1

Literacy Coaching in Chicago Public Schools:

A Gap in the Theory of Change
Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:11 PM
Comment: Pretty good title immediately
gives the reader the context (Chicago Public
Student X Schools) and a sense of the argument (arguing
Final Project that there is something lacking in how CPS is
theorizing coaching/instructional change).
November 7, 2007

H810H: Introduction to Literacy Coaching:

Understanding and Implementing Coaching Across Contexts

Jacy Ippolito, Instructor

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Literacy coaching has become increasingly utilized as a mechanism for school reform

and for raising students literacy achievement (Cassidy, 2007; Deussen, T., Coskie, T., Robinson,

L., & Autio, E., 2007). In Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the nations fourth-largest school

district, variations of literacy coaching have been in place for more than five years, and district

officials are in the midst of a multi-year process to ensure that all of its literacy coaching

professionals are fully qualified (E. England, personal communication, October 23, 2007,

Appendix 4). CPS enrolls a high percentage of students who need literacy interventions; more

than one-third of its students failed to meet expectations on the 2007 Illinois Student Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 12:16 PM
Comment: This is a pretty good introductory
Achievement Test (Illinois Standards Achievement Test over time report, 2007). The district paragraph it does at least three things:

1) Gives the reader a quick sense of how

relies on literacy coaches to address this need: literacy coaches train and support classroom coaching has grown, and become an important
educational topic worthy of our attention.
teachers to provide interventions within their classroom instruction, a theory of change
2) It gives the reader a bit of background
information about the Chicago Public Schools
increasingly common among school districts with many high-need students (Dole, 2004). (integral to understanding the paper)

3) Finally, it relates the context to coaching,

However, this theory of change is not fully enacted in CPS, as literacy coaches rarely get discussing how coaches have been employed
widely in CPS. This is necessary because it
to do the side-by-side coaching work that is so essential to literacy coaching (IRA, 2004). motivates the problem to be discussed in the
next paragraph.
Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 12:23 PM
Because this interactive coaching work has proven necessary for teachers to internalize new Comment: This is a nice transition
sentence that quickly helps the reader
instructional strategies (Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 1999, as cited in Dole, 2004), many understand the problem at hand. You can
also see how we are starting to get at this
students original motivating question, which
Chicago teachers and students are dramatically underserved as side-by-side coaching does not was Why might coaching efforts in CPS not
be as effective as we would expect? This
thesis paragraph gives us a glimpse of the
always occur. Some CPS teachers are not receiving the coaching they need to become more answer that side-by-side coaching isnt
encouraged or supported, and as a result,
effective (E. England, personal communication, October 23, 2007), and students are increasingly coaching isnt as effective in CPS.

The two sentences highlighted here are what I

at-risk; their teachers do not receive the support they need to provide the interventions that believe to be this students thesis or
overarching argument.
students require. This paper will further explore the gap in CPS theory of change and will posit Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:12 PM
Comment: Notice that this student has
incorporated a bit of the fieldwork data (a
reasons that side-by-side coaching does not always occur in CPS. quick interview with one or two CPS coaches)
immediately, up front in the paper. Not a bad
idea. Some students wait until the very end of
the paper to introduce the fieldwork data, but
then it feels rushed, and it doesnt support the
argument quite as well.
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Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 2:56 PM

Perspectives from the Literature
Comment: Notice in this next section how
the student uses various sources to both
Because literacy coaching is enacted differently by each individual and in each context, explain side-by-side coaching, why it is
important, and why it needs to be occurring as
part of coaching work. The student also
researchers have developed multiple frameworks for understanding the role (Casey, 2006; Toll, reviews some of the major roles of literacy
coaches which is then important because of
2007). Shaw and colleagues (2005) recognize that, due to increasing demands on the school, later claims about what roles CPS wants
coaches to play.

reading specialists who formerly worked with individual students are now responsible for This all furthers the main argument that side-
by-side coaching needs to be happening in
CPS to improve coaching efforts.
impacting the whole school (see also Cassidy, 2007). However, the International Reading

Association emphasizes that, while the role of a literacy coach is manifested differently across

settings, side-by-side coaching work distinguishes it (IRA, 2004). This paper relies on a

definition that encompasses both perspectives: a literacy coach is responsible for making a

school-wide impact through numerous professional development mechanisms, the dominant of

which is side-by-side coaching.

