Target 18: Collegial coaching and mentoring
Coaching and mentoring are relationships that help us better understand our own practices and drive our continual professional learning.

This post is part of a series designed to help parents, teachers, students, and the global community understand the Targets associated with WAB's journey to achieve the Future of Learning.

Target 18 is focused on giving our teachers opportunities to improve as professionals through peer coaching and mentoring.

As bestselling author Timothy Gallwey puts it, "Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them." Microsoft founder Bill Gates stated it simply: "Everyone needs a coach."

Our teachers are highly qualified, experienced international educators. But they are also learners. Growing research is teaching us how people learn, and educators must strive to continually improve their craft. Every teacher – and really, professionals in every industry – should always be striving to improve.

Teachers should have opportunities for professional growth, mentorship, and coaching in their regular work days, not just during days specifically marked for professional development. The goal is to create systems and structures that foster a culture in which colleagues continuously learn from one another's expertise, gain insights from different perspectives, and get immediate informal feedback.

Target 18 aims to create a professional community of learners, coaches and mentors for the benefit of everyone at our school.