Coaching the Whole Educator

Rolling out a new curriculum? 

Brace yourself—resistance, frustration, and missteps are inevitable… unless you do it right. Join Sean Lindsey and me as we break down what it really takes to get teachers, students, and families on board—without wasted effort or top-down mandates that fall flat.

We’re talking about:

• The most common mistake leaders make when choosing a curriculum – Teachers and students aren’t just checkboxes in your curriculum rollout. Use a rubric based on their actual needs, not just the shiniest new program. 
• How to turn teachers into champions (not skeptics) – Training, time, and real support matter. Mass rollouts of a new curriculum to teachers without these? Recipe for disaster.
• The secret to getting parents on your side before they push back – If parents don’t understand the “why,” they’ll resist the “what.” Learn how to engage them from the start.
• Why school leaders must do more than cheerlead – Leaders who don’t get the curriculum can’t lead it. We’ll talk about how to remove barriers and create real instructional shifts.

Don’t gamble with your rollout. Learn how to make it stick. 

Free Resources:

[FREE] Catalyst Mindsets Quiz **HERE**! 

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Levels of Resistance

[FREE RESOURCE] Podcast Playlists (Episodes that focus on Resistance to Change)

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The Ladder of Conscious Competence

• Four stages: Conscious/Unconscious Competence & Incompetence.
• This can explain why there’s a lack of knowledge transfer at your school
• Why having unconscious competence makes skills hard to teach.

The Peter Principle in Education

• People are promoted beyond their skillset (shifting from teaching children to teaching adults).
• Success in one role doesn’t guarantee success in another.
• Effective leadership requires a balance of three key skill sets: technical, conceptual, and human

Coaching Missteps to Avoid

• Avoid coaching people to mimic your personality or style (Focus on enhancing the coachee’s unique strengths.)
• Avoid sharing personal success stories excessively ("When I was a teacher, I...").
• Ignoring the critical need for developing adult-learning skills.

🔗Take this quiz to help you understand which Catalyst Mindsets need support in those you coach or lead!

Check out The Resistance Remedy!

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Tune in for an engaging conversation with clinical psychologist Dr. Kate Lund as she joins host Becca Silver to explore perfectionism and resilience. This episode dives into how perfectionism can show up in the lives of coaches, leaders, and teachers, and why it often gets in the way of satisfaction and well-being.

Dr. Lund explains the difference between perfectionism and healthy striving, sharing how the constant urge to get everything right can actually make growth and adaptability more difficult. Listeners will discover practical tools, including the relaxation response technique to calm the mind and the daily wins exercise to help shift focus to what is going well. Dr. Lund also offers a valuable tip for leaders: help your team begin the day by recognizing successes, not just areas for improvement.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or anyone looking for ways to handle life’s challenges, this episode is filled with useful advice and real-life examples. 

Check out The Principals Exchange Virtual Conference [January 28-29, 2026]!

 🔗 Click HERE to learn more and register.

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In this episode, Becca sits down with Steve Barkley, a pioneer in instructional coaching whose influence has shaped how educators think about growth, feedback, and collaboration. Together, they unpack what it really takes to create lasting change in classrooms; not through evaluation, but through curiosity and conversation.

Steve shares his journey from being observed every day as a student teacher to becoming one of the most respected voices in peer coaching. Along the way, he reveals a mindset shift that changed everything: great coaching isn’t about watching teachers. It’s about watching students.

You’ll hear how focusing on student actions opens new doors for learning, reflection, and impact. Becca and Steve explore how to:

 → Plan lessons and coaching sessions with student behaviors in mind
 → Use observation and questioning to drive meaningful reflection
 → Support teachers with empathy, not judgment
 → Build thriving professional learning communities that keep everyone growing

Packed with real-world insights and practical takeaways, this episode is a powerful reminder that when we focus on students first, everything else follows.

Check out The Principals Exchange Virtual Conference [January 28-29, 2026]!

 🔗 Click HERE to learn more and register.

[Podcast Sponsor]  Kind Cotton: Soft, sustainable apparel, where every purchase provides a book to a child.

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In this powerful episode, Becca sits down with Dr. Ann Ishimaru and Dr. Decoteau Irby, authors of Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change, to unpack what it really means to lead for equity in today’s schools.

Together, they trace the evolution of equity leadership through four distinct phases: morning (where new roles and policies first take root), midday (when equity becomes embedded in systems), evening (as communities and intentional connections deepen), and night (when resistance and federal mandates challenge the work).

