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abstract
This article describes a qualitative study conducted to 
explore the daily roles and responsibilities of middle 
school literacy coaches and to compare them with the 
International Reading Association’s recommended 
standards literacy coaches (IRA, 2006). Four middle 
school literacy coaches, all employed at different 
middle schools within the same district in the 
southeastern united States participated in this study. 
findings reveal some consistencies in roles such as 
building rapport and evaluation of literacy needs. 

adolescent literacy is a cornerstone of students’ 
academic success (Wise, 2009). Students typically 

acquire basic skills that serve as the foundation for 
reading and writing in the elementary school years. 
in the middle grades however, students must build 
on those foundational skills to develop sophistication 
in their application of literacy strategies in order to 
comprehend a variety of texts across content areas. 
Concerns about adolescent literacy have been voiced 
consistently over the past two decades. Since 1992, 
periodic assessments of reading conducted by the 
national Center for education Statistics (nCeS) 
show that the majority of u.S. students in grades 4 
and 8 have scored at only a “basic” level of literacy. 
Similarly, researchers have found that one out of 
every four adolescents could not read well enough to 
identify the main idea in a passage or to comprehend 
informational text (allington, 1994; Kamil, 2003).

Several initiatives have been undertaken in order 
to address adolescent literacy concerns. in 2005, 
for example, the federal initiative Striving Readers 
provided funding to school districts to raise reading 
achievement levels of secondary students by improving 
the quality of literacy instruction across the curriculum. 
Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in 
Middle and High School Literacy (biancarosa & Snow, 
2006) identified fifteen critical elements of effective 
adolescent literacy and literacy programs, including 
professional development for teachers that is long 

term and ongoing; interdisciplinary teacher teams that 
meet regularly to discuss student needs and to align 
instruction with those needs; and leadership from both 
administrators and faculty who have comprehensive 
knowledge of literacy teaching and learning.

including instructional coaches as part of the middle 
school literacy team, is one way in which schools 
seek to provide ongoing professional development 
and literacy leadership. Current research on 
literacy coaching supports the idea that, through 
job-embedded professional development, literacy 
coaches can contribute to improvements in the quality 
of teacher instruction and student literacy learning 
(bean & eisenberg, 2009; Joyce & Showers, 2002). 
Professional organizations, such as the international 
reading association, have compiled standards for 
reading professionals, with a focus on performance, 
suggested knowledge, and skills that these 
professional should possess. While some research 
has examined the role of literacy coaches at the 
elementary school level, little is known about the work 
of literacy coaches in middle school (mraz, algozzine, & 
Watson, 2008; Walpole & mcKenna, 2004). This study 
sought to address that need by examining the roles 
and responsibilities of middle school literacy coaches 
and comparing those roles and responsibilities with 
the International Reading Association’s recommended 
standards for literacy coaches (IRA, 2006).

Middle School
Literacy Coaches: 
Perceptions of Roles
and Responsibilities
by KAtie stover, ph.D. AnD MAryAnn MrAz, ph.D.



GeorGia Journal of readinG 7 Volume 38, number 1   2015

The inclusion of literacy specialists to provide guidance 
and support has been widely accepted for many years. 
The roles these educators fulfill, however, have changed 
in recent years (mraz, algozzine, & Kissel, 2009; 
Vacca, Vacca, & mraz, 2011). Throughout the latter 
half of the twentieth century, the primary responsibility 
of reading specialists was to work with struggling 
readers in small groups or in pull-out programs, where 
students received specialized literacy instruction 
outside of their regular classrooms. often, there was 
little collaboration between the classroom teacher and 
the reading specialist about the type of instruction a 
student received in the pull-out setting (dole, 2004). 
Concerns about the effectiveness of these programs 
led to a shift toward in-class collaborative instruction 
between reading specialists and classroom teachers, 
the specialist’s role was expanded from working solely 
with students to shared leadership and coaching 
responsibilities to improve the quality of classroom 
instruction (bean, 2004; bean, Cassidy, Grumet, 
Shelton, & Wallis, 2002).

