# How is a Successful Instructional Coaching Newsletter Created? - Link: https://teachercast.net/instructional-coaching/instructional-coaching-newsletter/ - Published: 2024-01-23T23:15:41-05:00 - Author: Jeff Bradbury _**Are you looking to do something different with your Coaching Newsletters this year?**_ It is a great question to ask yourself! As an Instructional Coach, we all know the value of communication with our teachers. No matter if you are an Instructional Coach supporting one or two buildings with a great deal of time to walk hallways, pop into classrooms, and get to know the staff members or if you happen to support more than a dozen buildings the struggle to make meaningful relationships is real and constantly on your mind. Previously on TeacherCast, we looked at how an Instructional Coaches [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) can be set up and created to support teachers in all types of school districts and coaching programs. **In that post, we learned:** * What can a Coaching [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) do for an Instructional Coach * How to create a Digital Learning Curriculum through the [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) * What types of information should be placed in your Coaching [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) In this post, we are going to examine one of the many tools that are in an Instructional Coaches utility belt, the Coaching [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter), and share what might be a slightly different approach to creating digital communications for your staff.   [How to Create a Successful Instructional Coaches Newsletter (Presentation)](https://www.canva.com/design/DAFHI6YFKNs/view?utm_content=DAFHI6YFKNs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=embeds&utm_source=link) by Jeffrey Bradbury ## What is the Point of Your Coaching Newsletter? For many coaches, the point of their [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) is to share with their teachers the latest edtech news and highlights from applications they know and love. They might fill their newsletters with videos, blog post links, and other digital learning goodies. Coaches spend a good amount of time each week making sure that they maximize their designs and layouts to provide the best possible product to their teachers each Tuesday. They might even have a catchy name for the newsletters. All of this is certainly well and good and I highly encourage coaches to create something special for their staff members on a regular basis, but one question always comes out of the reading of a traditional [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter)… ## Are Your Newsletters Working? Often when I work with a coach or read a thread of comments online about coaching newsletters, I ask the question “Is your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) working?” In other words, “is anyone reading your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter)?” For many coaches, the answer is “I don’t know” or … “I doubt it” which is, to be honest, heartbreaking knowing how long a coach might spend each week putting together something wonderful for their staff. If coaches are going to be working hard each week to create a weekly communication platform one question is left to be asked … ## How Can Coaches Create a Better Newsletter? If you are searching for a new way to create your Instructional Coaches [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter), then continue reading. Today, we are going to walk you through a brand-new philosophy for Coaching Newsletters. A philosophy based on marketing and entrepreneurship rather than on impulse emailing. This philosophy is designed on first remembering what the purpose of the Instructional Coach is (and is not) and defining the function of the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) in relationship to a coach’s overall job description. If this is confusing … it is ok … keep reading and we will work through your questions below. ## What are Coaches Currently Doing to Support their Newsletters? If you are like many coaches creating weekly or monthly newsletters, you might spend a few moments each day, or an hour on a Friday putting together your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter). You might do this in two steps. * Curating & Creating Resources * Designing and Publishing I am always curious to learn how much time it takes for a coach to design the perfect [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) (each week) using applications such as Canva, Google Slides, Bitmoji, or even Wakelet. I am sure that the process is fun and exciting but … I will ask again … _Is your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) working?_ ## How is a Coaching Newsletter Created? Let us look at both a traditional coach’s [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) and compare it to a unique way of looking at your digital communications platform. ### The Traditional Coaches Newsletter: The traditional Instructional Coaches [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) might be outlined like this. * **Audience** - Teacher * **Content** - Cool Tools - New Updates * **Platform** - Popular Applications * **Release Schedule** - Weekly / Monthly * **Purpose** - To Help Teachers Learn about” something” In a traditional [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter), the teacher is the primary audience member. It is only natural to think so given the way that a coach might define their roles in the school. In addition, the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) is traditionally made up of the latest and greatest in educational technology, supporting videos, and maybe a few templates created by the tech coach to show off what they can do in the classroom with teachers. The [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) is released on a” Tech Tuesday.” (Why?? Who Knows) When asked, the coach might say that the reason for the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) is to share something with their teachers, drop some value bombs, and hope and pray that a teacher fills out a sign-up form. But … again … does the traditional method work? ### Your New Instructional Coaches Newsletter When looking at your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) philosophy with a bit of a marketing eye, you might outline your product like this. * Audience - District Leadership * Content - District – Strategic Goals - Building – Principal Directives * Platform - District Initiative * Release Schedule - Based on PD (Professional