JUST CHECKING IN...

     Hey I-Team! I hope this month of April finds you well. So this month I thought I'd take time to remind everyone about the importance of "checking in". I remember a few months ago when I called our handyman who has done work around the house over the years. I hadn't heard from him in a while and I just thought I' give him a call to see how he was doing. When he answered the phone, he was sure I was calling to set up a day that he could come to the house to do another fabulous room renovation. But to his surprise, I told him that I was just checking in to see how he was doing. He thanked me for calling, then he went on to tell me that he had been down for a couple of weeks but that he was back on the mends. Before our called ended, he thanked me again for calling to check in to see how he was doing.     
     That short conversation with our family handyman made me reflect on how I've been able to build productive relationships with the teachers I coach. By intentionally making it my business to check in with them regularly, I've found that it's made it easier to learn more about how they like to be coached and what works best for them in terms of the autonomy of their instructional goals/practices.
In the latest episode of the Intentional Instruction Podcast, I talk about specific things that I do as an Instructional Coach to make my weekly check in with classroom teachers meaningful for everyone. Interested in listening to the episode? Head on over to the podcast or better yet, just click here to check it out.

​  The Intentional Toolkit
Inside the Intentional Toolkit I've also included a few articles that are timely and are connected to the blog and podcast discussion. To access them just click on the toolkit at the bottom of this page. From there you'll be able to open the PDF. I also created an infographic that shows you some of the topics I include in my weekly check in with teachers. You can grab that infographic by clicking here. As always, I hope you find these resources useful.

     Well that's all for now. But if you don't take anything else away from this post or the podcast episode, please remember to take good care of yourself and others. You'll be surprised what a difference a phone call, text, or brief face-to-face conversation makes! Until next time, go out there and be GREAT!