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The Case for Coaching and Community

Grounded in research, our approach shows how coaching and connection foster resilience, build leadership capacity, and improve outcomes—for educators, teams, and entire learning communities.

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Why Leadership & Coaching Communities Matter

How We Deliver Professional Learning

The Collective Impact

Why Bright Morning

Why Leadership & Coaching Communities Matter

Educational leaders and coaches face a unique challenge that research consistently confirms:

  • For Principals: Social isolation directly links to higher burnout and lower job satisfaction (Stephenson and Bauer, 2010).
  • In Leadership Roles: "The loneliness of leadership is the hardest part of my job," as one principal shared in Drago-Severson's (2012) qualitative research.
  • At District Level: Over 50% of superintendents report "very high" or "high" levels of occupational isolation (Linn, 2006).
  • For Instructional Coaches: Many describe themselves as "islands" with limited opportunities to collaborate with peers (Jewett and MacPhee, 2012).

Educational leaders and coaches face a unique challenge that research consistently confirms:

  • For Principals: Social isolation directly links to higher burnout and lower job satisfaction (Stephenson and Bauer, 2010).
  • In Leadership Roles: "The loneliness of leadership is the hardest part of my job," as one principal shared in Drago-Severson's (2012) qualitative research.
  • At District Level: Over 50% of superintendents report "very high" or "high" levels of occupational isolation (Linn, 2006).
  • For Instructional Coaches: Many describe themselves as "islands" with limited opportunities to collaborate with peers (Jewett and MacPhee, 2012).

Research also reveals significant gaps in how educational leaders and coaches are prepared for their roles:

  • Principal Preparation Programs: Only 56% of principals report their preparation experiences were "excellent" or "good" in preparing them for daily realities (Goldring et al., 2019).
  • Leadership Development: School leaders receive minimal preparation in key competencies they need most, including building team cohesion and managing change (Fullan and Kirtman, 2019).
  • Coaching Transitions: Many instructional coaches transition directly from teaching to coaching with little specific preparation, leading to a "role-identity mismatch" (Gallucci et al., 2010).
  • Implementation Challenges: Many districts implement coaching without providing adequate training, resources, or support structures (Mangin, 2014).

Research also reveals significant gaps in how educational leaders and coaches are prepared for their roles:

  • Principal Preparation Programs: Only 56% of principals report their preparation experiences were "excellent" or "good" in preparing them for daily realities (Goldring et al., 2019).
  • Leadership Development: School leaders receive minimal preparation in key competencies they need most, including building team cohesion and managing change (Fullan and Kirtman, 2019).
  • Coaching Transitions: Many instructional coaches transition directly from teaching to coaching with little specific preparation, leading to a "role-identity mismatch" (Gallucci et al., 2010).
  • Implementation Challenges: Many districts implement coaching without providing adequate training, resources, or support structures (Mangin, 2014).

The research is clear—leaders and coaches thrive when connected to supportive learning communities:

  • For Principals: Those who participate in professional learning communities report decreased feelings of isolation and increased professional efficacy (Hord and Sommers, 2008).
  • Across Schools: Cross-school professional learning communities for principals contribute to improved leadership practices and organizational learning (Umekubo, Chrispeels, and Daly, 2015).
  • For Coaches: Coaches who participate in regular professional learning communities demonstrate greater coaching efficacy and higher job satisfaction (Charner-Laird et al., 2016).
  • Practical Application: Coach professional learning communities help coaches develop stronger data-use practices that they can then facilitate with teachers (Huguet, Marsh, and Farrell, 2014).

The research is clear—leaders and coaches thrive when connected to supportive learning communities:

  • For Principals: Those who participate in professional learning communities report decreased feelings of isolation and increased professional efficacy (Hord and Sommers, 2008).
  • Across Schools: Cross-school professional learning communities for principals contribute to improved leadership practices and organizational learning (Umekubo, Chrispeels, and Daly, 2015).
  • For Coaches: Coaches who participate in regular professional learning communities demonstrate greater coaching efficacy and higher job satisfaction (Charner-Laird et al., 2016).
  • Practical Application: Coach professional learning communities help coaches develop stronger data-use practices that they can then facilitate with teachers (Huguet, Marsh, and Farrell, 2014).

