You could be this person: Bumps into a teacher between meetings. "Oh hey!" you say, suddenly remembering your coaching cycle ended (or fizzled out) last week because your schedules got flooded. "Things got so busy with testing, but that was great work we did! Keep it up!" And then give an awkward thumbs up while speed-walking to your next meeting.
OR: You could create a thoughtful close that leaves the teacher feeling motivated, reflective, committed, and efficacious.
Just like we teach our students that strong conclusions matter, how we close our coaching cycles sets the tone for future growth. And thoughtful closings look quite different from hallway high-fives.
Why Closings Matter
When I first started coaching teachers, I didn't really understand the power of a great closing meeting. Then I had a teacher tell me, "You know what? I didn't really get how much progress we'd made until we looked at the data together at the end. Sometimes it's hard to remember where we were when we started. I was kind of shocked," or, "I've been teaching on autopilot, and this process really motivated me to shake things up again and re-evaluate what's possible". That's when it clicked—these final conversations aren't just good manners, they're opportunities to:
Surface and cement positive feelings like resourcefulness, hope, self-efficacy, and commitment -- important building blocks for resilience in a challenging profession
Ground perceived progress (or sometimes challenge perceived lack of progress!) in evidence
Connect teacher moves to student outcomes (another resilience muscle power move)
Identify which strategies had the biggest impact
Plan for sustaining momentum
Get feedback to become a better coach
And yes, celebrate!
Just as we wouldn't consider goal-setting a pre-cursor to coaching (it's an integral part of the coaching process itself), closing conversations aren't just a formality to wrap things up. They're active learning experiences that parallel what we know about how people process and integrate new learning. Think about the synthesis portion of a strong lesson plan—that vital moment where students connect ideas, articulate their learning, and consider applications. A thoughtful closing conversation serves the same purpose. It's where teachers often have their deepest insights about their practice and make the connections that lead to sustained change.
Planning for Impact
Before jumping into reflection questions (we'll get there!), let's talk preparation. Here's what you need:
The Story of Your Work
Pro tip: Create a brief narrative timeline of your coaching cycle.
Include:
Key moments where you noticed shifts in practice or thinking ("I used to think discussion protocols were just about taking turns, but now I see how they're building students' listening skills")
Important decision points that shaped your work
Challenges you worked through together
Student voices that capture the impact ("Ms. Johnson, I actually like working with my group now because everyone has something to say")
Times when teacher reflections sparked new insights ("Maybe the problem isn't that they can't do it—maybe they just need more time and structure to think")
Places where you adjusted course and why
Moments that highlight student agency ("Can we use that diagram from yesterday? I think it would help us understand this better")
The Evidence
Student outcome data aligned to the original goals
Documentation of teacher practices you focused on
Baseline measures from the start of your cycle
Student work samples showing progression
Observation notes highlighting implementation milestones
The Synthesis
Pull together:
Initial goals and how they evolved
Key strategies implemented
Impact data for different student groups
Unexpected learnings or outcomes
Questions or areas for future exploration
Essential Elements of Closing Conversations
Starting with Story and Celebration
Before diving straight into analysis, begin by honoring the journey. Share your narrative summary of the work together, weaving in key moments, data points, and powerful quotes.
Try something like:
"We've lived a lot of life since that first meeting! Looking back, I remember when you said [early quote about challenge or goal]. Since then, we've seen your students move from [baseline] to [current outcome]. There was that breakthrough moment when [student name] said [powerful quote], and you noticed [teacher insight]. Before we dig into the specifics, I want to pause here. You and your students have put in a ton of work to reach this point! How does it feel to hear that all played back?"
This opening creates space for both celebration and reflection before moving into more detailed analysis. It helps teachers see their growth and their students' growth as a story of meaningful change featuring agentic actors, and not just numbers on a page or change that happened by chance.
Digging into the Evidence
Move into more specific analysis with questions and prompts like:
"Let's look more closely at how different student groups experienced these changes..."
"I noticed some interesting patterns in how this strategy evolved over time..."
"What stands out to you about how your approach shifted from September to now?"
Making Learning Visible
Guide reflection through multiple lenses:
Impact on Students
Which subgroups showed the most growth?
Where do we still see unfinished learning?
What unexpected patterns emerged?
What did you learn about your students through this process?
Changes in Practice
Which new strategy had the highest success rate?
What did the implementation data tell us?
Where did you see the strongest correlation between teacher moves and student outcomes?
What did you learn about yourself through this process?
Process Insights
Which coaching activities were most helpful? (I often list out our activities, especially for folx I've worked with for a longer cycle)
What would you skip or change if we did this again?
When did you want to throw your lesson plan out the window? (And what did we learn from those moments?)
Looking Forward
Help teachers maintain momentum:
What do you want to carry forward?
Which practices or decisions have the most impact?
What's your minimum viable version of this strategy that you could implement when it's hard?
When Things Get Real
Name it: "Well, that flu season was a plot twist we didn't see coming..."
Look for bright spots in the data, even small ones
Consider what we learned about what doesn't work (hey, that's data too!)
If it will benefit students and the teacher moving forward, consider sharing feedback about teacher mindsets, habits, or actions that made your work together difficult. Be sure to ground it in specific examples and evidence of impact, not your general sense or opinion. This should also NOT be the first time you bring up any detrimental patterns.
Final Thoughts
Strong closings set everyone up for success, whether you'll continue working together or not. They should spire to leave teachers feeling:
Clear about their impact (with evidence to back it up)
Confident about which strategies were most effective
Equipped to keep monitoring their progress
Ready to tackle their next challenge
And excited about what's next
P.S. I strongly recommend using an end-of-cycle survey. Your future self will thank you when it's time to analyze coaching impact data over time!
