Leading Leaders

Benchmark – Developing and Coaching an Instructional Leader

Introduction

In my role as a developing school administrator, I had the opportunity to complete a coaching cycle with a novice instructional leader as part of a field experience that emphasized the development of instructional leadership capacity and distributed leadership. Through pre-conferencing, observing, and post-conferencing a kindergarten lesson, I collaborated with both a novice leader and a mentor administrator to promote reflective feedback, strengthen leadership practice, and ultimately improve teaching and learning on our campus.

Coaching Experience Summary

As part of this assignment, I observed a lesson in Mrs. Oulton’s kindergarten classroom alongside Mrs. Cartrette, a novice instructional leader. With just two and a half weeks of school left, I was impressed by the high standards of learning still upheld in our school. The lesson focused on phonics and writing, and it reflected our school culture of academic rigor. Mrs. Oulton’s willingness to be observed at such a late stage in the year demonstrated professional respect and a commitment to instructional growth.

During the pre-conference, Mrs. Cartrette and I discussed the focus of the observation and clarified her goals for the feedback she would later deliver to the teacher. After the observation, we engaged in a thoughtful post-conference, where we discussed the strengths and areas of growth in the lesson. While she offered praise for student engagement and energy, I would have focused more heavily on classroom management and ensuring effective instructional time use. I shared specific strategies such as proximity to students, effective use of visual and physical cues, and increasing opportunities for student independence in writing. These are vital to maintain instructional momentum, especially at the end of the school year when learning time is precious.

This coaching experience helped me develop and supervise instructional leadership by modeling reflective practice, guiding feedback aligned to student outcomes, and encouraging observation-based growth. As noted by Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2018), effective instructional supervision centers on coaching rather than evaluating, fostering a culture where leaders and teachers grow together.

Developing Leadership to Enhance Instructional Time

Our school’s mission prioritizes student learning and character growth. Leadership development directly supports this goal. When we equip leaders like Mrs. Cartrette with tools for meaningful feedback and instructional support, we expand our school’s ability to drive academic achievement. Distributed leadership ensures that student learning remains the focus of organizational time.

Each teacher leader who develops coaching, mentoring, or decision-making skills increases the capacity of the school to sustain quality instruction. This aligns with research by Leithwood et al. (2020), which found that leadership development has a measurable impact on student achievement by fostering a more responsive and collaborative school environment.

Distributed Leadership Structure and Recommendations

Currently, our school uses a distributed leadership model that includes team leads at each grade level, teachers presenting during professional development (PD) days, and several emerging committees. While this structure provides opportunities for collaboration and leadership, it lacks consistency and equity across grade levels.

To improve our distributed leadership structure, I recommend the following:

1. Model Effective PLCs – In the first quarter, administrators should model how a PLC should be run and provide support during team meetings. This would clarify expectations and equip team leads to foster collaboration and data-driven planning.
2. Increase Transparency and Trust – Open communication is vital. Currently, there are perceived inequities between grade levels, leading to broken trust. Clear communication and a shared commitment to professionalism would help restore team cohesion.
3. Promote a Growth Mindset – A reflective and supportive environment is essential to sustaining leadership. Administrators can reinforce this mindset by assisting during classroom observations and guiding post-observation discussions with reflective questions. These practices are beginning to take root under the leadership of my mentor, Mrs. Linker, whose servant leadership style fosters morale and avoids burnout.

These improvements will enhance the existing leadership model and help the school focus organizational time more effectively on student learning. As noted by Harris and Jones (2017), sustainable school improvement requires distributed leadership that is supported by trust, clarity, and continuous learning.

Instructional Feedback Reflection

During the observation of Mrs. Oulton’s lesson, I noticed opportunities for feedback that aligned with high-quality instruction. One area involved the use of songs and visual cues. While creative, the song “If You’re Happy and You Know It” incorporated dramatic actions like stomping or lying on the floor, which distracted students and reduced learning time. I would recommend that Mrs. Oulton reflect more intentionally on how visual or kinesthetic elements contribute to or detract from focus.

Additionally, while her modeling of writing was strong, more scaffolding was needed to transition students toward independence—especially at this stage in the school year. Encouraging more student-led writing would better reflect the developmental readiness of her students.

Lastly, classroom management could be strengthened through proximity. By positioning students closer on the rug, Mrs. Oulton could better maintain attention, model phonics instruction clearly, and minimize off-task behavior. Managing time and space effectively in early childhood classrooms is essential to maximizing learning (Tomlinson, 2014).

Conclusion

This coaching cycle deepened my understanding of instructional leadership and the importance of reflective, actionable feedback. Through this experience, I supported a novice leader while developing my own coaching skills. As a future administrator, I recognize that promoting distributed leadership and focusing organizational time on teaching and learning requires intentional support, trust-building, and clarity. By investing in leadership at all levels, schools can sustain a culture of excellence that directly benefits students.

References

Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2018). SuperVision and Instructional Leadership: A Developmental Approach (10th ed.). Pearson.

Harris, A., & Jones, M. (2017). Leading together: A Sense-Making Approach to Distributed Leadership. School Leadership & Management, 37(3), 255–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2016.1247044

Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2020). Seven Strong Claims about Successful School Leadership Revisited. School Leadership & Management, 40(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1596077

Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners (2nd ed.). ASCD.