-Fairbanks assistant superintendent who now works as a coach, pays attention to things like whether the principal is including everyone in discussions, how others perceive the principal, whether the principal is listening鈥攁re they cutting off people too quickly, for example?鈥攁nd whether they are lingering too long on a particular agenda item.
She also keeps an eye out for how the principal praises teachers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing what you can learn just watching a principal in the classroom,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淗ow do [kids] approach her? Are they comfortable? Is she greeting people as we walk through the hallway? 鈥� All of those things relate to your leadership skills as a principal.鈥�
The coaches don鈥檛 direct principals on what to do. Instead, they use their wealth of experience to lead principals through a series of questions that help principals arrive at an answer, consider a different perspective, or settle on a course of action.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not here to judge their decisions,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淲e reflect a lot, and sometimes that works well.鈥�
In 2019, for example, Cypress-Fairbanks asked teachers to attend two planning meetings a week, which led to resistance from some of the teaching staff at Hamilton Elementary School, where Sage Papaioannou is the principal.
As Sheppard and Papaioannou sat down for their weekly meetings, Sheppard tried to get to the root of the teachers鈥� objection. How could Papaioannou convince teachers that they would benefit from attending the meetings?
To answer the first question, Papaioannou fielded a survey to find out what teachers liked or didn鈥檛 like about the planning sessions. Teachers felt they had no say, didn鈥檛 get the opportunity to develop their own lesson plans, and that not everyone had the chance to participate.
More questions followed.
Papaioannou used the feedback to change how the meetings were structured, with teachers now in charge and writing their own lessons plans. Everyone is responsible for a portion of the meeting. Though Papaioannou attends some of the meetings鈥攕omething she does not think she would have were it not for the feedback from the survey鈥攖he teachers hold the reins.
鈥淭hey were able to buy into it because they were part of the process,鈥� she said.
Without the weekly meetings, Papaioannou would not have taken the time to dig into the source of the teachers鈥� discontent.
鈥淟et鈥檚 be honest, she would have been running around the building, running the school,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what this weekly meeting does: It helps train the principal to stop and realize that I can鈥檛 let the pressure of the moment make me make fast decisions on things that need deep thinking.鈥�
Coaches are different from mentors, who help principals with day-to-day challenges. Questions about paperwork and compliance are more appropriate for mentors than coaches, who focus on developing principals鈥� leadership skills, said Gracie Branch, the associate executive director of professional learning of the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Coaches tend to concentrate on the big picture and the school鈥檚 continuous improvement.
The principal-coach relationship is also a judgment-free zone for principals, where school leaders know that they can vent freely, be vulnerable, and have no fear that that vulnerability would end up on an evaluation.
鈥淲hen you are getting judged from the community, from the staff, from students鈥攅verybody is judging because you are the new person,鈥� Papaioannou said. 鈥淛ust to be so confident that you can go and talk to somebody without that 鈥� it鈥檚 nice to not have that judgment.鈥�
Cypress-Fairbanks coaches are retired principals, who鈥檝e undergone an immersion training and certification offered by the NAESP. The organization has trained mentors and coaches in districts including Prince George鈥檚 County in Maryland and in the Miami-Dade school system.
In selecting coaches, the district looks for principals who themselves have stellar records in school leadership, good communication skills, and a history of growing leaders from when they were leading schools, according to Carla Brosnahan, the assistant superintendent for school leadership.
鈥淲e are pretty specific about our expectations on how many times they meet,鈥� Brosnahan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a system as well鈥攊t鈥檚 not going anytime you feel like it.鈥�
There鈥檚 also twice-a-year professional development for coaches where they review blended coaching strategies and keep abreast of district initiatives, strategies, and priorities. They鈥檙e also kept in the loop with weekly district communication. During the pandemic, for example, coaches have had to stay on top of district COVID-19 policies, so that they鈥檙e not surprised during school visits, Brosnahan said. That also positions coaches to help principals with some of the biggest challenges they face this school year.
