What is a “Math Coach”?

From 2008-2011, I served as a “math coach” in Pennsylvania.  The position was grant-funded, and there were no guarantees (or expectations, frankly) that the position would last beyond the first year.  The timing was perfect – I had been at home with my son for his first 3 little years, and we *both* were ready for a change of scenery.  As he toddled off to daycare/preschool, I read “The Math Coach Field Guide” while I waited to be approved by the school board and start my new job.  I was pumped!

My role was very specific, which helped a *lot* in defining my days.  I worked primarily with teachers who were elementary certified and were teaching Pre-Algebra to grade 6 advanced students or Algebra 1 to grade 7 advanced students.  I was there to help with content, lesson planning, creating resources and assessments, co-teaching, and modeling lessons.  I administered, scored, and tracked assessment data.  I worked with some of the kindest and most cooperative teachers around, from new-to-the-profession teachers to I’m-retiring-next-year teachers.  We had a 1:1 laptop initiative at the time, which made the experience that much more amazing.  The students were “our” students.  Though I didn’t have my own classroom, I still felt that sense of relationship and ownership since my role was so focused.

We had a 6-day-cycle model, so I’d spend 3 consecutive days at each of the two schools I served, staying in contact with the teachers at the other campus, and sharing resources with them across town.  It was a precious time in my career.

Year 3, the grant funding disappeared, but a unique set of circumstances found me serving at a third middle school in the same district the following fall.  I thought my time of employment was ending, and instead, I had a new batch of teachers to work with.  Every morning, I had my very own Algebra 1 class first period, and the rest of my day was dedicated to a math coaching role.  This time, I worked with all math teachers in grades 6, 7 and 8 who’d have me, rather than only working with Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1.  I worked in an emotional support class once a week and was treated like a celebrity.  I worked with teachers who would love nothing more than for my perky self to exit their not-so-sunny space, teachers who embraced co-teaching from day 1, and teachers who were happy to have me stay by the sidelines as they ran 100% of the show 100% of the time.  The classroom is a very personal space, and my role varied greatly from classroom to classroom, but I did my best.

I also started to remember how much I adored having my own classroom.  That crew of Algebra 1 students that was *all mine* made me think that if my “coaching” days came to an end, it would be a welcome transition for me.  And that’s exactly what happened the following year.

I credit my years as a “math coach” and my supervisor at the time, Julie Victory, with helping me see the value in blogging.  I was required to keep a log of my days as documentation, and what began as merely a recorded schedule morphed into a reflective document that I still enjoy reading every now and again.  The only math blogger I knew of during that timeframe was Dan Meyer, and even though I was composing a daily log, I never saw my daily happenings as worth sharing with a readership.  In time, as blogging seemed to become more of a “thing” I landed here.

Every educator in a “coaching” position has a unique role and set of circumstances.  I’ve wanted to compare notes with others who serve in this type of position, so I tossed a Google Form out to Twitter.

* Responders serve anywhere from 1 to 40 schools.

* About 1/3 of responders also teach their *own* students while roughly 2/3 of responders do not teach any classes of their own.  (I always wonder about this – for me, having one class of my own every day made me feel so much more connected)

* Responders have many responsibilities!

Here’s the Google spreadsheet with snappy graphs in the tabs (compliments of @MrVaudrey – colorful charts are kind of his thing). At the time of this post, I had 13 unique responders, and I hope more folks contribute.  I’d follow every one of these fine folks on Twitter if I were you. 🙂  Still want to contribute to the spreadsheet?  Here’s the Google Form.