Sharron Helmke
Senior Vice President, Professional Services
Sharron Helmke, senior vice president of professional services at Learning Forward, is a professional certified coach with the International Coaching Federation and a Certified Gestalt Professional Coach. She is the author of the recurring “Coaches Corner” feature in The Learning Professional. Sharron formerly served as senior consultant for Learning Forward, leading our Coaches’ Academies and supporting schools, districts, and regional organizations in the implementation of instructional coaching programs, mentoring, and teacher leadership development. She also serves as a content development consultant, supporting the design of Learning Forward’s virtual offerings and customized professional learning, including the ELA Mentor Coaching and the Content Coaching programs. Previously, Sharron served as a classroom teacher, campus based instructional coach, ELA program coordinator, and coordinator of instructional coaching. She holds a doctorate in transformational change for societal impact and her published research focuses on shared leadership for instructional improvement.
All Articles
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Why now is exactly the time you should be hiring instructional coaches
During this time of teacher shortages, it is tempting to leave instructional coaching vacancies unfilled in favor of placing—or keeping—those promising experienced candidates in classrooms. Especially now, when pulling teachers out of their classrooms for professional learning is no longer a viable option, instructional coaching is even more critical to […] -
Where to start when everything feels urgent
For those who support teachers, it can feel like there are myriad urgent needs, especially when educators are stretched thin and students are struggling, as many are now. How do you prioritize your support, and where do you start? The effort-to-impact matrix is a simple but valuable tool that can […] -
How to coach while performing ‘other duties as assigned’
I’m hearing from coaches everywhere that they are feeling especially stressed and overwhelmed right now. It’s not because of their coaching roles per se, but because of the “other duties as assigned” that are included in many coaches’ job descriptions. If you are overloaded and questioning how much longer you […] -
How to coach while performing ‘other duties as assigned.’
I’m hearing from coaches everywhere that they are feeling especially stressed and overwhelmed right now. It’s not because of their coaching roles per se, but because of the “other duties as assigned” that are included in many coaches’ job descriptions. If you are overloaded and questioning how much longer you […] -
No more random acts of professional learning
As schools seek to heal their communities after more than a year of disruption, professional learning is key to ensuring that educators at every level have the knowledge and capacity to meet students’ and staff members’ needs. It may be tempting to address the list of needs one at a […] -
A coach’s task is to plant the seeds of change
As this issue’s articles make clear, these are highly stressful times for schools. Of course, education is always a stressful profession. Even without a pandemic, educators navigate ever-evolving expectations in the form of shifting learning standards, student needs, governmental and societal expectations, and performance evaluations. Instructional coaches play an important […] -
Show yourself that what you do makes a difference
Coaches are called upon to meet teachers’ needs, but we have some of the same needs in our own professional lives. One of those needs is validation that our efforts are making a difference. That’s often harder to find for coaches than for teachers, who can see their impact on […] -
No more random acts of professional learning
As schools seek to heal their communities after more than a year of disruption, professional learning is key to ensuring that educators at every level have the knowledge and capacity to meet students’ and staff members’ needs. It may be tempting to address the list of needs one at a […] -
To coach for equity, start by looking within
As coaches, we spend our days actively supporting the professional growth of others, but we’re also tasked with modeling lifelong learning through our own continued inquiry and reflection. Nowhere is this more important than when it comes to antiracism. But knowing where or how to start can feel overwhelming. In […] -
The keys to coaching outside your expertise
Kindergarten and elementary classrooms never fail to bring me to a state of awe. Alphabet charts, number lines, book bins — the environment is so different from the high school English classrooms I inhabited as a teacher. The teaching is different, too, guiding inexperienced students in learning what it means […]
