"As a new supervisor next year, I am so very grateful to have attended The Art of Coaching Teams in-person workshop. I can set up a team with the foundational skills of building meaningful team agreements that will support all members being seen, heard, and valued. In addition, we can begin the year by building our team's emotional intelligence and learning practices for engaging in healthy conflict. By participating in the workshop, I know I have the capacity, tools, and resources to lead in a way that aligns with my core values as a human and educator."

Bright Morning participant

"The [Learning Library] skill session, How to Introduce Yourself to New Clients, helps you understand the importance of being thoughtful and intentional about introducing yourself to your clients/colleagues. In addition, you will have access to an invaluable template with key questions to help clarify and guide your thinking."

Bright Morning All-Inclusive Member

"This book is for every teacher, leader, coach, and educational practitioner who seeks to interrupt educational inequities. Elena shares her vulnerability and insights, embraces the power of emotions, and deepens our understanding so we can expand our skillsets—helping us to put relationship before task and keep equity at the core."

Tamisha Williams

Dean of Adult Equity & Inclusion, Lick-Wilmerding High School

"Elena Aguilar's Coaching for Equity is an accessible guidebook that pushes us beyond platitudes of equity to the essential ground of creating complex learning environments that demonstrate—every day—what it takes for all children to receive the educational experiences they deserve. Coaching for Equity is for all of us who have been hungry for guidance about how to gather our people, get past our fragility, and 'journey towards justice and liberation' as we work in service to all children."

Kimberly N. Parker

Shady Hill School and Co-Founder of #DisruptTexts

"With this framework, Elena Aguilar gives us a curriculum of hope that we can teach each other in our learning communities, detailing a path forward through the temptations of quitting and the dangers of burnout. This serves as a guide for everyone working in or with schools, to keep our best teachers strong for children who need us."

Shanna Peeples

2015 National Teacher of the Year

"Elena Aguilar brings to The PD Book a wealth of knowledge and expertise delivering high-quality learning experiences for teachers and leaders. Educators who design and deliver PD will gain unique, interesting, and pertinent insights from Aguilar's ideas, her research, and the tools she offers for making PD joyful, meaningful, and equitable."

Robert Ryshke

Former Executive Director of the Center for Teaching, Westminster

"Ever wonder how to craft the kind of PD that changes hearts, minds, and behaviors? Mystery solved. Elena and Lori provide us with the concrete knowledge, tools, and skills to create inspirational PD that ultimately transforms schools."

Jenn David-Lang

Editor, THE MAIN IDEA

"Arise provides a comprehensive roadmap for both veteran and aspiring coaches, empowering them to become agents of transformation in a world hungering for empathy, connection and healing. This book isn't merely suggested reading; it's essential. I'm personally buying copies for every coach I know, fully confident that it will enhance their practice and significantly elevate their impact!”

Meena Srinivasan

Executive Director of Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL) and Author of Teach, Breathe, Learn and SEL Every Day

“Principals, instructional coaches, and educational leaders will find Elena Aguilar’s book Arise essential to transforming themselves and their practice. This book empowers leaders to thrive by offering opportunities for deep reflection as well as accessible and actionable frameworks that expand our capacity to coach others. Arise will not only transform your practice, but will also create systemic change in educational systems we work in one coaching conversation at a time.”

Daisy Salazar-Garza

KIPP School Leader

Arise is a comprehensive resource for those committed to supporting pre-service teachers through collaborative coaching conversations. Elena’s guidance has transformed my approach to interacting with student teachers, creating conditions where self-awareness, equitable practices, and resilience flourish so that everyone involved can truly thrive.”

Kathrina Mendez

Lecturer & Supervisor of Elementary Education, University of California, San Diego

“Arise is a revelation. This book is an invaluable gift for coaches in any field, but particularly education, Arise isn’t a toolbox, it’s a profound invitation. It challenges and supports its readers to build and sustain relationships and communities that foster learning and belonging. In this beautiful, rejuvenating text, Elena Aguilar offers a blueprint for building a better world—one where every child is valued, every adult is a partner for transformation, and every human being’s dignity is treasured.”

