Who is Kaitlin working with and why?

I work with corps members who can benefit from intense interventions at any point of the year
so that their students can be set up to achieve their classroom and personal visions. RTTC has
been proven to be MOST effective with teachers who are "high will" - in other words, teachers
who are super gung-ho about receiving coaching. We will prioritize CMs to RTTC based on:
--- level of interest
--- your perception of how urgently you need RTTC
--- MTLD recommendations (if your MTLD recommends you for RTTC, s/he will let you
know and there is a no opt out policy, meaning that if your MTLD recommends you,
you must participate in RTTC)
--- geography (if we're coaching 11 people in one district, we will prioritize a 12th person
in that district over 1 person in another district)
Please note that because there are about 100 CMs in our region, I will (sadly) not be able to
coach everybody. Signing up now does not *guarantee* that you will be coached, nor does it
mean that I am coming to your classroom right away. Your responses below will help me
prioritize and schedule coaching sessions for the course of the entire school year. You will hear
from me by the first of the month following your signup and/or referral by your MTLD, and in
many cases much sooner.
RTTC Expectations
How does Kaitlin partner with my MTLD and me?
Either your MTLD or you will have the opportunity to request an RTTC to work with you because
additional, targeted support is warranted to put your classroom and students on a path to
achieving your classroom vision. This includes everything from struggling classrooms to goodto-great coaching. Some of that work involves creating the right classroom environment,
enforcing/reinforcing expectations, building relationships, etc.
What are the RTTC cycles like? Whats the time frame?
The Real Time Coaching process will look something like this:
Week 1, Day 1 (Tuesday):
20 minute pre-conference (this must happen the day before or the morning of
your coaching session)
20 minute coaching session (this happens while youre teaching)
20 minute debrief (this must happen the day of your coaching session)
Week 1, Day 2 (Thursday):
10 minute pre-conference (this must happen the day before or the morning of
your coaching session-this can happen via telephone)
20 minute coaching session (this happens while youre teaching)
20 minute debrief (this must happen the day of your coaching session)
Weeks 2-4ish are more or less a repeat of Week 1 (with minor changes to the timing of preconferences). Most CMs will require between 2-6 cycles of coaching before exiting.

What can I expect of my RTTC? What does she expect of me?

RTTC

Short term support of corps member in tandem with MTLD building the class closer
towards its vision

No nonsense nurturer style of coaching

Intense, supportive coaching cycles (pre-coaching call, coaching, and debrief

meeting)

Sets clear short term goals and plan of action to achieve with corps member and
checks in with MTLD

Continuous communication with MTLDs (cc-ing email, updates to Program Tracker,

etc)

Follows up on progress towards goal during coaching cycle with CM & MTLD

Responds to phone calls within 24 business hours

Responds to emails within 48 business hours

RTTC business hours are Monday-Thursday 7AM 7PM and Friday 9 AM- 3PM.
CM

Complete pre-work before beginning coaching cycles (pre-work can be accessed in

the resources page of this website).
Willingly partners with RTTC during coaching cycles
Complete homework 100% of the time following each RTTC session
Sets clear short-term goals with RTTC
Communicates any schedule changes with RTTC at least 24 hours in advance or as
soon as changed occur via phone or text
Commits to implementing next steps set forth by RTTC
cc: MTLD on email communication with RTTC and cc: RTTC on email
communication with MTLD during coaching cycles
Responds to phone calls within 24 business hours
Responds to emails within 48 business hours

3. Would you (the coach) be talking in my ear the whole time?

No, I will only coach in your classroom for 20 minutes. We develop shared cues, so that I am
giving you cues on what to do (for example, narrate is cue). If it is needed, or if you prefer, I will
give you lines (For example, Chris is silently answering number 3.). We will figure out what is
best for you. I wont talk when you are talking, I will try not to talk when you are listening to
students. I will do my best to find pauses.
4. Im nervous about my students reactions. What will they think?
Your students wont mind, as long as you dont try to hide the walkie-talkie. It will be obvious.
What you say is Just like a quarterback has a coach in his ear, I have a coach in mine. I am
trying to be the best teacher for you. If you have questions you can ask me after class. (We will
practice this framing together.) This normalizes the idea of having a coach in your ear, and
models for students how you want them to do what it takes to improve their own practice. Ive
never been in a classroom where the walkie has become more of a distraction than the
students behavior in class. The only time where it did become an issue was when the teacher
didnt tell the students why I was there.

5. Will the students hear you? Or know that you are coaching on management?
I do my best to make sure they do not. I cover my mouth if I am close to them. There have been
only a few times, when I had to sit with students given the space of the room, but I talked to
them about it and theyve all been ok with it. Once I did have a student ask if I could tell the
teacher to give him a point too :). So adorable. Students dont know that I am coaching on
classroom management unless you tell them. Some students might figure it out given some of
the changes theyll see on your end, but if you are consistent when I leave, they wont be able to
tell.
6. What if I cant concentrate on all the things I have to do with having someone in my
ear?
As a teacher, there are a ton of decisions you have to make at any given time. Where do you
stand, what do you say, which students are with you, etc. I am there to help you prioritize that
thinking so that 100% of students are with you.
7. Is this anything like Real Time Teacher Coaching at Institute/Cue Card Coaching at
institute?
Unless you had a walkie-talkie in your ear, or a certified Real Time Teacher Coach working you,
then this is different. Some people at institute received cue-card coaching. This can be
challenging because its not always clear communication and it can take away from your
concentration if you arent looking at the back. While there are a lot of benefits to this cue-card
coaching, Real Time Teacher Coach has been proven to be much more effective.
8. Does this work for students in special education?
Yes, like any student, you need to know them. So you will need to know if they react to their
name being called, what is in their IEP etc. Ultimately we hold our students to high expectations.
If they have an IEP, that means we might need to give them different support to help them meet
those expectations. If needed, I might spend time in your classroom before I coach, in case the
students need to know more about who I am. This is a case-by-case basis, but ultimately its
about being the coach that YOU need, so you can be the best teacher for YOUR students.

9. How have CMs reacted to RTTC in the past?

See the testimonials page of this website!