Student-Focused Coaching: An "Inside Out" Approach to Supporting Teachers

Knight (2022) wrote in the Foreword of Student-Focused Coaching the importance of an “inside out” approach where coaching is guided by the deepest concerns of the teacher about students’ needs and not “outside in” where coaching is imposed by others. One way to create the conditions for an "inside out" approach is to empower teachers and engage them in authentic conversations through the use of the SAILS framework (Hasbrouck & Michel, 2022). SAILS components include Standards, Assessments, Instruction and Intervention, Leadership, and Sustainability, and each component plays a critical role in achieving high levels of academic achievement.