How We Deliver Professional Learning

  • Implementation Success: Traditional PD without coaching leads to only 10% implementation, whereas coaching increases implementation to 90% (Joyce & Showers, 2002).
  • Measurable Results: Coaching programs improve instructional practice with an effect size of 0.49 standard deviations and improve student achievement with an effect size of 0.18 standard deviations (Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan, 2018).
  • Implementation Success: Traditional PD without coaching leads to only 10% implementation, whereas coaching increases implementation to 90% (Joyce & Showers, 2002).
  • Measurable Results: Coaching programs improve instructional practice with an effect size of 0.49 standard deviations and improve student achievement with an effect size of 0.18 standard deviations (Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan, 2018).
  • Research-Based Elements: Content focus, active learning, collaboration, modeling, coaching/expert support, feedback/reflection, and sustained duration are the seven features of effective professional development (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, and Gardner, 2017).
  • The Time Factor: Professional development programs offering substantial contact hours (an average of 49 hours) spread over 6-12 months show positive and significant effects on student achievement (Yoon et al., 2007).
  • Research-Based Elements: Content focus, active learning, collaboration, modeling, coaching/expert support, feedback/reflection, and sustained duration are the seven features of effective professional development (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, and Gardner, 2017).
  • The Time Factor: Professional development programs offering substantial contact hours (an average of 49 hours) spread over 6-12 months show positive and significant effects on student achievement (Yoon et al., 2007).
  • For Coaches: Instructional coaches develop expertise through recursive, job-embedded learning that combines prior knowledge with opportunities to implement new practices and receive feedback (Gallucci et al., 2010).
  • For Principals: Those who engage in mentoring and coaching show higher effectiveness ratings than those who participate primarily in university coursework or workshops (Grissom and Harrington, 2010).
  • For District Leaders: Central office leaders develop stronger support practices when engaged in job-embedded learning that includes modeling, opportunities for practice, and tailored assistance (Honig and Rainey, 2014).
  • For Coaches: Instructional coaches develop expertise through recursive, job-embedded learning that combines prior knowledge with opportunities to implement new practices and receive feedback (Gallucci et al., 2010).
  • For Principals: Those who engage in mentoring and coaching show higher effectiveness ratings than those who participate primarily in university coursework or workshops (Grissom and Harrington, 2010).
  • For District Leaders: Central office leaders develop stronger support practices when engaged in job-embedded learning that includes modeling, opportunities for practice, and tailored assistance (Honig and Rainey, 2014).

The Collective Impact

  • Leadership Influence: Leadership is second only to teaching among school-related factors influencing student outcomes, accounting for about 25% of total school effects (Leithwood et al., 2004).
  • School Improvement: Schools with strong professional communities are 10 times more likely to improve in reading and mathematics (Bryk et al., 2010).
  • Successful Change: Developing collaborative cultures, clarifying strategy, and ensuring coherence in implementation are key to successful change leadership (Fullan and Quinn, 2016).
  • Continuous Learning Systems: Coaching drives continuous learning cycles by shifting educators' mental models, leading to sustainable organizational change (Senge et al., 2012).
  • Instructional Capacity: Coaching serves as a key mechanism for building instructional capacity, with effectiveness dependent on school culture, leadership, and professional collaboration networks (Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu, & Easton, 2010).
  • Collective Efficacy: Coaching functions as a systems lever that significantly strengthens collective efficacy among educational teams (Hargreaves & O'Connor, 2018).
  • Improvement Science: Effective instructional coaching operates as an iterative process within school systems, applying networked improvement science principles to create sustainable change (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, & LeMahieu, 2015).
  • Leadership Influence: Leadership is second only to teaching among school-related factors influencing student outcomes, accounting for about 25% of total school effects (Leithwood et al., 2004).
  • School Improvement: Schools with strong professional communities are 10 times more likely to improve in reading and mathematics (Bryk et al., 2010).
  • Successful Change: Developing collaborative cultures, clarifying strategy, and ensuring coherence in implementation are key to successful change leadership (Fullan and Quinn, 2016).
  • Continuous Learning Systems: Coaching drives continuous learning cycles by shifting educators' mental models, leading to sustainable organizational change (Senge et al., 2012).
  • Instructional Capacity: Coaching serves as a key mechanism for building instructional capacity, with effectiveness dependent on school culture, leadership, and professional collaboration networks (Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu, & Easton, 2010).
  • Collective Efficacy: Coaching functions as a systems lever that significantly strengthens collective efficacy among educational teams (Hargreaves & O'Connor, 2018).
  • Improvement Science: Effective instructional coaching operates as an iterative process within school systems, applying networked improvement science principles to create sustainable change (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, & LeMahieu, 2015).
  • Student Engagement: Teachers who received coaching improved student engagement, leading to a 5% reduction in chronic absenteeism over time (Papay, Taylor, Tyler, & Laski, 2020).
  • Family Communication: Coaching teachers to improve communication with families resulted in a 41% decrease in student absenteeism (Kraft & Dougherty, 2013).
  • Classroom Interactions: A randomized controlled trial found that coaching focused on improving classroom interactions significantly reduced absenteeism, particularly for students from historically underserved backgrounds (Allen et al., 2011).
  • Relationship Building: Coaching teachers to develop relationship-building skills, restorative practices, and trauma-informed teaching effectively reduced overall student absenteeism rates (Hendron & Kearney, 2016).
  • Social-Emotional Learning: Schools implementing coaching that addressed social-emotional learning experienced a 9% decrease in student absenteeism over two years (Schanzenbach et al., 2016).
  • Cultural Responsiveness: Coaching that included culturally responsive teaching strategies and bias awareness training led to measurably higher attendance rates among Black and Latinx students (Robinson et al., 2022).
  • Student Engagement: Teachers who received coaching improved student engagement, leading to a 5% reduction in chronic absenteeism over time (Papay, Taylor, Tyler, & Laski, 2020).
  • Family Communication: Coaching teachers to improve communication with families resulted in a 41% decrease in student absenteeism (Kraft & Dougherty, 2013).
  • Classroom Interactions: A randomized controlled trial found that coaching focused on improving classroom interactions significantly reduced absenteeism, particularly for students from historically underserved backgrounds (Allen et al., 2011).
  • Relationship Building: Coaching teachers to develop relationship-building skills, restorative practices, and trauma-informed teaching effectively reduced overall student absenteeism rates (Hendron & Kearney, 2016).
  • Social-Emotional Learning: Schools implementing coaching that addressed social-emotional learning experienced a 9% decrease in student absenteeism over two years (Schanzenbach et al., 2016).
  • Cultural Responsiveness: Coaching that included culturally responsive teaching strategies and bias awareness training led to measurably higher attendance rates among Black and Latinx students (Robinson et al., 2022).