Garrett Bucks

Author of The Right Kind of White and founder of The Barnraisers Project

"Aguilar’s Arise reminds us to trust teachers. In this book, her Transformative Coaching model is elevated as she reaffirms personhood as the path to creating the conditions that allow teachers to do their best thinking in pursuit of improving their practice.”

Zaretta Hammond

Teacher-educator and Author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain

“At a time when educational coaches are told they must help clients interpret data, navigate divisive politics, and implement revolving improvement initiatives, Elena Aguilar reminds us that just as effective educators strive to educate the whole child, we must support the whole adult educating the child. Arise is a brilliant, beautiful, and hopeful synthesis of Elena Aguilar’s prior work and experiences. It is the definitive guidebook to Transformational Coaching. If you want to coach people instead of initiatives, this book is for you.”

Brendan Wilson

Principal Coach, Anchorage School District

“This phenomenal book sets the bar high, calling in every educator and coach to recognize the power of showing up and removing barriers for students even if it requires our own shift, vulnerability, and discomfort. With Arise, Elena inspires all of us to create conditions for positive transformation for our students (and ourselves) to explore, learn, and thrive.”

Danielle Nava- Mijares

CEO & Educational Strategist, Nava Consulting LLC

“As a school principal, I find Arise to be a must-read, Transformative Coaching guide that sharply focuses on emotions, behaviors, and beliefs to establish systems that support effective coaching and staff development. This book is essential for every school leader committed to educational equity—every child, every day.”

James Allrich

Principal, Argyle Middle School; Maryland Principal of the Year (2023)

“Elena’s human-centered approach is revolutionary and offers an accessible path to the nuances of Transformational Coaching and a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.”

Angela Watson

Founder of TruthforTeachers.com

“Elena Aguilar has beautifully and cogently unpacked the ‘behind the scenes’ thinking and skills that will assist any coach who desires to transform education through her coaching conversations. With its use of real-world scenarios and practical coaching language supports, Arise will support every reader, no matter her role, in developing her coaching mindset (and skill set). Brava and thank you, Elena for another wonderful contribution to our field.”

Jennifer Abrams

Communications Consultant and author of several books, including Having Hard Conversations and Stretching Your Learning Edges: Growing (Up) at Work

“Arise should be required reading for all coaches and instructional leaders! It addresses the too often overlooked nuisances and soft skills of being an instructional coach head on, in an authentic way. It provides its readers with emotionally intelligent strategies and mindset shifts that are vital if you are serious about becoming a transformational coach.”

Deidra Fogarty

Black Girls Teach

“Arise is an incredible compilation of ALL Elena's best work. This book will help any coach or supervisor continually practice becoming a better coach for their team and help any organization get closer to actualizing the full potential of each human being. To ‘Arise’ means to put in the effective effort and reflection necessary to improve yourself as a coach and immensely transform the lives of those who work with one another to improve systems for all of us. If we believe in ourselves and others' desire to bring and become our best selves, we will all Arise!”

Shanie J. Keelean

Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Rush-Henrietta Central School District

“Elena has done it again. Arise is a literal masterpiece. Full of deeply personal reflections, radically supportive scripts, and loads of opportunities to explore one’s patterns, beliefs, and experiences, this book is a game-changer for any human being. I even used the strategies with my teenagers and partner; this content is not just applicable in a professional setting, but in a personal context as well.”

Maia Heyck-Merlin

Founder & CEO, The Together Group; author of The Together Teacher, The Together Leader, and The Together Teammate

“Since the pandemic, schools and organizations have often struggled to rebuild community and trust. Arise builds on the foundations of Elena Aguilar's impactful prior work, giving practical strategies and case studies to support the well-being of students, teachers, and administrators alike.”

Liz SoHyeon Kleinrock

Want change? No one knows more about leveraging the human side of change than Elena. In her deeply optimistic new book Arise, Elena shows how Transformational Coaching—yes, coaching that is literally transformational—is the key to improving teacher practice and creating a school community where we all thrive. This book is exactly what we need so our students and our schools can flourish.”

Jenn David-Lang

Founder, THE MAIN IDEA and Learn & Lead Masterminds

“The incomparable coach extraordinaire, Elena Aguilar, beautifully combines narrative, theory, and practice to guide educational leaders on how to center humanity, equity, and love in their coaching so that they can create the conditions for adults and students alike to thrive.”