In matching principals and coaches, the district considers a coach鈥檚 background, and the principal鈥檚 strengths, weaknesses, and areas in which they need to grow鈥攊nformation the district has because principal-candidates are asked about strengths and weaknesses during job interviews.
A relationship rooted in trust
The coach-principal relationship needs to be cemented in trust to be successful. And to do so, districts must ensure that principals know that there will be no ramifications for what they discuss with their coaches because the coaches have no role in their evaluations. Regular meetings at the start of the program also help to forge trust, Sheppard said.
鈥淚t allows you that time to build that relationship,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淵ou ask about family; you ask about the balance in their lives; you help support them if they are dealing with struggles that no other position on the campus can relate to. You get to be that voice and that ear for them that says, 鈥楾his is normal. This is what all principals feel that first semester, that first year.鈥欌��
Borneman likes starting meetings with celebrations鈥攚hat鈥檚 going well鈥攂efore moving to specific challenges and campus culture. They also discuss instructional initiatives and programs the campus might be gearing up to launch. Then he accompanies the principal through the building and at meetings, as an 鈥渙bjective third eye.鈥�
Provo is a fixer by nature, and she and Borneman had to work on her becoming a more methodical problem-solver.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that I can put into words [the] value he brings to me in this role,鈥� Provo said. 鈥淗e is very good at making you think and process on what is going to be the best direction. He doesn鈥檛 tell you what direction, though. He keeps asking the questions.鈥�
She鈥檚 become a more discerning and effective communicator, thinking through what needs to be said during a conversation and what can, and should, be held back. She also takes a more active role in building the school鈥檚 culture by leading schoolwide announcements in the mornings, and running more effective meetings by planning ahead.
Provo appreciates Borneman鈥檚 persistent questioning that leads her to answers she may not have considered.
鈥淓ven if I didn鈥檛 deal with something well, he would be like, 鈥榃hy do you think that didn鈥檛 work?鈥欌�夆�� Provo said.
She can鈥檛 imagine her first year as principal without Borneman at her side.
She arrived at Bleyl Middle School in January 2020. By March, the pandemic had shut down schools across the country, and Provo, still learning the ropes, had to shift to 15-hour workdays to set up virtual schooling. Months later, in July, her son died by suicide.
It helped knowing that Borneman, whom she calls a cheerleader, was a phone call or text message away.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got this,鈥� Borneman would text on some of those rough days, Provo said. 鈥溾�夆�業t鈥檚 going to be OK.鈥欌�夆��
If something doesn鈥檛 go as planned or she鈥檚 having misgivings about how she handled a situation, 鈥淚 can call or I can text, and he鈥檒l be like we鈥檒l process through it,鈥� Provo said.
He is very good at making you think and process on what is going to be the best direction. He doesn鈥檛 tell you what direction, though. He keeps asking the questions.
At Hamilton Elementary School, Papaioannou and Sheppard, her coach, gamed out difficult conversations that Papaioannou had to have with staff and parents to ensure that she got her message across while still preserving those relationships.
One of the key and early pieces of advice Papaioannou received from Sheppard was to slow down. That meant stopping and greeting people in the hallways and allowing others more time to speak in meetings.
鈥淕ive people time to think,鈥� said Sheppard, who was an assistant superintendent in the district when the coaching program was developed. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want them to think you鈥檙e super-stressed because you鈥檙e wound up. Slow down.鈥�
Those morsels of wisdom have stayed with Papaioannou, and she often repeats them when Sheppard isn鈥檛 around.
鈥淓veryday, I would think about what would Donna do?鈥� Papaioannou said. 鈥淒onna would stop. ... It doesn鈥檛 matter how busy you are, she would stop and take care of those things. That piece of advice, or feedback, was perfect.鈥�
And while the coach-principal relationship can develop into a lasting one with principals continuing to seek counsel from their coaches, the formal connection still ends after three years.
鈥淎fter three years, they are ready to be set free,鈥� Brosnahan said of the principals. 鈥淲e have not had anyone say, 鈥楶lease give her to me for another year鈥欌�攗nless they鈥檙e just joking around.鈥�
