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Instructional Coaches

Can someone explain to me why we have instructional coaches? What is their actual job? My understanding is that they go into classes and then teach the teachers how to teach. I am sincerely asking if this is correct- not trying to start a big argument about instructional coaches. I just don't understand why we have teachers whose sole job is to teach the teachers how to teach. Shouldn't the teachers we hire already know how to teach? Do they have these coaches in all districts?

Re: Instructional Coaches

You are correct teachers should know how to teach. Its to get their friends the new title. CT hires teachers for no pay because they have NO experience. This is why no one is coming to Melrose to teach and so many are leaving the schools.

Re: Instructional Coaches

The paras need to run a special election for president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. This is how to get the union back with a election. Not one person can do this themselves. You want to have good honest people to run the union and not people that will run to management.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Sincere Question
Can someone explain to me why we have instructional coaches? What is their actual job? My understanding is that they go into classes and then teach the teachers how to teach. I am sincerely asking if this is correct- not trying to start a big argument about instructional coaches. I just don't understand why we have teachers whose sole job is to teach the teachers how to teach. Shouldn't the teachers we hire already know how to teach? Do they have these coaches in all districts?



You do not need job coaches in Melrose you are correct.

Re: Instructional Coaches

You hire instructional coaches when you have hired a plethora of teachers who don't know what they are doing. Melrose can't attract qualified teachers, so we are left with the dregs that no one else wants. None of this will change until Taymore and her cabal are gone. Despite all the "exemplary" ratings handed out by the Doughboy and that collection of nitwits on the SC, her reputation in the education community is such that good candidates avoid Melrose like the plague. All the fake awards and exemplary ratings in the world can't change that, and the exodus of the few good teachers remaining will continue until the system is unrepairable by anybody.

Re: Instructional Coaches

There is an end to this road we're on if nothing changes. It's called receivership. How's that going to look on your resume, Rob?

Re: Instructional Coaches

special election
The paras need to run a special election for president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. This is how to get the union back with a election. Not one person can do this themselves. You want to have good honest people to run the union and not people that will run to management.


We just had a president who was in no way, shape, manner or form in management's pocket...EVER. As a matter of truth, management did everything they could to fire her, harass her, spread rumors, have brown noses work against her. Like her or not she did the job and did it well regardless of who or what she was representing. Many think management along with some brown nosers recent coup to rig an election got her out. What many didn't know she was stepping down. Yes the letter she sent out said most likely but verbally she was saying definitely. She wasn't playing her hand. You did a great job D. Thank you!!!!
We do have a new president L. I don't know her. I heard she's good friends with one or more of the brown nosers. But that's a rumor. Until or unless it's found to be true, I'll give her a shot and let's see how she does.
I don't know if that behind the scenes CT&MR election to put L in was valid or not. I find the use of school email server to inform paras questionable at best. I guess my friends and I were bright not enouch to participate in the charade. Maybe as the poster above states we should have a real election but one thing is for sure, if we give L a chance her true colors will come out soon enough. Let's hope she mowes forward and steers clear of the crowd who are working with CT and BC. I still can't get over the fact what those management-a$$kissing-traitors did. To go to CT and to plot this COUP goes again what UNION stands for. Not a one steppef up to the plate and took on a position. Cowards, everyone of you that was at Panera. I/we know who most of you chicken****$ are and the rest of the names will eventually come out. Watch out for M, G, K, K and J, most from mms.
PS I used the term brown noses as its the least offensive term I could think of but we know what you really are.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Question
special election
The paras need to run a special election for president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. This is how to get the union back with a election. Not one person can do this themselves. You want to have good honest people to run the union and not people that will run to management.


We just had a president who was in no way, shape, manner or form in management's pocket...EVER. As a matter of truth, management did everything they could to fire her, harass her, spread rumors, have brown noses work against her. Like her or not she did the job and did it well regardless of who or what she was representing. Many think management along with some brown nosers recent coup to rig an election got her out. What many didn't know she was stepping down. Yes the letter she sent out said most likely but verbally she was saying definitely. She wasn't playing her hand. You did a great job D. Thank you!!!!
We do have a new president L. I don't know her. I heard she's good friends with one or more of the brown nosers. But that's a rumor. Until or unless it's found to be true, I'll give her a shot and let's see how she does.
I don't know if that behind the scenes CT&MR election to put L in was valid or not. I find the use of school email server to inform paras questionable at best. I guess my friends and I were bright not enouch to participate in the charade. Maybe as the poster above states we should have a real election but one thing is for sure, if we give L a chance her true colors will come out soon enough. Let's hope she mowes forward and steers clear of the crowd who are working with CT and BC. I still can't get over the fact what those management-a$$kissing-traitors did. To go to CT and to plot this COUP goes again what UNION stands for. Not a one steppef up to the plate and took on a position. Cowards, everyone of you that was at Panera. I/we know who most of you chicken****$ are and the rest of the names will eventually come out. Watch out for M, G, K, K and J, most from mms.
PS I used the term brown noses as its the least offensive term I could think of but we know what you really are.


I ran into D yesterday. She was turning union papers over to the new president. I told her I was sorry to see her go. She said she was relieved and to give the new person a chance. She added if it doesn't work out elections are next spring but to be fair to the new president. Not a bad word to say about anyone. :(

Re: Instructional Coaches

What's Fair is the question. Nothing is fair there will ALWAY'S be snakes in the grass.

Re: Instructional Coaches

I would seek legal advice with the way union and management handled a tone of dislike to a officer. And had other union members disparaging against this officer as well.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Instructional coaches are just one more ploy by certain school districts to add one more layer of middle management. If you have a good curriculum, good curriculum directors, and good teachers, there should be no need for instructional coaches. Teachers who move into these positions are teachers who don't want to teach, but want to move into administration. I have taught 25 years in a very successful school district, and we have never had instructional coaches, and I daresay we never will need them. Get your act together, Cyndy, and hire qualified teachers.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Absurd
Get your act together, Cyndy, and hire qualified teachers.


Surely you jest. She doesn't hire qualified teachers. She drives them out.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Does anyone here understand what a "coach" is? Coaches are folks that help other folks improve and become better. Coaches are not just for the "poor performing" individuals, top professional athletes, business folks, performing arts, etc. use coaches all the time to become better. In baseball, there are hitting coaches, pitching coaches, etc. Golf players have coaches, tennis players have coaches, etc. Top business executives sometimes hire personal coaches to help them with presentation skills, self-marketing etc.

With respect to teachers, many teachers are good teachers, yes even at Melrose, and want to get better and improve their craft. Instructional coaches help them do this. Instructional Coaches can come into the classroom and make observations, report what they see to teacher, and make suggestions on what to improve and how to do this. ALL TEACHERS can benefit with some level of instructional coaching, not just the "bad teachers" that people think Melrose only hires.

People don't go into teaching for the money or the hours. They go into it because they have an interest and passion for educating and inspiring the next generation. This is their goal and most want to do it to their best ability. Instructional Coaches are another part of the tool box that can be used to improve a teacher's effectiveness.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Tell me another profession where these so-called coaches are paid for by tax dollars - dollars that could be spent hiring teachers who are actually qualified. Jacka$$.

Re: Instructional Coaches

http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/teachersalaries.aspx?mode=&year=2015&orderBy=AVERAGE%20DESC

The Melrose community apparently doesn't want to pay its teachers as well as most other Massachusetts communities. Maybe this is the reason that Melrose has "poor, unqualified teachers", because if you equate "performance" with pay, then there is your answer.

The citizens of Melrose, and it's collection of "know-it-all Monday morning, arm chair educators and school board members", claim to value education and the need to attract and retain "quality" teachers, yet anytime there is a vote to approve monies to better the school system, specifically towards teacher salaries, it is shot down. Again, if you equate teacher performance with $, then maybe that is your answer.



Re: Instructional Coaches

Are low salaries a part of the problem? Probably, but by far the major reasons Melrose can't attract quality personnel are the witch running the system, and the politics ridden backstabbing toxic environment she creates. In case your head is enclosed in a stainless steel box, you have to know that the word is out - no one wants to work here, and salaries are not the main reason. That's why we get the dregs who need "coaching".

Who's ultimately responsible for this? That boob in the Mayor's office, our very own "education expert", who is totally incapable of admitting he made a mistake. Instead, all we hear is how incredibly wonderful things are, and how exemplary she is. Please.

Re: Instructional Coaches

All true. Maybe if Melrose would:

1. stop spending millions on feelgood stuff that makes no educational difference,
like that useless learning commons
2. get rid of the Super and her cronies and get someone who knows what they are
doing, doesn't play favorites, and cares more about actually educating instead
of spending all their time making it appear that's what they're doing

then people might not be so averse to putting more money into the system. As long as the people running things, and that includes the Mayor, who never should have been allowed to weasel his way onto the SC (the SC - another bag of worms), remain, that's not going to happen. Enough is enough.

Re: Instructional Coaches

I do not agree on having coaches because a brand new teacher comes into the schools not even sure if she wants to be a teacher yet. The reason they wait 3years to get tenure is to make sure this is going to be there career.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Most teachers will leave around the first 5 years of teaching. Some hope this is the career they want and find out different. So why waste money on the first year teachers. This is a study on teachers that come and go. When the teachers become coaches they are no longer in the union also.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Spare Me This Crap
Are low salaries a part of the problem? Probably, but by far the major reasons Melrose can't attract quality personnel are the witch running the system, and the politics ridden backstabbing toxic environment she creates. In case your head is enclosed in a stainless steel box, you have to know that the word is out - no one wants to work here, and salaries are not the main reason. That's why we get the dregs who need "coaching".

Who's ultimately responsible for this? That boob in the Mayor's office, our very own "education expert", who is totally incapable of admitting he made a mistake. Instead, all we hear is how incredibly wonderful things are, and how exemplary she is. Please.




Who do u mean Ms. Taymore? You did not hear her new name is Ms. Paymore.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Absurd
Instructional coaches are just one more ploy by certain school districts to add one more layer of middle management. If you have a good curriculum, good curriculum directors, and good teachers, there should be no need for instructional coaches. Teachers who move into these positions are teachers who don't want to teach, but want to move into administration. I have taught 25 years in a very successful school district, and we have never had instructional coaches, and I daresay we never will need them. Get your act together, Cyndy, and hire qualified teachers.


This is a smart teacher that needs no coaching in Melrose keep up the good work.

Re: Instructional Coaches

The post that Prof. Correctipa is incorrect the spelling is correct. Watch your post.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Spare Me This Crap
Are low salaries a part of the problem? Probably, but by far the major reasons Melrose can't attract quality personnel are the witch running the system, and the politics ridden backstabbing toxic environment she creates. In case your head is enclosed in a stainless steel box, you have to know that the word is out - no one wants to work here, and salaries are not the main reason. That's why we get the dregs who need "coaching".

Who's ultimately responsible for this? That boob in the Mayor's office, our very own "education expert", who is totally incapable of admitting he made a mistake. Instead, all we hear is how incredibly wonderful things are, and how exemplary she is. Please.



You should run for office in Melrose we need a strong voice.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Is she related to Ms. Hogan the superintendents secretary? I already know were this is going its not what you know its who you know. Always in Melrose this is the standard in placing family members.

Re: Instructional Coaches

EH coaches
Is she related to Ms. Hogan the superintendents secretary? I already know were this is going its not what you know its who you know. Always in Melrose this is the standard in placing family members.


I don't know if they're related or not but she's one nasty woman. Most dread if they have to deal with her on an insurance matter. I know if you're in the room where payroll staff are and Donna enters or is near they shut up. If you're speaking they quietly say Diane's there. Shhhh. She reports everything, a sneak. I can't even say the death of her husband made her bitter as she's always been nasty. You'd think she had some degree to feel so high and mighty. So when Paymore reads this Donna will be rewarded as being a total jerk to personnel wins you brownie points.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Hogan is no hero
EH coaches
Is she related to Ms. Hogan the superintendents secretary? I already know were this is going its not what you know its who you know. Always in Melrose this is the standard in placing family members.


I don't know if they're related or not but she's one nasty woman. Most dread if they have to deal with her on an insurance matter. I know if you're in the room where payroll staff are and Donna enters or is near they shut up. If you're speaking they quietly say Diane's there. Shhhh. She reports everything, a sneak. I can't even say the death of her husband made her bitter as she's always been nasty. You'd think she had some degree to feel so high and mighty. So when Paymore reads this Donna will be rewarded as being a total jerk to personnel wins you brownie points.


Yes, EH is DH aunt so there you go. DK is a social climber and when the word was out that BC was going to be the next superintendent, she was all over him. Hopefully, they clean the swamp in the central office with a new superintendent. PWL, MA and BC are still wanting this position. If they place one of them, the city will go further down the tubes. This system needs to change or the tax payers are in big trouble. DH needs to go with a new super also, she has been there long enough and is very mean.[8-)]

Re: Instructional Coaches

More Clueless BS
Does anyone here understand what a "coach" is? Coaches are folks that help other folks improve and become better. Coaches are not just for the "poor performing" individuals, top professional athletes, business folks, performing arts, etc. use coaches all the time to become better. In baseball, there are hitting coaches, pitching coaches, etc. Golf players have coaches, tennis players have coaches, etc. Top business executives sometimes hire personal coaches to help them with presentation skills, self-marketing etc.

With respect to teachers, many teachers are good teachers, yes even at Melrose, and want to get better and improve their craft. Instructional coaches help them do this. Instructional Coaches can come into the classroom and make observations, report what they see to teacher, and make suggestions on what to improve and how to do this. ALL TEACHERS can benefit with some level of instructional coaching, not just the "bad teachers" that people think Melrose only hires.