Dole (2004) explains that, because reading specialists alone cannot serve all the high-

need students in schools with low-performing populations, their role in the schools reform has

shifted. They have become literacy coaches responsible for enabling teachers to deliver the

high-quality first teaching and interventions that struggling students need. Dole emphasizes the

necessity of side-by-side coaching to significantly impact teachers effectiveness (Joyce &

Showers, 1995, Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 1999, as cited in Dole, 2004). Along with other

forms of professional development, the experiential, collaborative coaching work that occurs

between teacher and literacy coach helps the teacher effectively provide interventions, because

students no longer receive them from a reading specialist. Doles conception is particularly

relevant to CPS literacy coaching model: across the district, there is both significant student

need and an absence of reading specialists. Instead, classroom teachers are responsible for high-
4

quality teaching and frequent assessment of their students, and literacy coaches are relied upon to

advance this work.

Deussen et al. (2007) also present a framework for literacy coaching that provides insight

into CPS program. Deussen and colleagues studied literacy coaches within the Reading First

programs of five states. Because Reading First is a federal program, its literacy coaches are

responsible for adhering to myriad state and federal regulations. They are also directed not to

work with individual students but to instead focus their efforts on teachers. CPS literacy

coaches face similar constraints, because some schools are part of Reading First and because all

schools must align with district priorities, which do not include individual student interventions.

Deussen et al. found that, although all of the literacy coaches surveyed were doing similar work,

they conceived of their roles differently. Literacy coaches were data-oriented, student-oriented,

managerial, teacher-orientedfor groups, or teacher-orientedfor individuals (Appendix 1).

The way literacy coaches understood their roles also impacted how they spent their time:

although each state expected literacy coaches to be directly working with teachers for 60 to 80

percent of their time, coaches reported only spending an average of 28 percent of their time with

teachers. This proportion varied with the type of coach, though this expectations gap was

consistent across the sample and has been observed elsewhere (Bea & Zigmond, 2006, Knight,

2006, Schwartz & McCarthy, 2003, as cited in Deussen et al., 2007). Though the gap between

the time CPS administrators expect coaches to spend with teachers and the time literacy coaches

actually do spend on this work has not been quantified, there is a disconnect between what Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 2:51 PM
Comment: Notice how this student uses
literacy coaches are expected to do and what they actually do (E. England, personal literature to support the overall argument, and
begins to relate it to data from the real-world,
interweaving them together, as opposed to
communication, October 23, 2007). Rollers (2006) survey arrived at similar findings: less than having large sections where the student just
describes research studies. Remember that
one-quarter of literacy coaches reported spending five or more hours weekly observing lessons your lit. review needs to further your
argument, it needs to support that argument.
Its not just a disconnected review of a handful
of studies.
5

or teaching demonstration lessons, activities central to the coaching that defines the role (IRA,

2004).

Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 2:52 PM

Current Practices in Chicago
Comment: In this section, the student goes
deeper into the CPS context in order to
Within CPS, the Office of Literacy sets district literacy priorities. The Office of Literacy strengthen the argument and make it clear to
the reader how the previous literature relates to
CPS.
is streamlining the number of literacy curricula used in the district and is spearheading the

transition a more formal definition of the literacy coaching role. Previously, professionals

serving in this capacity were called Lead Literacy Teachers; in order to qualify for this position,

one need only be enrolled in a graduate reading course (E. England, personal communication,

October 23, 2007). In 2007, with pressure from the state, the Office of Literacy released some

underqualified Lead Literacy Teachers and rehired qualified candidates as Literacy Coaches.

Qualifications for this Literacy Coaching position include a preferred Reading Specialist

Certificate or a minimum Reading Teacher Endorsement (2007 Position advertisement for

literacy coach, 2007). The Office of Literacy also seeks candidates who have knowledge of

presentation and modeling techniques, assessment tools, scientifically-based reading research

and instruction, and special student populations.

Job Description

The Office of Literacy has codified the job responsibilities of its Literacy Coaches; these

span the range of Deussen et als (2007) categorizations. Based on written expectations, the

district wants its Literacy Coaches to be primarily oriented towards managerial- and teacher-

group-oriented coaching, though CPS Literacy Coaches are expected to function within every

conceptualization (2007 Position advertisement for literacy coach, 2007; Appendix 2).

Managerial requirements include maintaining a literacy portfolio, planning curriculum, and

6

supporting the implementation of a new core reading series at schools. Literacy Coaches are

responsible for working with teacher groups while modeling lessons and leading presentations,

grade-level meetings, and study groups, though they also expected to hold one-on-one coaching

conversations and provide feedback to individual teachers. Literacy Coaches data-related

responsibilities include analyzing student work and implementing assessment tools to evaluate

instruction. Coaches have a student orientation when ensuring differentiated instruction and

observing students, though this conceptualization is not emphasized. The Office of Literacys

job description has adhered to the International Reading Associations high qualification

standards (IRA, 2004), and it has established expectations that Literacy Coaches will both

support whole-school professional development and work individually to coach teachers. On

paper, the districts literacy coaching plan supports high-need students, because Literacy

Coaches are expected to help teachers deliver effective classroom instruction and intervention to

their students. In practice, low-performing CPS students are not served when classroom teachers

do not receive side-by-side coaching support.

Expectations in Action

Elizabeth England, Area 17 Lead Literacy Teacher, provided insight on the day-to-day Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 2:53 PM
Comment: Now we get more information
about the person that this student interviewed.
work of Literacy Coaches and Lead Literacy Teachers in the 29 CPS schools that her office

supports. Seventeen of these schools (Group A) are now part of the Office of Literacys core

reading program; they have Literacy Coaches who are formally supported by the Office of

Literacy. The remaining 12 schools (Group B) have Lead Literacy Teachers, as they are not yet

part of the Office of Literacys initiative (Appendix 3). Because the Group A Literacy Coaches

are funded by the Office of Literacy, Englands Area team was initially discouraged from

supporting them; however, because the Group A Literacy Coaches were requesting assistance
7

from Englands office, the Office of Literacy granted permission for the Area office to support

both groups of coaches (E. England, personal communication, October 23, 2007). All of

Englands 29 schools serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade; the discussion of

literacy coaching is confined to this age group.

England works with literacy coaches at all 29 Area 17 schools and is familiar with much

of the work they do. In her descriptions of their daily responsibilities, several themes dominate:

literacy coaches work with data, plan for and conduct meetings and trainings, and support

principals (E. England, personal communication, October 23, 2007). When conveying literacy

coaches activities, England first addressed their work with data. According to her, literacy

coaches analyze state, district, and standardized assessment results to discover schoolwide and

classroom trends. They then develop action plans for teachers based on students demonstrated

strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, England referred to the grade-level meetings and large-

group professional development sessions that literacy coaches conduct. It is possible that

coaching work occurs within some of these small-group meetings, but England did not address

the meetings content. Finally, England addressed the support literacy coaches provide to their

principals. Literacy coaches have been asked to complete reports that are the principals

responsibility, and they sometimes assist throughout the school, including lunchroom supervision

and substitute teaching. England explained that principals sometimes consider literacy coaches

to be an extra pair of hands whenever a spontaneous need arises, which can make it difficult for

literacy coaches to focus on their job responsibilities. England did state that the literacy coaches

funded by the Office of Literacy (Group A) may be less subject to this phenomenon, but she still

sees these coaches being redirected by their principals.

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Englands knowledge of literacy coaches work is partially aligned with the Office of

Literacys job description: the literacy coaches with whom England works spend significant time

planning and conducting grade-level meetings and trainings, which are key components of the

role (2007 Position advertisement for literacy coach, 2007). However, Englands emphasis on

her coaches data-related work deviates from the Office of Literacys expectations: only two of

the almost 20 requirements of Literacy Coaches are data-related, but England sees data as

essential to her coaches daily activities. This disconnect occurs perhaps because of the pressure

school leadership teams feel from No Child Left Behinds emphasis on performance data.

Many of the coaching responsibilities that England describes support teachers work with

their highest-need students. However, the key lever for change that Dole (2004) and others

identify is absent: according to England, side-by-side coaching is not occurring among the

literacy coaches in her area. She explained that literacy coaches more often tell people what to Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:14 PM
Comment: Here is where we get back to the
overall argument, after a small bit of the paper
do, rather than modeling for or coaching them, and literacy coaches time is consumed with other that described what is happening in CPS
now we get what isnt happening, and the
next section deals with the students
responsibilities. Because this key component of literacy coaching is absent, high-need students understanding of why.

remain at risk, because their teachers are not effectively supported with side-by-side coaching.

Barriers to Coaching

There are many potential explanations for the dearth of side-by-side coaching work in

Englands 29 schools. England describes some explicitly, while others are evident only in

concert with other data. Regardless of the cause, the lack of side-by-side coaching in Area 17,

and potentially throughout CPS, means that teachers are not receiving necessary support to reach

their high-need students.

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Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:14 PM

Constraints on Time
Comment: Here we get several major factors
that this student identifies as barriers to side-
Literacy coaches juggle the conflicting demands of their job responsibilities and their by-side coaching. Given the literature and
the fieldwork data.
principals expectations. Perhaps because principals do not have a comprehensive understanding

of the literacy coachs role, they are more likely to extend the coach beyond the roles definition,

thus diminishing the time literacy coaches can use to coach teachers. This phenomenon is not

unique to CPS; Deussen et al. (2007) discuss the ways literacy coaches time is spent outside

their role. Alternately, CPS Literacy Coaches may be infrequently side-by-side coaching

because the Office of Literacys expectations overwhelm them. England explains that Group A

coaches are responsible for their schools implementation of writers workshop and a new basal

reading program, in addition to their data- and meeting-based work (E. England, personal

communication, October 23, 2007). For these coaches, program implementation may leave little

time to support teachers in coaching situations, even though their job description explicitly calls

for this work.

Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:15 PM

Constraints on Support and Qualification
Comment: I love these sub-headings.
Headers and sub-headings really help guide a
Side-by-side coaching also may infrequently occur because of limits imposed by support reader through a paper.

and qualification issues. England explains that Group A coaches received four weeks of summer

training from the Office of Literacy, only one-fourth of which was spent on literacy coaching (E.

England, personal communication, October 23, 2007). These coaches also attend a meeting at

the Office of Literacy every Friday, eliminating 20 percent of their already-constrained work

time. In order to promote side-by-side coaching, Englands Area team distributed Literacy

Coaching: the Essentials (Casey, 2006) to its literacy coaches. However, this support was likely

ineffective as a lever for changing literacy coaches practices: in the same way that teachers need
10

collaborative support to enact changes in their practice (Dole, 2004), literacy coaches cannot

internalize side-by-side coaching solely from a book. The literacy coaches themselves need to

be coached, so they can transfer the process to their teachers.

Regardless of the quality or magnitude of support they are receiving, literacy coaches

may avoid coaching because they do not feel knowledgeable enough to undertake it (Deussen et

al., 2007). Even if they were previously Lead Literacy Teachers, the new Literacy Coaches

(Group A) are operating under different expectations, and some may avoid direct work with

teachers because they do not yet feel comfortable with the coaching process. Finally, side-by-

side coaching may not be occurring because of a paucity of individuals qualified for the position.

CPS job description reflects the high expectations for literacy coaches presented by the

International Reading Association, and a critical mass of qualified candidates may not yet be

ready. England explains that when the Office of Literacy examined the credentials of some Lead

Literacy Teachers, in hopes of making them Literacy Coaches, very few were qualified (E.

England, personal communication, October 23, 2007).

Structural Constraints

The final set of constraints on coaching in Area 17, and perhaps in all of CPS, is external

to the coaches themselves. Englands perception, based on the feedback from Group A Literacy

Coaches, is that the centralization of Literacy Coaches within the Office of Literacy was hastily

planned and executed. The International Reading Association recommends waiting to

implement literacy coaching interventions until qualified candidates are available (IRA, 2004);

the same principle can apply to the structures that must exist before an effective literacy

coaching plan can begin. Additionally, if the role is not clarified for all stakeholders, including
11

coaches, teachers, and principals, misunderstandings among key players may result in failure to

enact side-by-side coaching.

Finally, structural changes that occur on a regular basis may prevent literacy coaches

from getting to the heart of their work. As roles continue to be renamed and redefined, and more

Lead Literacy Teachers transition into being Literacy Coaches, uncertainty about future job

stability may disincent literacy coaches from investing time in the relationship-building that

forms the heart of side-by-side coaching. According to England, the Office of Literacy plans to

reassign the Group A Literacy Coaches to new schools next year, on the premise they are already

trained and can now serve another school (E. England, personal communication, October 23,

2007). However, if these coaches perceive their assignment at a school as temporary, they may

be less likely to invest time in the side-by-side coaching that will enable classroom teachers to

deliver the literacy interventions that students need.

Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:09 PM

Conclusion
Comment: Here everything is quickly
reviewed and brought together
CPS theory of change is that, because it has so many high-need students, literacy
I would have appreciated a few more broad
implications here for future research, practice,
coaches can enable teachers to provide interventions to their lowest-performing students. or policy but the student did a good job
above of clearly articulating how all of this
However, in at least 29 of CPS schools, literacy coaching is not occurring in ways indicated by plays out in CPS.

My other small complaint with this last section

the Office of Literacy and research on effective practices. High-need students are most at risk is that it introduces a handful of new ideas,
which might distract the reader. I dont
suggest that folks end with a number of new
when their teachers do not receive coaching support. Because they do not have a reading ideas. Instead, it is best to end with a brief
summary and suggestions for future research,
specialist on which to rely, these students teachers must be equipped to address their needs. policy, or practice.

Additionally, the absence of coaching may lead to overreferrals for special education: Response

to Intervention processes will prove ineffective if teachers are not equipped to provide these

interventions, and students may unnecessarily be labeled as disabled. Teachers and literacy
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coaches also face frustration when their work together is ineffective. Furthermore, CPS is

currently investing resources in a plan that is not enacted according to its design, and the

districts students face a severe lack of extra support. Any school district with a proportion of

high-need students beyond what reading specialists can support has the potential to face similar

challenges and should work to ensure that literacy coaches can effectively support classroom

teachers. Further research is needed to examine ways in which large urban districts can protect

the coaching role and leverage it to support high-need students.

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References
Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:15 PM
Comment: References are on a separate
2007 Position advertisement for literacy coach. (2007). Chicago: Chicago Public Schools. page and in APA format --- great!

Retrieved from http://cri.cps.k12.il.us/teachers_coaches.shtml

Casey, K. (2006). Literacy coaching: The essentials. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Press.

Cassidy, J. (2007). Literacy coaches: Here today, gone..!!!??? The Literacy Professional,

27(3).

Deussen, T., Coskie, T., Robinson, L., & Autio, E. (2007). Coach can mean many things: five

categories of literacy coaches in Reading First (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2007No.

005). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences,

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational

Laboratory Northwest. Retrieved from

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/northwest/pdf/REL_2007005.pdf

Dole, J. A. (2004). The changing role of the reading specialist in school reform. The Reading

Teacher, 57, 462-471.

Illinois Standards Achievement Test over time report: All subjects all grades combined 2001

2007: Students by proficiency level. (2007). Chicago: Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved

from http://research.cps.k12.il.us/cps/accountweb/Reports/citywide.html

International Reading Association (IRA). (2004). The role and qualifications of the reading

coach in the United States (Position statement). Newark, DE: Author.

Roller, C. (2006). Reading and literacy coaches report on hiring requirements and duties survey.

Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Shaw, M. L., Smith, W. E., Chseler, B. J., & Romeo, L. (2005). Moving forward: The reading

specialist as literacy coach. Reading Today, 22(6).

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Toll, C. (2007). Lenses on literacy coaching: Conceptualizations, functions, and outcomes, (pp.

1-22). Norwood: MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

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APPENDIX 1: Five categories of literacy coaching work

Type of coach Specifications

Data-oriented Focused on data and assessment tasks
Includes administration of assessments and data
management
Average of 18 percent of time spent coaching teachers
Student-oriented Disproportionate, relative to other categories, amount of
time working with students
Consistent focus on activities of students rather than
teachers
Average of 16 percent of time spent coaching teachers
Managerial Significant time spent on paperwork and meetings
Consider work via organizational responsibilities
Average of 25 percent of time spent coaching teachers
Teacher-orientedgroup Work primarily with teachers in a group setting
Coaching may occur in grade-level meetings
Average of 41 percent of time spent coaching teachers
Teacher-orientedindividual Coached individual teachers
Average of 52 percent of time spent coaching teachers
Deussen, T., Coskie, T., Robinson, L., & Autio, E. (2007). Coach can mean many things: five
categories of literacy coaches in Reading First (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2007No. 005).
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for
Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest. Retrieved
from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/northwest/pdf/REL_2007005.pdf
16

APPENDIX 2: Chicago Public Schools 2007 Position Description for Literacy Coach
Jacy Ippolito 10/30/08 3:10 PM
Comment: It was good of this student to
include fieldwork-related documents in
appendices, again to provide context for the
reader.
17

APPENDIX 3: Literacy professionals supported by Chicago Public Schools Area 17

Job title Specifications

Group A Literacy Coach Position funded by Office of Literacy
Support formally given by Office of Literacy
Stricter qualifications: Reading Specialist
certificate or Reading Endorsement
New position for 2007-2008 school year
Job expectations include whole-school
professional development and individual teacher
coaching
Group B Lead Literacy Teacher Position primarily funded by local school
Support formally given by Area office
Less strict qualifications: Must be enrolled in a
reading course
Continued position from previous school years
Job expectations include whole-school
professional development and individual teacher
coaching
E. England, personal communication, October 23, 2007.
18

APPENDIX 4: Phone interview with Elizabeth England, October 23, 2007

[Note: except where indicated with quotation marks, recorded responses are paraphrased.]

Commonly used abbreviations:

LLT: Lead Literacy Teacher
LC: Literacy Coach
P: Principal
T: Teacher
S: Student
O of L: Office of Literacy, Chicago Public Schools
PD: Professional Development
AIO: Area Instructional Officer (regional superintendent)
RF: Reading First
RS: Reading Specialist

What is your specific job title and key job responsibilities?

o Area Lead Literacy Teacher/LCs
Now theres no more LLTs
Now theyre LCs
Offer in-school support, like upon principal or teacher request
Provide PD for P or T request or based on school need or data
Identified by AIO and area team
Based off scores and observations
Sometimes Ps/Ts ask for something specific
29 schools
o 34 schools, 5 are AMPS [Autonomous Management
Performance Schools]choose if theyre in or outno
communication
o 17 of them are now core reading schools
o Office of Lit at first said to leave those schools alone
o But theyre used to coming to the area firstour hands
were tied
o Jodi [Dodds Kinner, Acting Director of the Office of
Literacy] said the area can invite them if they want to
Core reading programOffice of Literacy
o Not the RF schools (4 in her area)
o 17 of the Areas schoolsif they signed up in time, they could be in the core
reading programHarcourt basal
o 150 schools across the city
o Guaranteed a paid LC position
o Still had to buy all the materials
o Ts get all sorts of PDkind of for free
o Most people jumped right away
o 150 LCs will go to a new school that picks up the program
o Kind of like RF, K-5, Harcourt reading series
19

o Brand new for this year

o Big contract with Harcourtto be in the partnershipmaybe for a research
standpointwe should see growth in scoreskind of like a test group
o Central office is responsible for everything
o Rather than having all of the LLTs
o We specifically pick and train 150, we should see growthtrying to work smarter
o Office of Instruction, Assessment, and Design (O of IAD)also behind the LC
initiative
o Before to be a LLT, you could just be enrolled in a reading course
O of IADlooked at the credentialstheres no improvementthe state
pulled their chain and said these people arent even qualified
Had to have a way to get rid of (phase out?) these unqualified people
To get hired, they had to look at all your credentials
Did it to weed out unqualified people
Had a hard time filling 150 positions
Unbelievable given the number of LLTs 64 in Area 17 alone
Huge number not qualified

How would you define literacy coaching, particularly in opposition (or relation) to
the roles of a reading specialist or Lead Literacy Teacher [a CPS-specific role]?
o Basically, what are the titles of the professionals doing this work?
o How are Reading Specialists, LCs, and LLTs similar or different?
LLTsenrolled in a reading coursenow they have to have endorsement
minimum
Didnt fire people, just displaced them if they werent qualified
Some Ps redefine as curriculum coordinators to keep them on the
faculty
LCsbrand new for this year 150 schools
LLliteracy leaderperson in a school whose building doesnt have the
funds for a LLT or LC
Classroom T who gets pulled out to go to training and bring it back
to the building
Full-time class responsibilities
Not that many of those
May not get paid any more
3 in Area 17 alone
LITliteracy intervention teacher
Extra person in a probationary school
RF person, LLT, LITone school, as an example
No one in the city works with directly with Sstheyre not supposed to
but they canits up to them
No pull out readingin Area 17
Theyre supposed to train, and do PD, and model
Rationale: suburbs, you dont have as high of a population of
academic warning students
Manageable for RS to meet with certain students
20

No way one person could reach the needs of all the struggling
studentsbest way is to train the T how to do it in their own
classroom, and to go in and model
LC is supposed to coteach, model, and plan with that teacher
If you go in and help them, wean off it, theyre a better teacher
Better meet Ss needs than by pulling students out every day
Type 10special certificate [from the State of Illinois]could be in a
whole bunch of things
But this is the reading specialist certificate
S pullout doesnt exist in CPS
She can call her self a RS because she has the certificate
Before LLTs, they were called RSs, but then they changed the title
because people werent certified
People were adamant about getting the name Coach into their titlethey
didnt like the LLT titlethey were Ts, but not in the classroom
Changes every yeartitles, positions, responsibilities
Area reading coaches (salary of $90,000), then Area LLTshe stayed in
the ALLT role because she loves her team
Paid moreArea gave her a lot more hours

How do you see literacy coaching in CPS as being similar or different to previous
teacher support models implemented by the district (again, reading specialist or
Lead Literacy Teacher)?

How many coaches would you estimate are at work in the district?

What are key job responsibilities/expectations of CPSs literacy coaches?

o Analyzing dataLLTs or LCslook at primary dataDIBELS data, numbers in
each tier
Same for Learning First [CPS district benchmark assessment], each
subtest on the standardized testwhich standards are they having a
difficulty with
School as a whole, broken down by each grade levelwhats going on in
the classroom, with the teacher
o Identify weaknesses and strengthscome up with ideas/activities/plan to work
with Ts to increase scores in the areas of need
Identifying the actions is the hard part
o Next part is then getting the Ts to actually do whats communicated in PD
o The only person that can enforce it is the principal
Depressinghow many times do we have to tell you to have classroom
libraries? I can go in there and sit down there with themI had to just do
it for them
Really up to the principalbut theyre not enforcingnot writing Ts up
Makes the job really hard
o There has to be a respect and a working relationship between the administration
and the coach
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For example: a lot of principals will give their LC/LLT lots of extra stuff
to doISAT action plan, grade level analysis (reports that the P is
supposed to do)that takes away from LC being able to actually do their
job
As the LC, you have to do what youre supposed to do and you have to do
what your P wants you to do
Administration will call Area to come do a PD rather than person in the
own buildingshows that the LLT isnt knowledgeable
Because the area has to come out and do the PD
Ps need to trust that the LC knows what theyre doing
P can undercut the authority of the LC if they go outside to get
services
o Example: Disagreement on specific attributes of what
needs to be in the ISATP brings in their own people to
support their position
Staff picked up on that, stopped doing Extended
Response [constructed response on state
achievement exam], period

