At the Pacific Northwest School Project at Giaudrone Middle School in Tacoma, WA, 70 students applied for 30 coaching slots. The Shire Scholarship Program receives far more applications than there are scholarships. How do selection committees work to figure out who to choose?
At Giaudrone Middle School, an important screening tool we use is our “Are you Ready for Coaching?” questionnaire as a starting point of discussion of this important question.
True, anyone can benefit from coaching. However, working with a coach is not a passive experience. What you get out of coaching is what you put into it. If a student doesn’t see the need to change, all the coaching time in the world isn’t going to get the student motivated or on track. Students who are strong candidates for coaching have strong internal motivation to using coaching to reach a personal goal.
Fortunately, we have plenty of motivated students who apply. Shaunna’s application interview was one to remember! She was distracted by objects in the room we were in, and had trouble finishing her sentences because she had so much she wanted to share.
With Shaunna, it was no difficulty at all to determine whether she could get some use out of the program – her distractibility and impulsivity was obvious. But was she motivated? How much did she really want to be in the program? Did she understand the sacrifices that would be involved? Was she willing to make it a priority?
Ultimately, what convinced us that she would make a good candidate was her clear goals for next year: she planned apply to a high school with tough entrance requirements. In order to get in, Shaunna wanted to improve her grades and her behavior in class.
Shauna asked us to help hold her accountable and was willing to make a commitment to the program. A coach is working with her now to stay focused on her goal. If her joy at being accepted to the program is any indication, we look forward to reporting on her successfully entering her chosen high school next fall.
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