The Skillful Literacy Coach: What to Know, Say, and Do
The Power of Language, Listening, and Collaboration
Elevate your coaching knowledge, language, and actions to drive impactful instructional change in the new school year.
- Literacy Coaches/Teacher Leaders
- School & District Leaders
- Interventionists/Specialists
- Classroom Teachers K-8
- 10% Discount through June 15 with code: COACHING-EARLYBIRD
- Literacy Collaborative Affiliation Discount available
Language is your most powerful coaching tool.
But without a collaborative stance—and the superpower of truly listening—your words may fall flat.
In this dynamic four-day institute, you’ll learn how to make every interaction with your colleagues constructive, collegial, and impactful on student learning. You’ll leave equipped with coaching tools, time-saving strategies, and a clear plan to start the school year strong.
No matter what literacy curriculum or program you use, you’ll learn four core skills to elevate your coaching and build lasting teacher partnerships.
Join us and gain the tools to become the coach you’ve always wanted to be.
Topics:
- Starting the year off right
- Defining and communicating your role as a coach
- Four core skills:
- Crafting powerful questions
- Clarifying thinking through discourse
- The power of close listening
- Paraphrasing and summarizing
- Coaching structures for working with individuals and teacher teams
- Addressing challenges in your role
You will earn 20 clock hours in this training.
Cynthia Downend, Associate Director, Literacy Programs
Cynthia Downend has worked at the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative for over 15 years, serving in the roles of primary level literacy trainer and currently as the Assistant Director for Primary Literacy Programs.
Cynthia has worked with many school districts across the United States to train and develop district level literacy staff developers, literacy coaches, classroom teachers, literacy interventionists and school administrators on a variety of topics related to improving literacy instruction.
Prior to her work at Lesley University, Cynthia held positions as a literacy coach, Reading Recovery teacher, and classroom teacher for over 20 years working in a variety of school settings including urban, suburban, and international schools.
Linda Murphy, Associate Director, Literacy Programs
Linda has worked in school districts in New York in a variety of roles and settings. Prior to her joining the center at Lesley University, Linda held positions as a principal of an intermediate school, a Director of English Language Arts, Social Studies and Reading, a district trainer for Literacy Collaborative Intermediate, a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader and a classroom teacher. Linda holds licenses in Elementary Education and School District Administration.
Cancellation Deadline & Refund Policies
You have until one week before the first day of this offering to cancel your registration. The cancellation deadline is Monday, August 4, 2025 and you will be charged a $50 processing fee. Email CRRLC@lesley.edu if you have a cancellation or substitution request. Regardless of weather conditions, if the event is held but you cannot attend, you will be billed for the full amount.
Registration Deadline
The registration deadline is 5pm on August 8, 2025.
Requirements for Participation
After the training, you will receive a certificate of attendance for your participation. To receive a complete certificate, participation during the specified times is required. Additional work may be assigned to meet the professional development hours.
In-Person at Lesley University or Virtual Attendance
You may choose to attend this training in-person at Lesley University or virtually in real time. Should any of the conditions change and it is determined the training will be offered virtually only, you will be notified as soon as possible. We recommend that you contact us before reserving travel and lodging.
If you choose to attend in-person, the training room will have Lesley University’s HyFlex Classroom Technology to support an engaging learning environment for in-person and virtual participants. If you have questions about in-person or virtual attendance, please email us at CRRLC@lesley.edu.
In-person participants are required to follow the Lesley safety protocols.
Interested in professional learning at your school or district? Schedule a meeting with one of our faculty trainers.
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