Why Bright Morning

This research doesn't just validate our approach—it's the foundation of everything we do. Our learning experiences are designed to address the documented challenges of isolation and inadequate preparation while leveraging the proven power of professional learning communities, coaching, and job-embedded learning.

When you partner with Bright Morning, you're not just getting professional development—you're getting evidence-based transformation that research shows makes a difference for educators and students alike.

Schedule a consultation to learn how our research-backed approach can support your specific needs.

This research doesn't just validate our approach—it's the foundation of everything we do. Our learning experiences are designed to address the documented challenges of isolation and inadequate preparation while leveraging the proven power of professional learning communities, coaching, and job-embedded learning.

When you partner with Bright Morning, you're not just getting professional development—you're getting evidence-based transformation that research shows makes a difference for educators and students alike.

Schedule a consultation to learn how our research-backed approach can support your specific needs.

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Our Founder & CEO: Elena Aguilar

Elena Aguilar is a pioneering voice in Transformational Coaching, leadership development, adult learning, and emotional resilience. Her work synthesizes decades of experience, research, and practice into actionable frameworks that help individuals and organizations thrive.

Our Approach and Learning Principles

At Bright Morning, our approach to transforming schools and our learning principles aren't just intuitively designed—they're grounded in decades of rigorous research. When you partner with us, you're investing in methods validated by educational science.

Resilience

Our resilience work isn't just intuitive—it's grounded in rigorous research. Our Coaching for Resilience and Retention workshop and Book Studies draw from validated studies showing that resilience isn't just a personality trait—it's a capacity that can be developed through specific practices.

Coaching for Equity

At Bright Morning, our approach to Coaching for Equity isn't just inspirational—it's grounded in rigorous research. Our workshops and book studies draw from validated studies showing that when coaching centers equity, real transformation happens in classrooms, schools, and districts.

Teams Learning Library & PLC

Our Teams Learning Library and Professional Learning Community isn't just innovative—it's built on a foundation of rigorous research about how leaders learn, develop, and thrive. This unique approach combines micro-learning, just-in-time resources, and structured community support.

The PD Workshop

The PD Workshop is grounded in decades of research on how adults learn, how emotions influence cognition, and how effective facilitation leads to lasting change. Explore the key theories and frameworks that inform every aspect of this learning experience.

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