Policy initiatives such as the no Child left behind 
act (u.S. department of education, 2001), race to 
the Top (u.S. department of education, 2010), and 
the Common Core State Standards (2010) have 
prompted educators and researchers to examine both 
the preparation and continuing education of literacy 
teachers (bean, 2004). Shifting the role of a reading 
specialist from teaching students to coaching teachers 
has been one initiative designed to improve reading 
instruction by providing ongoing, consistent, and 
relevant professional development to teachers (Vacca, 
Vacca, & mraz, 2011). There is a growing recognition 
that literacy coaches offer guidance and support to 
help teachers refine their instructional practices.

Still, variation in the roles these literacy professionals 
fulfill remains vague. Some focus specifically 
on supporting classroom teachers in their daily 
implementation of the school’s literacy program 
(Guth & Pettengill, 2005; IRA, 2006). Others 
support teachers by working across subject areas 
or by providing general and specific professional 
development session (dole, 2004). Yet others report 
that administrative tasks and paperwork consume 
much of their time (Dole & Donaldson, 2006). The 
occupational titles of those who do the work of literacy 
coaches are often as varied as the roles they fulfill. 
an international reading association survey found 
that over 89% are referred to as a “literacy coach” or 
a “reading coach” (IRA, 2006). Additional commonly 
used titles for professionals engaged in literacy 
coaching include specialist, facilitator, curriculum, 
instructional, reading specialist, literacy facilitator, or 
academic specialist. other titles reference a place, 
such as a school building in which a literacy work 

works (e.g. middle school literacy specialist).

The roles of middle school literacy coaches share 
some commonalities with elementary and secondary 
coaches. Walpole and mcKenna (2004) explain 
that coaching models should adapt to the needs 
of the setting. all coaches regardless of level 
act as instructional leaders, provide professional 
development and resources to teachers, collaborate 
with colleagues, and use assessment to drive 
instruction. However, the roles of the middle school 
literacy coach are unique in that specific knowledge 
of how to assist middle school teachers in building a 
better understanding of content area reading, using 
textbooks effectively, and applying literacy strategies 
across subject areas are essential (ira, 2000).

The roles of the middle school literacy coach are 
multifaceted and complex. Sturtevant (2003) and Toll 
(2005) explain that literacy coaches in middle and 
high schools are seen as teacher leaders, and may 
be expected to do any combination of the following: 
mentor teachers, observe classes, work with teacher 
teams, advise administrators on school wide literacy 
issues administer and analyze literacy assessments, 
and work with parents or community groups. While 
the potential responsibilities for middle school literacy 
coaches can be overwhelming, the international 
Reading Association (2006) has established four 
broad standards for the role of the literacy coach: 
(1). Skillful collaborators: collaborate with the school 
literacy team; promote positive relationships among 
school staff; address family literacy needs; (2). 
Skillful job-embedded coaches: provide professional 
development for teachers; demonstrate lessons; 
engage in classroom coaching for individual 
teachers; support content area reading, differentiated 
instruction, and materials acquisition; (3). Skillful 
evaluators of literacy needs: analyze data and monitor 
student progress; conduct assessments for individual 
students or groups of students; (4.) Skillful instructional 
strategists: know how reading and writing process 
relate within various content area disciplines.

The purpose of this study was an in-depth investigation 
of the roles and responsibilities of four middle school 
literacy coaches by addressing the following questions: 
1). How do middle school literacy coaches define their 
roles and responsibilities? 2). How do the daily roles 
and responsibilities of middle school literacy coaches 
compare to the recommended standards defined by 
ira for that role?
  
Statement of the Purpose 
although literacy coaches have been studied at the 
elementary level (Walpole & mcKenna, 2004), little 
research has been conducted related to the role of 



GeorGia Journal of readinG 8 Volume 38, number 1   2015

literacy coaches at the middle school level. Professional 
organizations have provided guidelines for the work of 
middle school literacy coaches, however little is known 
about if and how these guidelines are put into practice. 
This study was conducted to examine the roles and 
responsibilities of middle school literacy coaches and 
to compare those roles with the international reading 
Association’s recommended standards for literacy 
coaches (IRA, 2006). The author was interested 
in middle school literacy coaches’ perspectives on 
the allocation of time, the definition of their roles 
and responsibilities, and how their daily roles and 
responsibilities compare with the recommended ira 
standards for the role of the literacy coach at the 
middle school level. The following questions were 
examined from the perspectives of four middle school 
literacy coaches: How do middle school literacy 
coaches define their roles and responsibilities and 
how do the daily roles and responsibilities of middle 
school literacy coaches compare to the recommended 
ira standards?