The conversation gets real about what it takes to sustain momentum through each phase, using data with purpose, centering student and parent voices, and investing in professional learning that drives genuine change.

Listeners will walk away with actionable strategies like applying targeted universalism, navigating relationships with challenging stakeholders, and creating school environments where adults learn and grow just as much as students do.

Check out The Principals Exchange Virtual Conference [January 28-29, 2026]!

 🔗 Click HERE to learn more and register.

[Podcast Sponsor] 

Kind Cotton: Soft, sustainable apparel, where every purchase provides a book to a child.

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What separates schools that grow from those that stall? One word: trust.

In this episode, Becca unpacks research showing that strong trust can double a school’s chance of improving student learning. She breaks down the four types of trust:  integrity, intent, capabilities, and results and shares how leaders can pinpoint where trust is missing and rebuild it with purpose.

Listen in for practical, research-backed strategies to strengthen relationships, improve coaching impact, and lead with confidence.

Check out The Resistance Remedy!

[Podcast Sponsor] 

Kind Cotton: Soft, sustainable apparel, where every purchase provides a book to a child.

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Ever wonder how the smallest moments can spark the biggest shifts in learning and leadership?  In this episode of Research Rundown, Becca reveals the science behind a simple one hour intervention that slashed achievement gaps and boosted happiness for years, all by strengthening students’ sense of belonging. Discover how tiny, everyday moments can ripple out to create lasting change, and learn the three essential ingredients every leader needs to build trust, safety, and connection. Don’t miss the secrets to turning resistance into momentum and making everyone feel like they truly belong. Tune in now and unlock the power of belonging!

🔗Take this quiz to help you understand which Catalyst Mindsets need support in those you coach or lead!

Check out The Resistance Remedy!

[Podcast Sponsor] 

Kind Cotton: Soft, sustainable apparel, where every purchase provides a book to a child.

Let's Stay Connected!
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How can schools and teams make data feel human and actually useful? In this episode, Becca talks with data culture expert Jessica Lane about approaches that move beyond dashboards and charts to create meaningful impact.

Jessica shares practical ways to start small, focus on “tiny data,” and connect every action to real student outcomes. Through stories and actionable strategies, listeners will learn how to build trust, support teacher growth, and use data as a tool for continuous improvement rather than a source of stress.

Whether your school is beginning its data journey or looking to strengthen existing practices, this conversation offers frameworks for fostering a positive data culture, encouraging reflection, and turning everyday classroom observations into actionable insights.

This episode is perfect for coaches, instructional leaders, and educators who want data to work for people, not the other way around.

[Podcast Sponsor] 

Kind Cotton: Soft, sustainable apparel, where every purchase provides a book to a child.

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Discover how teacher agency really works.

In this episode, Becca explores the research on teacher agency, showing it’s not simply a personal trait, but shaped by school leadership, collaboration, and trust. You’ll hear why true teacher ownership can’t be forced, and how creating the right conditions helps teachers grow, lead, and stay engaged.

📥 Download this FREE resource to help you spot and support both internal and external teacher agency.
📚 Curious about the research behind ecological agency? Read more here!

Listen in to see how small shifts in your school’s environment can make a big difference in supporting teachers’ sense of ownership and professional confidence.

Check out The Resistance Remedy!

[Podcast Sponsor]

Kind Cotton: Soft, sustainable apparel, where every purchase provides a book to a child.

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Get ready for a smarter approach to professional learning!

In this episode, Becca challenges coaches and school leaders to stop treating professional development like a one-size-fits-all event. Instead, she shares how to design support that truly matches the needs of your educators.

Think of it through the MTSS lens:
 ✨ Tier 1: Learning that brings everyone together around a shared goal.
 🎯 Tier 2: Targeted sessions for small groups who need focused support.
 💬 Tier 3: Personalized coaching that addresses individual needs and sparks real growth.

Every PD experience, from staff meetings to one-on-one coaching, should directly connect to your school’s priorities. Becca walks listeners through how to identify who needs what and when, leading to a more strategic coaching calendar and meaningful results.

She also shares a preview of her upcoming virtual conference, where she’ll dig deeper into managing real change and making feedback stick.

The message is clear: when leaders meet educators where they are, everyone moves forward, together.

🔗Here is the link to sign up for the Principal Exchange virtual winter conference:  

https://educationtailored.com/TPE-Conference

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