People don't go into teaching for the money or the hours. They go into it because they have an interest and passion for educating and inspiring the next generation. This is their goal and most want to do it to their best ability. Instructional Coaches are another part of the tool box that can be used to improve a teacher's effectiveness.


You have a lovely vision of the process, but I can tell you from experience that this ideal is not what happens in most of the schools with these coaches. Instead, there is often resentment toward the coaches from teachers who feel that someone not much more qualified (or even less experienced) is coming in to tell them how they should do things differently. The veteran teachers in many cases hate this model. The younger teachers often come to see the coach as someone who could potentially get them in trouble with administration. Subsequently, they just do whatever the coach tells them. This does not help a teacher reach his or her potential. To be great, a teacher has to discover her own style, and be free to experiment with different methods in class without feeling under scrutiny from someone who has been given authority, but not really. A much, much better model that many schools employ is cross-visits, or peer observations, where teachers are given time to visit the classrooms of other teachers and actually see how other people teach in the moment. They see things they want to try to emulate in their own classrooms, and feel free to do try new things without someone coming in to tell them what they are doing wrong. A previous poster noted that instructional coaching is just a fancy way of saying middle management, and I tend to agree. It is very easy for a school system to say, "See, we hired a few instructional coaches, so now the teaching quality is being monitored, and we don't have to think about it anymore." It is much harder to implement a program of peer observation and support it so that people can truly develop diverse skills and become the best teachers they can be.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Reality Check
It is very easy for a school system to say, "See, we hired a few instructional coaches, so now the teaching quality is being monitored, and we don't have to think about it anymore."


You are exactly right, except you probably could have added "and neither should you" at the end, because that's what Taymore is doing - trying to convince people that improvements are being made. Unfortunately you can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, or put more crudely, you can't turn **** into ice cream.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Another Smoke Screen
Reality Check
It is very easy for a school system to say, "See, we hired a few instructional coaches, so now the teaching quality is being monitored, and we don't have to think about it anymore."


You are exactly right, except you probably could have added "and neither should you" at the end, because that's what Taymore is doing - trying to convince people that improvements are being made. Unfortunately you can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, or put more crudely, you can't turn **** into ice cream.
Improvements will come whan the superintendent is no longer working for the city of Melrose.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Family
Another Smoke Screen
Reality Check
It is very easy for a school system to say, "See, we hired a few instructional coaches, so now the teaching quality is being monitored, and we don't have to think about it anymore."


You are exactly right, except you probably could have added "and neither should you" at the end, because that's what Taymore is doing - trying to convince people that improvements are being made. Unfortunately you can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, or put more crudely, you can't turn **** into ice cream.
Improvements will come whan the superintendent is no longer working for the city of Melrose.



The damage is already done in Melrose.

Re: Instructional Coaches

No surprises here.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Kristie
As a parent at Roosevelt I can tell you EH is the best teacher my children have ever had. I am disappointed that my youngest will not get her this year. Whether she is related to some cranky, glorified secretary or not is irrelevant. Ask any parent whose child has had her. If she was asked to coach it was because of her teaching excellence and intelligence. I have never encountered a teacher so well read. Before we continue to degrade these highly qualified people please know who you are talking about.
I'm sure jealousy has something to do with the posts. From what I hear the coaching job is no picnic. It's not more money and it is still in the union..
Improvements will come whan the superintendent is no longer working for the city of Melrose.

Re: Instructional Coaches

I am a employee at the Melrose schools and reading your post is totally a laugh. EH, is ecstatic to be leaving the Roosevelt, Roosey Bunch, and MM. The only mistake is that you mentioned it is not irrelevant that she is related to Diane Hogan? It is truly irrelevant but it depends on Erin, to use her expertise to prove she has the capabilities to succeed. Yes, the Roosevelt is full of jealous women in the school that is correct.

Re: Instructional Coaches

Are you kidding me! It's not what you know it's who you know. Let's be real...

Re: Instructional Coaches

Spare Me This Crap
Are low salaries a part of the problem? Probably, but by far the major reasons Melrose can't attract quality personnel are the witch running the system, and the politics ridden backstabbing toxic environment she creates. In case your head is enclosed in a stainless steel box, you have to know that the word is out - no one wants to work here, and salaries are not the main reason. That's why we get the dregs who need "coaching".

Who's ultimately responsible for this? That boob in the Mayor's office, our very own "education expert", who is totally incapable of admitting he made a mistake. Instead, all we hear is how incredibly wonderful things are, and how exemplary she is. Please.



The teachers in the MPS are under paid. Not many great qualified teachers will apply in Melrose for that reason. CT remarks are" I can get 2 teachers for your 1 salary."