Methodology
Participants and Context
This study was conducted in a school district within 
the southeastern united States. The district served 
approximately 20,000 students representing a blend 
of urban, suburban, and rural regions. four middle 
school literacy coaches participated in this study. each 
participant was employed at a different middle school 
within the same district. all coaches had previously 
worked as middle school teachers teaching language 
arts, math, or science. Their transition to the role of the 
literacy coach had occurred within the previous one or 
two years, therefore, these participants were relatively 
new to the literacy coaching position.

Data Collection and Analysis
To better understand the roles and responsibilities of 
middle school literacy coaches, data was collected 
from multiple sources including survey data, semi-
structured interviews, and documents, such as daily 
logs and schedules. The interviews sought to ascertain 
participants’ perspectives on their preparation for 
their position, their current roles and responsibilities, 
and the rewards and challenges of their work (see 
appendix a).

a constant comparative method (Glasser & Strauss, 
1967) was used to analyze the qualitative data 
collected in the study. The transcripts were read 
multiple times to initiate the data analysis process. 
Codes were assigned based on the patterns in the 
participants’ data. These codes were categorized into 
themes and labeled. To further investigate the roles 
and responsibilities of each participant, samples of 
weekly schedules and daily logs were requested from 

each participant. The use of triangulation of multiple 
data sources allowed the researchers to make 
comparisons among the findings.

additionally, each participant completed a survey (see 
Appendix B) that listed specific behaviors within each of 
the four standards for literacy coaches recommended 
by the international reading association. following 
a model similar to Cassidy and Cassidy’s “What’s 
Hot, What’s Not” survey (2008), participants were 
asked to rate whether each behavior was part of her 
current coaching role or not part of her current role. 
each participant was also asked to indicate whether 
she believed that each behavior should be part of the 
coaching role or should not be part of the coaching 
role. The validity of the survey was grounded in the 
importance placed on each item by the international 
Reading Association’s Standards for Middle and High 
School Literacy Coaches (2006).

findings
Roles and Responsibilities
In response to the first research question, how do 
middle school literacy coaches define their roles and 
responsibilities, all four coaches reported that they 
fulfilled a variety of responsibilities influenced by the 
needs of teachers, the decisions of administration, and 
their own professional judgment. Three out of the four 
coaches reported consistencies in their daily roles and 
responsibilities in terms of spending time working with 
teachers in classrooms and providing professional 
development. as one coach stated in her interview, “i 
am a teacher, not an administrator.” Three coaches 
saw themselves as supportive figures that collaborate 
with teachers in a non-evaluative manner. They viewed 
themselves as equals, learned from the teachers, and 
shared their own expertise. Through building rapport 
with teachers, the three coaches purported that they 
were able to create trusting relationships and increase 
teacher buy-in and participation.

These three literacy coaches described their role 
as comprised of tasks such as helping teachers to 
plan effective lessons, sharing ideas and resources, 
and providing feedback to help teachers reflect and 
continue to grow professionally. one referred to her 
job as “hopping around” from class-to-class and 
subject-to-subject in order to model strategies and 
coach individual teachers. The work coaches did 
with teachers varied based on the needs of each 
individual teacher. for example, one coach stated 
that for a teacher who needs more support, she 
gradually released the modeling process throughout 
an entire day with that teacher. During first period, the 
coach taught the lesson while the classroom teacher 
observed. Following reflection and debriefing, the 
coach and the teacher co-taught the second period 



GeorGia Journal of readinG 9 Volume 38, number 1   2015

class in order to give the teacher more support before 
implementing the technique on her own. When the 
teacher was comfortable with the strategy, she then 
taught the lesson to another class while the literacy 
coach observed and provided feedback.

Three coaches reported that it was often necessary 
to conference with teachers in order to identify the 
teacher’s needs and desired areas for professional 
development. according to the coaches, these 
conversations were crucial in helping the literacy coach 
design effective and appropriate support. Coaches 
worked across subject areas with all classes to model 
strategies and provide a variety of literacy support. 
for example, the biology teacher was dissecting frogs 
and invited the literacy coach into her class to pre-
teach the necessary vocabulary for this unit of study. 
This same literacy coach did a read aloud about 
Pythagorean Theorem to an algebra class to tap 
their prior knowledge of the subject and model fluent 
reading. later in the week, the literacy coach came 
back to the same math class to show the students how 
to read the word problem to determine and highlight 
key words while the teacher explained the steps of 
problem solving and the mathematical equations to 
solve the problems. all three literacy coaches reported 
that acquiring and sharing resource materials with 
teachers was on ongoing part of their role as a coach. 
for instance, one literacy coach noted that if students 
struggled with the concept of figurative language, she 
provided the teacher with helpful resources to teach 
and reinforce this concept. 

While three out of the four literacy coaches reported 
similar findings about the daily work they do at their 
schools, one coach shared somewhat different roles 
and responsibilities. instead of working in classrooms 
with teachers, this coach spent the majority of her 
time analyzing standardized test data and scheduling 
remediation and enrichment groups. She also did 
more operational tasks such as testing, and planning 
family movie nights and accelerated reader parties. 
She explained that there was a need for someone 
to analyze the data for the teachers because they 
simply did not have time to do so. due to the extended 
amount of time spent on data analysis, this literacy 
coach only taught lessons sporadically. as she stated 
in the interview, “I don’t have a lot of in-class time 
because teachers don’t ask.” Furthermore, she had no 
experience with planning and facilitating professional 
development for teachers. This literacy coach 
explained that she did not feel needed and, therefore, 
did not know what to do or how to allocate her time if 
the teachers did not explicitly ask for assistance.
 
time allocation 
data collected from the interviews provided some 

insight about the allocation of time for the middle 
school literacy coaches. Three of the literacy coaches 
reported spending approximately 75% of their time 
working in the classrooms with teachers, providing 
demonstration lessons, coaching, and debriefing. One 
coach spent little time working directly with teachers 
and spent more time behind the scenes organizing 
various programs and analyzing assessment data. 
The researcher planned to collect data in the form of a 
written daily log over the period of one month depicting 
how the literacy coaches’ time was allocated. However, 
only one of the literacy coaches provided this data and 
reported the allocation of her time as follows: 
n 27 hours conducting, facilitating, or analyzing 
assessments
n 23 hours planning professional development
n 22 hours in classrooms
n 21 ¼ hours in team meetings or discussions with 
teachers
n 15 ½ hours writing lesson plans
n 11 ½ hours conducting professional development 
n 6 ½ hours in meetings such as staff meetings or 
literacy team meetings
n 4 ½ hours organizing and distributing materials to 
teachers
n 1 hour participating in professional development

Challenges and rewards
in addition to providing information about roles, 
responsibilities, and time allocation, analysis of the 
interview data revealed the challenges and rewards 
that literacy coaches reported experiencing as part 
of their work. all four coaches interviewed reported 
concern about unclear role expectations, particularly 
in their first year. One coach, in her second year of 
coaching at the time of this study, reported that she 
remained uncertain about how she was expected to 
spend her time.

While the literacy coaches faced many challenges, 
they also reported experiencing rewards in their work. 
one coach found the ability to work with all students 
and to fulfill a variety of roles to be refreshing. She 
shared that she felt rejuvenated with her new position 
after 21 years of teaching and “enjoys learning from 
and helping teachers.” additionally, three coaches 
expressed their belief that the opportunity to impact 
instruction and student achievement has the potential 
to create a broader impact across the school, not just 
within a single classroom. one coach stated that the 
eighth grade teachers closed the gap on the scores of 
their formative assessment and credited this success 
to the strategies the coach shared with them. another 
coach reported, “i am passionate about the need to 
teach content area literacy strategies… if i was behind 
the door of my own language arts classroom, i would 
not be able to do that.”