Dena Simmons

Founder and Executive Director, LiberatED

“Elena Aguilar is the Queen of Educational Coaching; If you can only read one of her books, this is it. The term Transformational Coaching is not a catchphrase: this book guides us through a holistic process to transform the work and life of both the teacher and the coach to become more effective and more meaningful.”

Ron Berger

Author and Senior Advisor, EL Education

"This workshop made me reflect deeper about my leadership skills. I love that I was able to show up as myself, reflect on my strengths and weaknesses, and practice how I can continue improving as a human being and as a leader. Such a great experience that will forever impact in how I think, believe, and act moving forward."

Toni R.

"This training has not only provided me with resources to be a more effective coach, but has reaffirmed and validated me as a professional educator, to continue to lead with curiosity and compassion and ultimately positively impact the education of our children. Thank you."

Bright Morning participant

"This training breathed new life into my work as an instructional coach. I feel like I finally have the tools needed to fulfill my role."

Joe F.

"Transformational Coaching is a process that has the potential to enact lasting growth and change. There are so many valuable tools and times of reflection in the signature workshop. I highly recommend it to coaches and administration!"

Kaitlin W.

"I have been coaching for well over 15 years in various capacities and this training has reinvigorated my approach to how I build the capacity of others through coaching with effective strategies and tools."

Bright Morning participant

"Resilience is what creates strong educators. Onward Book Club has helped me develop my coaching skills and offered strategies to support school leaders."

Emily G.

"Artful Design & Facilitation really opened my eyes to the elements that can make trainings really transformational. The breakout group work was very intentional, and the participants were very engaging."

Junnue P.

"Coaching For Equity gave me so much HOPE! Hope that the transformations we need are possible and hope that I can learn and practice and have the conversations we all need to make those transformations in our schools happen. Thank you, Bright Morning team!"

Tina M.

"The Art of Coaching Teams workshop went beyond meeting my expectations. It felt so good to be part of a community of learners who wanted to be there and were so open and vulnerable with their contributions to the learning. I liked the role-playing best. It was scary, but it was impactful to practice real potential conversations in a low-stakes way. I really appreciate the learning experience and would take another Bright Morning course in a heartbeat."

Randi R.

"Hands-on practice in a supportive community is the best way to develop confidence and skills. I felt like a better coach after just the first Transformational Coaching session!"

Jeanne F.

"In The Art of Coaching Emotions, no one had a chance to hide behind rhetoric or jargon. We were working. Feelings were centered and truths were told. This is an executive level offering. I'm looking forward to future trainings. Thank you!"

Lavonne H.

"This podcast helps me feel connected to a group of other people who are doing the work, both internally and externally, that I am doing. It is not easy work. When I listen regularly, I have more to give to myself, my students, and my colleagues."

thewizt

"The workshop was so practical and inspiring. It is clear that Elena brings a deep well of joy and experience to coaching. The strategies she shared are practical and doable. I feel like I went from watching coaching sessions and thinking "Wow....I'll never know how to do that" to feeling empowered with some clear strategies, thoughts, and question ideas to begin my growth journey as a transformational coach!"

Erin M.

"This is one of the best workshops I have ever attended! The presenters were amazing and the content was relevant. There is so much I could say about this workshop! I feel educated, empowered, and rejuvenated through the open and honest conversations I had in the sessions!"

Christina

"You always create an environment where I feel I can process my thoughts and feelings. Things are engaging and teach me new ideas, and I especially enjoyed doing it with people I knew. I think it made it more meaningful."

Amy

"I loved the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion, build community with others, and take away concrete strategies and tools that I can implement in my school environment."

Basirat

"I just completed the learning experience and kudos to the instructors, set-up, format, and the energy provided to make it the best online training ever! Many thanks to the facilitators for bringing their A-Game to us each time we met. They were skilled in their crafts, personable, professional, patient, and passionate about helping us to embrace the concept of Transformational Coaching. I must say that I am more knowledgeable and confident about moving on as a literacy coach. Thank you for what has been an amazing journey so far."

Dorothy

"Elena’s presentation was fabulous, just as we expected! We are so grateful to her for her words of wisdom and the actionable steps she outlined for us in supporting and growing our resilience. We are also grateful to the Bright Morning Team for facilitating such a smooth process."