Development) Schedule * Purpose - To Get Coaches into the Classroom to Support District and Building Goals and Initiatives When looking at your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) from a slightly different lens, you might see your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) as a way for your administrator to support their building and district-mandated goals. The [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) is not yours (exactly) but their way of getting teachers on board with new directives that they wish to show up inside of the classroom. The audience for your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter), rather than being the passive teacher is the active administrator who is on a mission to bring forth change in their staff. The content of your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) is designed to support their primary goals and directions. In other words, whatever they are asking of the teachers … should be what is inside of the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) so you (the coach) can be seen as supportive of their wishes and demands of classroom instruction. When choosing a platform, it is best to select something that your district is trying to get behind. If your district for example is pushing the use of Google Applications, it does not make any sense to use Canva or SMORE to create your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter). That will not give the teachers the ability to see the district-mandated application in action or to see what the possibilities of that application are. Lastly, when looking at your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) with a marketing eye, it is important to make sure that you are doing it to meet the needs of your professional development schedule and are doing everything in your power to create a [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) to service one goal … to get you in the classroom, so you can help teachers meet the needs of the principal and district goals for (digital) learning. Do you see a slight difference between these two approaches? ## Understanding the Role of the Instructional Coach in Relation to the District? Before we break down the components of your new Instructional Coaches [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter), we must first take a step back and ask the question, “What is the role of the Instructional Coach?” For many coaches, they say something like “I’m here to help teachers learn how to use technology in their classrooms.”  However, this is not the correct answer. Helping teachers learn about technology and digital learning skills is what a coach “does” not what the coach’s role is in the district. Long and short, a coach’s role is to help the district achieve the goals and initiatives set forth and agreed upon in the Strategic Plan—nothing more … nothing less. The district might have a goal to improve their science scores. The function then of the Science Coach is to support this goal by working with teachers in the classroom to improve science scores. In another example, the district might have Future Ready or Digital Learning goals. The district then might bring on Digital Learning, or Tech Coaches to support those goals. Those coaches will then work with teachers in the classroom to help the district meet their needs. See the difference? If the function of a coach is to help support the district and to help the district leadership team meet their directives … we must think of the Coaches [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter), simply as a tool to make those goals become achievable. **_Does this make sense?_** ## The Three-Part Coaching Newsletter To create a [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) to fit the needs of the strategic goals, curricular goals, and teacher it is only rational that we create our coaching newsletters in three parts. ### Part 1: District Goals The first part of our [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) strategy is to help our teachers understand and promote various school districts and building- level goals and objectives and how they might be included in classroom activities. This might be curricular or might be wrapped around a specific suite of applications( Microsoft & Google) or a Learning Management System that needs to be installed and trained on. ### Part 2: Curricular & Digital Learning Goals The second part of the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) might focus on helping teachers meet the standards of either their curriculum or the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards for Digital Learning. ### Part 3: Teacher & Student Goals The third part of the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) revolves around providing something to the teachers that they or their students are interested in. This not only is designed to keep their attention but also gives them something to look forward to each time your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) comes out. ## What Should Be Included in the Coaches Newsletter? When looking at your Instructional Coaching [Newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) as a resource and tool to support your administration’s goals and directives, the next step is to determine what should be placed inside the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter). * Initiative Quick Tips (Ways to help teachers meet the needs of administration) * Calendar of Events (To keep them updated on district events) * Instructional Videos * Templates for Curricular Activities ## Advice for Coaches Creating Newsletters This Year For many coaches, the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) is something that they enjoy doing. My recommendation, if I can suggest anything with this blog post, is to make your [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter) a supportive vehicle for your administrators rather than a weekly email that your teachers must quickly look at and determine if it is of interest to them. When you create it as“ the answer” for how to successfully have a great school year rather than a colorful document with links, they will be more adventurous in the contents that are in the [newsletter](https://teachercast.net/newsletter). ## Simplify Your Systems. Amplify Your Impact. Join me every Sunday for my best productivity tips, tricks, and strategic systems delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up today and instantly receive a free chapter of Impact Standards. Δ Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 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