GeorGia Journal of readinG 10 Volume 38, number 1   2015

alignment of roles with the Standards
The second research question addressed how the 
daily roles and responsibilities of middle school 
literacy coaches compared with the recommended 
ira standards. figure 1 summarizes the coaches 
responses to the survey that asked what standards 
were part of their current coaching role and what 
standards they believed should be part of their 
coaching role.

all four coaches noted that all aspects of Standard 
1: Skillful Collaborator and Standard 2: Skill Job-
embedded Coaches were part of their role as a 
literacy coach and should be part of their role. They 
also reported that Standard 3: examining Student 
Work to analyze Trends and results, and Conducting 
assessment were part of their current role and should 
be part of their role. However, the coaches’ responses 
were not consistent with one aspect of Standard 3. Part 
of this standard includes interpretation of assessment 
to help faculty to understand different assessment 
tools and how to use them diagnostically to guide 
instruction and enhance teacher effectiveness. While 
all four literacy coaches believed this should be part of 
their jobs, only two coaches reported this as something 
they do on a regular basis.

Standard 4: Skillful instructional Strategists is broken 
into two subsections. all four coaches reported that 
they have appropriate content area knowledge of 
how reading and writing relate to the content area 
and also felt that this was something that should be 
part of their role as literacy coach. However, there 
were inconsistencies about the other aspect of this 
standard. in terms of providing instruction to students, 
whether in a small group or individual setting, two 
coaches reported this was part of their job and should 
be, while the other two coaches reported that this was 
not part of their current role and should not be.

discussion
Previous research has found little consistency in 
the roles and responsibilities of literacy coaches 
(ira, 2004). in 2000, the international reading 
association acknowledged that literacy coaches 
assume multiple roles depending on the needs of 
students and teachers with whom they work. middle 
school literacy coaches’ responsibilities are often as 

varied as the myriad contexts in which they work. in 
fact, coaches, classroom teachers, and principals 
tend to have varying perceptions of the roles of 
responsibilities of the literacy coach (mraz, algozzine, 
& Watson, 2008; Quatroche, bean, & Hamilton, 2001; 
Shaw, 2006). This study examined the roles and 
responsibilities of four middle school literacy coaches. 
While some uncertainty about the daily work of literacy 
coaches persisted, consistencies in terms of role 
expectations emerged, as the roles of three of the 
four study participants aligned with the recommended 
standards from the international reading association. 
Specifically, the importance of establishing rapport with 
teachers was one theme that consistently emerged 
from the data. another common characteristic of the 
roles of the coaches in this study demonstrate that 
they all are involved with evaluating the literacy needs 
of students but to different extents.

as relatively new literacy coaches, the role itself was 
unclear. However, professional development offered 
to all coaches through a statewide initiative proved to 
be helpful. Three of the coaches discussed how the 
training was beneficial. They felt that they learned a 
lot and became stronger coaches as a result. one 
reported learning “new skills, websites, and information 
to share with teachers.” The state-level initiative also 
provided guidelines for the coach’s job description 
stating that 75% of coaches’ time should be spent 
working with teachers and students in classrooms. 
As suggested by one coach, this aligns with the IRA’s 
standards and prevents the coaches from being used 

Figure 1

Standard 4: Skillful Part of Current not Part of Should be Shout not be 
 instructional Strategists role Current role Part of Current role Part of Current role

Content area Knowledge 4  4 
Provide instruction to Students 2 2 2 2



GeorGia Journal of readinG 11 Volume 38, number 1   2015

as substitute teachers for example.

all coaches in this study assumed several roles as they 
worked in a variety of settings that were also identified 
in the review of the literature. based on survey results, 
all four literacy coaches reported the following roles 
as part of their responsibilities: act as an instructional 
leader in the area of literacy, provide professional 
development and resources to help teachers develop 
effective instruction, demonstrate lessons and provide 
ongoing support, provide one on one coaching by 
observing teachers in a nonthreatening manner and 
providing feedback, facilitate assessment processes, 
and have effective communication skills.

as suggested by the state guidelines, the coaches 
spend much of their time supporting teachers in the 
classroom. all four coaches describe the importance 
of modeling strategies and coaching teachers to 
become proficient on their own. One coach stated that 
she teaches sporadically and does more behind the 
scenes work such as data analysis because teachers 
do not request her assistance. The remaining coaches 
however describe getting to know teachers through 
coaching conversations where they ask questions to 
determine teachers’ needs and adjust their support 
based on teachers’ comfort levels and needs (Stover, 
Kissel, Haag, & Shoniker, 2011). These literacy 
coaches model effective literacy strategies until the 
teacher is ready to implement them effectively on their 
own. by spending time in classrooms modeling and 
providing support, the literacy coaches build trust with 
the teachers they support.