What do literacy coaches actually do on a day-to-day basis?

o Are they spending more time with Ts, with Ss, or with both equally?
o What percentage of time is spent doing x, y, or z?
Little to no time working with S
Supposed to spend the bulk of their day meeting with Ts in grade level
meetings (another form of PD)
Varies from school-to-school
Morning duty, lunchroom duty
Bulk of time is supposed to be working side-by-side with Ts
Other bulk of their day would be planning PD
Actual coaching is not occurringnot at all
Thats why theyre passing out the Casey book
O of L sent 150 people to coaching workshops
People werent really coachingwerent modeling
They were just telling people what to do
Bought Casey books for Area 17
Switch is to move towards coachingnot been happening
You think people know, but they really dontyou cant just tell them
teach them like theyre 2 year olds
How do you do that in a respectful, building a relationship type way?
They tune you out
Build the relationship firstIm an extra body
Her AIO sends her outhelp them with this
Pulled for walkthroughs after spending more time at one school
Schedule gets so busygo there whenever she can
Staff development days with all the other schools
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o 150 LCscore reading schoolshave been pretty strict about saying were
paying for them, you cant have them doing all this other stuff
Maybe not doing it as much as they were before
Ps still make them substitute, do other random tasks
Free person in the buildingfirst person they think of when they need
something

What alignment (or lack thereof) do you see between expectations and actual day-
to-day work?

In what contexts or settings do CPSs literacy coaches work? How are these
contexts similar or different to previous literacy-support contexts?

What has been the response of teachers, principals, and families to the introduction
of literacy coaches?

How much money does CPS spend on coaching? From where does the money
come?

In what direction do you see CPS taking the literacy coaching model? What kinds
of district-level support (or lack thereof) does literacy coaching have?
o 600 elementary schools
o After the 150, then next year those LCs will go to another schoolposition only
guaranteed in the school for one year
o Lots of people werent interested because of the need for relationship building
o Next year, new people, train them all over
o Thinking: train them once, dont have to train them again
o People are complaining about it nowdont like it, dont want to be there
Wasnt well thought out
Makes sense as a whole
Everythings not plannedLCs are flying by the seat of their pants
O of L not supporting them well
Getting lots of misinformation
o Turnover is a huge issue
o 4 weeks of summer training
1 week of Harcourtwent over basal
1 week of coaching
1 week on Lucy Calkins writing
1 week on IMPACT [district-wide online data system]
o Every Friday they have a meeting with the Office of Literacyall day
o O of Lhas a coordinatorwho comes around and checks on the LC
Maybe both punitive and supportive
Whenever you have someone coming behind to check on youdistrust
Shows people that theyre not trusted
o Their ideal was smartdid it so quickly that its kind of unorganized
o Tried to cut money and work efficiently in too short an amount of time
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o Core reading program is your focus, and Lucy Calkins

Not getting how it all fits
o Things theyre doing are things weve already been doing
o O of L acts like theyre know-it-alls
But they have the same degrees we have
Weve already been trying to do these strategies
But do they do it, not reallyif youre preaching to the choir
Rests more on administration
Lots of poor Ts, lots of good Ts
Didnt realize that until actually observing

In Boston, the director of literacy coaching said that her literacy coaches are the R
& D arm of the district. Do you see any similar mindset in Chicago?

What CPS-specific resources (websites, people, etc.) can you recommend that
related to literacy coaching?