How I Decide Who to Coach First (Without Getting Overwhelmed)

Prioritizing coaching support with strategy, not guilt.

Instructional coaching is one of the most rewarding roles on campus — but it can also feel like you’re being pulled in twelve directions at once.

Especially in August and September, everything feels urgent. New teachers need you. Veterans want to vent. Admins are assigning tasks. And somewhere in the middle, you’re trying to actually coach.

For years, I found myself defaulting to whoever was struggling loudest. I didn’t like it — but I didn’t have a better system.

Focus = Freedom

Then I Created a Simple Coaching Prioritization Tool

I realized I needed something to slow me down before jumping into another support cycle. Something that helped me see the big picture.

So I started asking myself 5 quick questions anytime I sat down to plan my week:

1. What do I know about this teacher’s student outcomes?
2. Have I seen signs of instructional growth or resistance lately?
3. Has this teacher implemented any coaching suggestions?
4. Are they in crisis mode, or open to reflection right now?
5. Where will my support make the biggest instructional impact this month?

I wrote them on a sticky note. Then I typed them into a printable. And now I use it weekly as a 5-minute coaching check-in.

Save

You Can Use It Too

If you’re a coach who’s feeling stretched or unsure where to focus, I turned those 5 questions into a free 1-page printable.

It’s clean, coach-tested, and designed to bring a little more clarity into your week.

From Quick Check to Full Coaching Strategy

This freebie is part of a bigger system I’ve been using this year — a quadrant-based coaching matrix that helps me map out support across the whole campus.

I use it to plot each teacher based on:

• Willingness to be coached
• Instructional skill based on student data

From there, I use strategy pages to decide how to show up — who needs modeling, who needs encouragement, who needs space to grow.

If that sounds like something that might help your coaching, you can see the full printable + fillable workbook here:

Final Thought:

Coaching doesn’t have to feel chaotic. When you slow down, ask the right questions, and coach with clarity — everyone benefits.

And you get to go home feeling like you spent your time where it mattered most.