overall, it is evident in the literature that, when literacy 
coaches have a thorough understanding of the 
diverse needs of adult learners, successful coaching 
techniques, knowledge of effective instructional 
practices, and clear roles and responsibilities, they 
have a greater potential to promote changes in 
classroom practice (ira, 2004; Toll, 2005). based on 
the data analysis in this study, building a rapport with 
teachers emerged as a central theme in contributing 
to an effective interaction between coach and teacher. 
IRA’s Standard 1: Skillful Collaborators includes 
promoting positive relationships among school staff. 
all four literacy coaches reported this as part of their 
role and all believed it should be part of their role. by 
establishing and emphasizing positive relationships, 
the coaches were able to position themselves as a 
supportive figure in the building instead of an evaluative 
one. for example, one participant explained that, in 
order to build rapport with the teachers, this literacy 
coach made a concerted effort to assume a supportive 
instead of an evaluative role. an example of this can be 
seen when the coach describes how she spent more 
time modeling for some teachers before she released 

them to implement the technique on their own and 
avoided observation before teachers felt comfortable 
with her presence in their classrooms. Her principal 
gave her feedback that indicated that the literacy coach 
was well received and that she positioned herself 
effectively as a supportive professional. another 
coach established rapport by making it clear from 
the beginning that she was not the “know-all-expert” 
and that they will both learn together. She validated 
the positive techniques of teachers, particularly those 
who she is “not sure if they have bought into [her] yet.” 
To emphasize the value of collaboration, this coach 
approached teachers by asking if they were interested 
in co-teaching and sharing their collective knowledge. 
One teacher remarked, “I’d love if you could come in 
once a week because there is always something that 
i learn from you.” The literacy coach responded, “i 
always learn from [you] too.” This demonstrated the 
coach’s effort to build trusting, equal relationships with 
teachers. When literacy coaches worked together with 
teachers to build a learning community where teachers 
and coaches collaborated to establish goals and 
identify areas of needed professional development, 
coaches were able to better approximate the standards 
suggested by the international reading association 
for their role.

When trusting and mutually communicative 
relationships were established, coaches reported that 
teachers were less resistant. by positioning themselves 
as peers with teachers, the literacy coaches were able 
to show teachers that they were supportive and not 
evaluative authority figures.

both similarities and differences are apparent in the 
coaches’ roles as skillful evaluators of literacy needs 
(ira Standard 3). all coaches reported that they 
were involved with the administration of assessments 
for students. additionally, they participated in data 
analysis and progress monitoring of students as part 
of their roles as a literacy coach. one literacy coach 
stated, “most of the work i do is with data… our system 
is 100% driven on data.” another coach mentioned 
the use of a specific assessment to determine needs 
of students and differentiated instruction. However, 
survey results reveal that two out of the four literacy 
coaches did not engage in IRA’s Standard 3 as part of 
their roles and responsibilities but believe it should be 
part of their jobs. Standard three states that coaches’ 
roles should include leading faculty in understanding, 
selecting, and using multiple forms of assessment 
as diagnostic tools. both similarities and differences 
in the work that each coach does at the school level 
reveal the need for more consistencies in roles and 
responsibilities for literacy coaches.

The interview data indicated that the role of the 



GeorGia Journal of readinG 12 Volume 38, number 1   2015

literacy coach is complex. all four literacy coaches 
reported challenges and rewards of their positions. 
Their roles were dependent on the needs of individual 
teachers, directives from administration, mandated 
state requirements, and day-to-day challenges such 
as maneuvering between a variety of content area 
classes. one literacy coach described the challenge 
of the literacy coaching role as walking a fine line with 
administration and teachers and requires the need to 
remain neutral.

When literacy coaches have a solid understanding of 
and respect for the diverse needs of adult learners, they 
can promote changes in classroom practice (bean, 
belcastro, Hathaway, risko, rosemary, & roskos, 
2008; ira, 2004; Stover, et al., 2011; Toll, 2005). 
by providing consistent and responsive professional 
development that is centered on enhancing the quality 
of instruction, literacy coaches have the potential to 
play an effective role as a member of the school’s 
literacy team. Continued research in the area of 
literacy coaching is critical as we continue to refine the 
ways in which professional resources can be applied 
to improve teacher quality and enhance student 
achievement. 

