Coaching Fellowship Session @LHJH

Preparing for the session was easy, hard, anxiety-ridden, and EXCITING!!  Fellow district coaches and I met a couple of times, to reflect and decide what we really wanted to drive home in our sessions.  After I was feeling good about my presentation, I met with my principal, Carrie, a few days before the sessions were to be held.  We ran through each slide, and discussed any changes that needed to be made, as well as what we thought would work.
I was given 30 minute time slots, with four small group rotations.  So, introductions, purpose, and background turned into a 'speed zone', in order to get to the meat... the Gripe Jam.  It was AWESOME!  Teachers couldn't believe they were getting to COMPLAIN... and, getting to do so without barriers.  Some stated they weren't complainers (though, I beg to differ as I'd been observing in previous PD days!), while others ran out of sticky notes at their tables.  Once we'd gone through the entire exercise, that "Aha" look on some of their faces was priceless.  They hadn't realized some problems/gripes were as prevalent in their minds until they saw it on paper.
I think I gained a little more buy-in from doing this session, and I've had several teachers tell me how thrilled they are to have someone on campus, whose sole purpose is to provide tech innovation/integration support to the staff.  Although I would have liked a little longer time slots to meet in the small groups, I think we're at a good starting point.  Teachers are receptive to having me join them in their PLCs and classrooms... and, that's half the battle!  I consider this a win. :)