Second-Year Teacher, First-Year Data Team
Mr. Reyes is in his second year teaching sixth grade English language arts at a K-8 building. His content knowledge is strong; his unit plans are well sequenced and his writing conferences are praised by the literacy coach. In the first nine weeks he wrote 14 office discipline referrals, ten of them for talking during transitions and 'not following directions,' all in the last ten minutes of the period. His students' fall-to-winter benchmark growth was plus 2 percentile points, while the sixth grade team averaged plus 11. His evaluator noted 'inconsistent routines' in the first formal observation. When the coach suggested a tight transition routine, Mr. Reyes said, 'That works with her kids, not mine,' and declined to have her model a lesson. He is on a limited contract and has two formal observations remaining.
1. Diagnose what is driving the gap between Mr. Reyes's planning strength and his student outcomes.
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The data point to a routine and time-management problem, not a planning problem. Three facts support this. Ten of the 14 referrals occurred in the last ten minutes of the period - a predictable, recurring window, not random disruption. They were written for talking during transitions and not following directions, which are precisely the moments when routines either carry a class or fail. And his benchmark growth of plus 2 diverges from the team's plus 11 despite strong unit plans, which suggests the plans are not being delivered with enough time on task. On a 50-minute period, ten lost minutes is a third of the lesson.
The comment 'that works with her kids, not mine' deserves to be taken seriously rather than treated as pure resistance. It may reflect a real mismatch - different class composition, or a routine that assumes materials and spacing he does not have. It may also be a face-saving way to avoid trying something that could fail in front of a coach. Both readings call for the same move: make the first step small, concrete, and observable, so it is not a referendum on him.
2. Design a coaching sequence for the next six weeks and explain how it addresses his resistance.
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Six weeks, one focus, four steps.
Week 1: the coach asks to observe the final ten minutes only, with no rubric, and together they count how many minutes are lost and at which points. Data from his own room, not hers.
Week 2: co-design one routine - a two-minute closing countdown with a posted three-step dismissal (materials away, agenda copied, seats) - and rehearse it. One routine, not a management overhaul.
Weeks 3 and 4: the coach observes twice weekly and gives one specific note each time. Offer modeling again, but as a swap: the coach teaches his class while he watches for the closing routine, so he is not being replaced in front of his students.
Weeks 5 and 6: compare referrals in the final ten minutes and estimate time on task.
On resistance: give him a choice among two or three routines rather than one prescription. That preserves autonomy while still changing practice. And do not lead with the benchmark data in a defensive moment; lead with the minute count he helped produce, because people defend conclusions they did not generate and examine conclusions they did.
3. How should the coach and the evaluator coordinate so that support does not become a paper trail?
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Separate support from evaluation on paper and in practice. The coach's informal notes should not be shared with the evaluator unless Mr. Reyes chooses; the evaluator should see only what any evaluator sees - formal observations and the agreed growth plan. If coaching notes become evidence in a dismissal case, no teacher in the building will invite a coach in again, and the coaching function dies for everyone, not just him.
Where the two must coordinate is the goal. If his evaluation cycle already names classroom routines, the coaching focus and the evaluation focus should be the same goal, so he is not doing two jobs with two sets of language. The evaluator can say, 'I will look at the closing routine during the spring observation' - that is fair notice and also a signal that the support is meant to work.
Flag the timeline honestly. Two formal observations remain; if six weeks of genuine, documented support produce no movement, the building has a decision to make, and it should be made on evidence the teacher has seen alongside the coach all along.