Inge

“Resilience is critical to navigating our current times. This keynote provides tangible anchors to nourish and develop resilience as we all support each other during a global pandemic and racial reckoning.”

Angela

“I cannot tell you how many people stopped me during the conference to share how meaningful your keynote message was to them. Thank you for helping open up a space in our network to have a more intentional, thoughtful, and explicit conversation about educational equity moving forward.”

Jim

"I’m so glad I got to binge on this podcast this long weekend before starting the new school year. It’s a niche that I have not found, and I find these episodes so enriching and rejuvenating. I feel more in community with other educators who are grappling with tough questions re: equity, leadership, etc. Thank you for your work, Elena!"

XWU1

"Elena Aguilar is a force in conversations about school leadership, teams, and equity. To read her books and attend her workshops is some of the best professional development you can ask for. Only one episode in, I can already tell these podcasts will stay with me for weeks, months, years, as I think about how we can build a more equitable world through schools. The hard work involves countless daily interactions and conversations, and Elena helps model and ask questions about how to do that best."

Surfing Librarian

surfinglibrarian

"I feel like each time we have our course, I walk away empowered, inspired, and with more tools to try in my coaching role. I am grateful to have the support from amazing coaches in my class. I think just having lots of time to role play is so beneficial to our practice!"

Annie S.

"One of the richest impacts has been the web of understanding that’s building around our district as four of the curricular leaders participate in this same membership AND as more and more of our staff members participate in other trainings (Art of Coaching Teams, Coaching for Equity and/or Taste of Coaching for Equity). Having a common frame of reference and range of experiences has changed my learning into a richer, deeper, more powerful community learning experience."

Rebecca L.

"Not only have I met my goals to deepen my coaching practice, but I’ve adapted many of Aguilar’s tools as standards/ guides for how we do coaching as an organization. Bright Morning really sets the bar for a comprehensive model for coaching teachers or really any role."

Molly D.

"After 35 years in education, I feel rejuvenated and that I have a new sense of purpose. I will be eternally grateful for Bright Morning. You have been there when I needed you the most and have provided me with immense opportunities for personal and professional growth. I am grateful for Elena and for the dedication of her team to create world-class trainings. I am humbled and blessed to have stretched and grown within the safety of this community."

Andrea M.

"In my experience, Bright Morning has always provided relevant, applicable, 'just-in-time' tools that have enabled me to build my practice on solid ground. My Bright Morning Membership has been the silver lining of my year. This offer has paid off exponentially. All learning experiences have added a new layer of understanding for me. Now that I’ve experienced the benefits of a year-long membership, I really can’t imagine going back to a 'once-a-year professional development' approach."

Yvonne V.

"I purchased an All-Inclusive Membership this year. My work to becoming a better coach has started with examining myself first, which has been amazing and supportive in my work with others. Elena and her team’s work supports and validates the readings in her books and workbooks. I would recommend anyone or school district in supporting this as an option for PD that is systematic and ongoing – allowing for the work to be utilized immediately within a coaching practice and school organization."

Ann F.

"Centering equity and systems of oppression are important to doing a lot of the work and as coaches we need to be able to acknowledge and name those things first to ourselves. I am also glad for the role play and opportunities to practice. I always walk away with practical skills and new understandings of myself as a coach and a leader."

Yom F.

Bright Morning member

“Elena and her team’s involvement in the development of our coaching program and training of our instructional coaching staff has been paramount to the success that we have seen and will continue to see. Working with them has been one of the best decisions we’ve made.”

Christina Wildhagen

Omaha Public Schools

“The thoughtfulness, flexibility, and depth of Bright Morning’s training complemented the thoroughness of Elena’s book. I deeply respect the compassion of their work and highly value the tools they have shared with me and my colleagues. We are better equipped to nurture, inspire, and patiently transform the schools we love.”

Aubrey Caldwell

Instructional Facilitator, Gaston County Schools, North Carolina

“Words cannot describe the impact Elena, her team and their program has had on myself, my clients and our classrooms across our region and the Teach for America organization as a whole. I am very excited to keep on practicing and getting better!”

