An article co-authored by two local educators in School Administrator, the national magazine of The School Superintendents Association, describes the Long Beach Unified School District’s use of coaching as an effective, research-based method of developing leaders within the organization.
“Coaching as a Way of Being” appears in the magazine’s September edition and is co-authored by Jill Baker and Kelly An. Baker is LBUSD’s deputy superintendent of schools, and An is leadership development director for the school district.
LBUSD has spent more than a decade building programs for teacher leaders, aspiring administrators, principals and, most recently, central office leaders.
“In Long Beach, coaching is now a way of being,” the article states. “Professional growth has been transformed from an isolated activity benefiting a few teachers who happened to be part of an induction program to a cornerstone of district culture and the basis of performance expectations across the 72,000-student school system.”
The article notes that a study published this year by RAND showed that district programs for growing new principals, including via coaching, are cost-effective ways to improve student performance and retain principals.
