EMWP Advanced Literacy Coaching Institutes

Julia Keider

For two days, coaches and teachers across Michigan will invest their time to collaborate on best practices and teacher development during the first offering of the EMWP Advanced Literacy Coaching Institutes on April 28-29. Julia Keider, EMWP Instructional Coach, will lead the group of participants on their journey, as they “walk the coaching path” to becoming better coaches.

After two successful cohorts of the Basic Literacy Coaching Institutes, the EMWP ventured to establish itself as a leader amongst the National Writing Projects in Michigan to engage teachers, coaches, and administrators in meaningful dialogue using job-embedded professional development through coaching mindsets.

Compared to the Basic Institute, which was offered in June and November of 2013, the Advanced offers two days of collaboration, with the first day focusing on enhancing coaching skills and awareness, but then day two includes four presentations from coaches in different roles: Sarah Lorenz, Professional Development Coordinator from EMWP; Jackie LaRose, EMU Reading Faculty; Liz Lietz, Novi Schools Instructional Coach; and Curtis Refior, Coach and Presenter for WestEd.

The Advanced is different in that it allows coaches clearer opportunities to define themselves as coaches in the work they do every day. Instead of prescribing that there’s only one way to coach, we initially established some basic building blocks for coaching during the Basic Institute, but now we’re expanding that so coaches know that personal style, in addition to data and self-analysis, is an important aspect to coaching, no different than it is in teaching. We hope that people walk away with a more conscious sense of themselves as coaches and teachers.

If you are interested in the Literacy Coaching Institutes, Cohort III will open registration in June, available for coaches, teachers, and administrators K-College. The dates are August 18-19, with a registration fee of $225. Contact Julia Keider for more information at juliakeider@gmail.com .