Adam Morales

New teacher coach, Phoenix, AZ

“Onward provides school leaders an invaluable resource to enrich the lives of the teachers in their schools, keep them growing, and not have to replace them every year. Imagine leading when more people choose to follow because they trust you and are certain of your humanity! Onward provides principals with a manual to do so.”

Cheryl Beeson

Leadership Coach & Former Principal

“Elena Aguilar’s latest book, Onward, is a gift. It is grounded in current research and 20 + years of Ms. Aguilar’s experiences teaching and coaching. This book is a supportive and encouraging guide for how to better one’s self as a teacher, administrator and human being. Filled with practical, applicable ideas and inspiring stories, Onward fills a much-needed niche in the classic teacher library of how-to books which typically give advice that rests solely on classroom practices and instruction. Instead, this book focuses on making each teacher and administrator a better, stronger person, which, in turn, will make each of them a better stronger teacher and leader. With her focus on cultivating resilience, Aguilar is realistic: stress will never go away but strengthening our response to stress can bring more joy, deeper connections and increased personal satisfaction. Without a doubt, this book will change schools and lives for the better.”

Judith Wolochow

Veteran Educator

“Anyone who believes that a school’s student culture is only as strong as a school’s adult culture would greatly benefit from reading this book. The guidelines that Aguilar provides elevate the technical “how to” and offers adaptive moves for building a transformative community in any environment.”

Yanira Canizalez

Founding Head of School, Lodestar-A Lighthouse Community Charter Public School, Oakland, CA

“Drawing deeply on her lived experiences, Aguilar offers readers a path to leadership characterized by reflection, intention, and humility. In balancing the practical and profound, The Art of Coaching Teams lives up to its promise as a guide for leaders who seek to transform themselves and their teams.”

Brianna Crowley

High School Teacher and Instructional Coach, Hershey, PN

“Elena’s book provides leaders with a framework to create, coach and manage effective teams – with both compassion and clarity. The powerful personal anecdotes humanize a daunting process, and the detailed scripts allow for ample opportunities to practice.”

Maia Heyck-Merlin

Author, The Together Teacher and The Together Leader

“In The Art of Coaching Teams, Aguilar succeeds in translating her Transformational Coaching framework into a practical and heartening resource for all who coach and manage teams. She infuses 30+ years of research on emotional intelligence, team development, and leadership with her unique blend of empathy, clarity, and hope.”

Laurelin Andrade

Manager of Coaches

“Elena Aguilar’s book is an extremely practical guide to leading teams that doesn’t ignore the complexity of that important work. If you’re a coach who leads teams, this is a must read.”

Jim Knight

Author of Instructional Coaching: A Partnership to Improving Instruction

“There are many books on coaching, but this one you must have. Aguilar has written a comprehensive book on coaching that provides enormously useful ideas, concepts, and strategies in an extremely accessible form. This is one of the best books on coaching I have read and a book that will make anyone a better and more reflective leader.”

Kent D. Peterson

Emeritus Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Author of Shaping School Culture

“To produce drastic gains in the academic achievement levels of our students we need the strongest, most prepared teachers. The Art of Coaching provides concrete, actionable steps to move teachers along the continuum of excellence to meet this challenge head on.”

Heather Lechner

Turnaround School Leader, New Orleans, LA

“Elena Aguilar knows how to foster the bravery and humility teachers must have to transform their practices. Her methods will help coaches become the trusted, supportive forces we need in our teaching lives.”

Ariel Sacks

Teacher Leader and Education Writer, Brooklyn, NY

“This book challenges coaches to be fully intentional–with equal doses of care and rigor.”

Lynda Tredway

Independent Leadership Coach and former coordinator, Principal Leadership Institute, U.C. Berkeley

“Having Elena Aguilar’s The Art of Coaching in my bag has been like having my own coach nearby.”

Sarah Gordon

Coach in CT, writing for MiddleWeb

“When my copy arrived, I expected to find some great how-to advice but I had no idea Elena’s book would be so potentially transformative for its audience. It practices what it preaches – the transparency, the trust-building, the human connection so necessary to set the stage for growth and positive change, it’s all there in her own voice and writing. My guess is that 10 years from now, if we examine the Essential Reference shelves of the nation’s best teaching coaches, we will find well-worn, sticky-note filled copies of this extraordinary book.”

John Norton

Founder of MiddleWeb