How to Sabotage a Coach

Summary Instructional coaches are often treated as a school’s all-purpose backup: covering classes, managing testing logistics, joining extra committees, and handling whatever emergency appears next. In this episode of Better Teaching, Gene Tavernetti explains how those individually reasonable requests quietly dismantle a coaching program. Gene makes the case for protecting coaching time as carefully as instructional time. He recommends a clear job description, a schedule that protects observation and debriefing, explicit monthly expectations, and a target of spending 70–80 percent of the coach’s time in classrooms. The long-term choice is clear: covering a class solves today’s problem, while coaching improves instruction this year and the years that follow. Chapters 0:00 — Welcome to Better Teaching 0:46 — The all-purpose support trap 1:23 — How understaffing consumes the coaching calendar 3:12 — The message teachers receive when coaches are pulled 4:08 — Define and protect the coaching role 4:49 — Keep 70–80% of the coach’s time in classrooms 5:16 — Dr. Randy Olson and the “nothing is an emergency” rule 5:44 — Short-term convenience versus long-term improvement 6:42 — Closing thoughts and resources Show Notes **Host:** Gene Tavernetti **Core takeaway:** Protect the coaching calendar like instructional time. Define what coaches do—and what they do not do—and hold leadership accountable for preserving that work. **Recommended starting point:** Write a clear coaching job description, set a weekly schedule for observations and debriefs, and review the coach’s time allocation monthly. **Gene’s books:** *Teach Fast, Focus Adaptable Structure Teaching* and *Maximizing the Impact of Coaching Cycles* **Website:** TESS Consulting Group **BlueSky:** @gtavarnetti **X/Twitter:** @gtavarnetti **BE Podcast Network:** bepodcastnetwork.com About Better Teaching Better Teaching is hosted by Gene Tavernetti and focuses on practical ideas for teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, and everyone who supports better work in classrooms—no clichés, no buzzwords, only stuff that works. Added/created/modified by Codex on 2026.09.22 13:22 PT on ombee This podcast sponsored by: The Bell Ringer, a weekly newsletter providing news, tools, and resources on the science of learning, written by education reporter Holly Korbey. Subscribe here.