Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching What Every K-12 Coach and School Leader Needs to Know

Insights, ideas, and inspiration to keep student learning at the center of instructional coaching

Diane Sweeney and Leanna Harris, whose best-selling books have influenced the practice of thousands of K-12 coaches, frame how Student-Centered Coaching serves as an evidence-based model of professional learning that focuses on student outcomes. Shifting the focus from "fixing" teachers to partnering with them to reach goals for student learning takes coaching to the heart of what matters most in schools. The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching includes all-new material that is grounded in the latest research and the authors’ extensive experience in the field of coaching. In it, readers will find

• An emphasis on how coaching can be asset-based and focused on equity
• Current research in adult learning and professional development
• Examples of how to integrate curriculum into coaching cycles
• Anecdotes that illustrate what Student-Centered Coaching looks like across grade levels and content areas

Designed to accompany Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves (Corwin, 2017) and Leading Student-Centered Coaching (2019), The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching provides the reader with a clear vision for how coaching can promote both teacher and student learning.

"In an honest and heartfelt voice, Diane and Leanna provide guidance and practical advice to help coaches navigate the complexities associated with their role. Diane and Leanna′s passion to ensure that student learning stays at the center of improvement work is evident throughout this book as they paint a path of implementation for coaching that will help educators in realizing collective impact."

--Jenni Donohoo, Author and Consultant

Diane Sweeney has been an author and educational consultant since 1999.  The author of Moves for Launching a New Year of Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, 2022), Student-Centered Coaching from a Distance (Corwin, 2021), The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, 2020), Leading Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, 2018), and Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves (Corwin, 2016), Diane holds a longstanding interest in how adult learning translates to learning in the classroom. Diane holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Denver and a Master’s in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After teaching and coaching in the Denver Public Schools, Diane served as a program officer at the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) in Denver. Since then, she has become a respected voice in the field of coaching and professional development.

Leanna Harris is the author of The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, 2020) and Student-Centered Coaching:The Moves (Corwin, 2016). She has worked as a teacher, coach, and consultant across grades K-12 and currently works with Diane Sweeney Consulting to help schools and districts implement student-centered coaching. Her work is based upon the belief that professional development for teachers is most effective when it is grounded in outcomes for student achievement - for every child, every day.

Leanna is a passionate skier and cyclist. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and three kids.