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bean, r. m., belcastro, b., Hathaway, J., risko, V., 

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appendix a
Semi-Structured interview Guide
middle literacy Coaches: a Study of roles and 
responsibilities

Establishing rapport & Background information 
1. Tell me a little about yourself and your teaching 
experience. 

2. What is your current title? Who are your roles and 
responsibilities? Who determines these?

3. discuss your preparation for your job. What are 
your areas of certification/licensure? What in-service 
preparation and/or support have your received? do 
you feel this is sufficient? Why/why not?

4. How many years have you been in your current 
position? What did you do before that? Why did you 
change?

roles and responsibilities 
5. do your roles and responsibilities differ from what 
you anticipated that they would be before your took 
the position? explain.

6. With whom do you work primarily? (e.g. teachers, 
students, administrators). Why do you think it is this 
way?

7. When you work with teachers and students, what 
are some of your main responsibilities/activities? (e.g. 
direct teaching, co-teaching, planning, mentoring, 
evaluating, subbing, non-instructional duties)

8. do you work with other specialist such as special 
education teachers, eSl teachers, speech therapists, 
etc? Please describe your work with them.

9. What do you normally do in the course of a week? 
does this differ across the year or stay about the 
same? Why?

rewards/Challenges
10. What do you find rewarding about your job?

11. What dilemmas do you face in your job? How do 
you solve these?

Conclusion
12. What else would you like to share about your 
position as a literacy professional?

appendix B
middle School literacy Coach Survey
adapted from Standards for Middle and High School 
Literacy Coaches (IRA, 2006) and What’s Hot, What’s 
Not (Cassidy & Cassidy, 2009)

1 – Part of my current coaching role and should be

2 – Part of my current coaching role and should not be

3– not part of my current coaching role but should be 

4 – not part of my current coaching role and should 
not be



GeorGia Journal of readinG 14 Volume 38, number 1   2015

 
 Score  
Standard 1: Skillful Collaborators (circle one)

Collaborate with School Literacy Team – collaborate with school level literacy team  
to determine school wide literacy strengths and needs and develop and to implement  1    2    3    4
a literacy program

Promote Positive Relationships Among School Staff – establish and emphasize positive  
relationships in a supportive, rather than an evaluative manner. 1    2    3    4

Foundations of Literacy –share with teachers a body of research about how students  
become successful readers, writers, and communicators 1    2    3    4

Family Literacy – serve as a resource to families (e.g., provide information to parents  
about how they can support their child’s reading development at home) 1    2    3    4

Standard 2: Skillful Job-Embedded Coaches

Provide Professional Development – share literacy strategies for effective reading  
and writing instruction 1    2    3    4

Demo Lessons –demonstrate instructional strategies and provide ongoing support  
to teachers as they try the strategies themselves 1    2    3    4

Classroom Coaching (One-on-One) – observe teachers in a nonthreatening manner 
in order to provide feedback through reflective dialogue 1    2    3    4

Content Area Reading – discuss/share strategies and ideas to enhance content area  
reading and writing 1    2    3    4

Differentiated Instruction –work with teachers to develop and implement 
differentiated instruction to meet the needs of individual learners 1    2    3    4

Materials – assist teachers in selection and analysis of content area text  
and instructional materials 1    2    3    4

Standard 3: Skillful Evaluators of literacy Needs

Assessment –lead faculty in understanding, selecting, and using multiple forms of  
assessments as diagnostic tools to guide instructional decision making and enhance  
both teacher and program effectiveness 1    2    3    4

Analyze Data and Monitor Student Progress – meet with teachers to examine  
student work and evaluate their success while analyzing trends and results 1    2    3    4

Conduct Assessment – for individuals or groups of students 1    2    3    4

Standard 4: Skillful instructional Strategists

Content Area Knowledge – know how reading and writing processes relate with the  
various disciplines (i.e. english language arts, math, science, and social studies) 1    2    3    4

Provide Instruction – for individuals or small groups of students who are struggling 
readers (push-in, pull-out, or both settings) 1    2    3    4


