Do you find yourself trying to manage your time with all of the tasks required of you? Or as Roald Dahl wrote in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, “We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it.” I consider myself an organized person, efficient planner and perfecter of to-do lists. Three years ago I created a weekly calendar using Google Sheets that would help our coaching team meet the needs of our teachers.
Here’s what it looks like.
OCPS Domain Link
Outside of the OCPS Domain Link
Why did I create it?
We were in our third year of being a digital 1:1 school and had a huge range of needs for our teachers. Technologically, we had some who were extremely proficient, some who were mid-way there, and some who were at the beginning stages. When it came to experience, we had brand new teachers with education degrees, some working on an alternative certificate, some with 20+ years of experience, and those in between. With so many varying needs and the desire to help all teachers grow, we needed a way to track what we could do and when we could do it. This need gave way to the weekly calendar I created. It has since been tweaked and improved and if you use it, feel free to continue to improve it to meet your individual needs.
How do I use it?
The template explains what to fill out in each cell. I create a new sheet for each quarter so that the tabs don’t become too overwhelming. The tabs are labeled for each week and within each sheet it is labeled Monday-Friday with the respective dates. Since we have seven periods in the day, there is one row per period, plus the morning time slot. The top row is for notes for that day, such as professional learning opportunities or notices of which coach is off campus.
Where is this calendar posted?
The weekly calendar is posted on the staff canvas course so it is accessible to everyone anytime. It is also shared individually with teachers when the need arises. The link to the weekly calendar is included in agendas, such as PLC meetings and department meetings as a reminder to use it. It is always shared in edit mode so that anyone can add to the calendar. We have a bi-weekly coach’s meeting and we review it there, as well as open it each morning to set our schedule for the day.
Who can sign up and what can they sign up for?
Any teacher and/or PLC can sign up on the weekly calendar for help with anything in relation to their teaching and their responsibilities. If a teacher signs up for help with an instructional strategy, I will add my name next to their request. If a teacher signs up for help with Skyward or Canvas, the coach who is an expert in those areas will add her name next to the request. We ask the teachers to fill in their name and a short description of their need. That way we know who can best help the teacher. You may want to set a parameter such as signing up on the calendar at least the day before so that you aren’t caught unprepared that same morning.
How does this manage my time?
When I have scheduled meetings or responsibilities, I darken the cell so that it is not available for sign up. When I have time slots that no one signed up for, some of the things I use that time for is preparing professional development content, giving input electronically to teachers who ask, creating data displays for the ongoing coaching cycles or finding resources for teachers to help their professional learning. I also use the weekly calendar to help structure the multiple coaching cycles I have going on at any given time. When I facilitate professional learning, I can use the weekly calendar to schedule follow up help when necessary.
Why does this help me as an Instructional Coach?
During the second year of using this weekly calendar, I started to see the buy-in and culture shift to understanding the importance of prioritizing my time to teachers and not being called in last minute to lower priority tasks. Now that I’m using it for the third year, I have others ask me if I am available for a time and if I’m not, I’m able to say what is already scheduled on my calendar and this is respected. Or if a teacher stops me in the hallway while I’m on my way to meet/coach another teacher, I’m able to say, “I would like to help you and give you my uninterrupted time, but another teacher has already requested me. If you could please sign up on my calendar, I can meet with you during that time.” This is a tool that gave me a concrete way to shift the mindset of coaching and working with teachers as a high priority use of time.
I hope that you find that it can help you too! Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.
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