Mid-Year Reset: Re-Introducing Yourself as a Coach with Chanavia Patterson, ep. 257

Ready for a mid-year coaching refresh?
Winter break will be here before we know it! Rather than racing through December and starting January on autopilot, now is your chance to pause, reflect, realign, and step into the next semester intentionally.
This is the first episode in our new series, Your Mid-Year Coaching Reset. In this conversation, principal and executive coach Chanavia Patterson joins me to talk about what a mid-year reset: reintroducing yourself as a coach really means, and how taking time to reflect now can set you up for a successful spring semester. She shares actionable tips for ending the fall semester purposefully and planning for the upcoming semester.
Together, we explore how school leaders and instructional coaches can use the RESET framework to reframe their mindset, equip their teams, structure their time, engage in feedback, and tackle challenges with the support of a coach. We discuss collecting data, conducting audits, gathering feedback, and culture-based leadership. Chanavia offers nine reflective questions leaders and instructional coaches can ask to stay focused heading into the spring semester.
This is a must-listen for anyone looking to hit reset mid-year!
Your Mid-Year Coaching Reset
Much of the conversation centers around Chanavia’s RESET framework, designed to help school leaders and instructional coaches clarify their purpose and boost their effectiveness. We explore each element in depth:
- Reframe Your Leadership Mindset: Step back and rethink what your role really means. Focus on the process, not just outcomes.
- Equip Your Team: We don’t do this work in isolation. Strategically delegate, empower teacher leaders, and build support systems so you’re not shouldering every responsibility alone.
- Structure Your Time: Stop trying to do it all at the same time. Separate instructional leadership days and administrative days. The paperwork and documentation will still be there after you spend time in classrooms.
- Engage in Feedback: Oftentimes, coaches and leaders are quick to get to planning. Instead of moving straight to planning, we need to ask and engage in feedback on our plan for next semester. We are not the only experts in the building, and there’s always room to grow. Take a pulse, pause, and then plan thoughtfully.
- Tackle Challenges with a Coach: Every coach and school leader deserves a coach! Partner with a coach for accountability, brainstorming, and support. You don’t have to solve every problem solo!
The Audit Approach
I asked Chanavia how we can gather the data or perspective we need to point ourselves in the right direction when doing a mid-year coaching reset. Her answer: Audit, Audit, Audit!
She says we can’t just make decisions off our gut feelings or what we think. Audits provide the data we need to make decisions. The data can look different: leadership meetings, classroom visits, student and family feedback, and more. Chanavia recommends auditing what we’ve already done every 30, 60, or 90 days and using that information to guide our decisions for next semester.
Tips for Getting Through the Last Few Weeks Before Winter Break
Winter break is coming, and it’s easy to start counting down. So, how can instructional coaches make the most of that time?
Chanavia says micro moments for morale are very important! This means identifying and celebrating small wins. We’re looking for progress over perfection. Teachers may not have gotten the desired result, but they are taking the steps to get there. She says that looking for these moments changes everything as you’re preparing your leadership mindset for the next semester. You can ask parents for things to celebrate too!
Her second suggestion is preplanning. She says there’s nothing better than heading into winter break with a clear plan for the first 30 days of January. Chanavia explains that it’s so important to do that work on the front end.
9 Questions Every Principal and Instructional Coach Needs to Ask Themselves Before Winter Break
Reflection is central to effective leadership! Don’t walk into the next semester without a plan. Chanavia shares nine questions to help you reflect, regroup, and set new intentions.
- What is the one leadership lesson I learned this semester?
- Where did my team struggle the most and why?
- Which systems are working well, and which ones do I need to adjust?
- What is one boundary I need to reinforce?
- How did I spend most of my time, and was I intentional with my time?
- What is one challenge that I want to tackle head-on next semester?
- How engaged are my teachers, and how can I support them?
- What is one way I can be more present?
- What will success look like at the end of the school year?
Culture-Based Leadership
Culture-based leadership is rooted in changing the way your team thinks, acts, and interacts. Chanavia says that everything that happens in our schools is either created or allowed by leadership and that all aspects of school leadership are rooted in culture.
She goes on to explain the three pillars of culture-based leadership. School leaders should use these guiding questions to create positive changes on campus.
- How do I want people to think as a result of this interaction?
- How do I want them to act?
- How do I want them to interact with the material I shared?
Mid-Year Reset: Re-Introducing Yourself as a Coach
The end of the semester is the perfect time to pause, reflect, and realign your coaching practice. Use Chanavia’s REFLECT Framework and reflective questions to guide your plan for your first month back.
This episode is full of practical strategies and tips to help you wrap up this semester and get ready for January. Listen now to step into the new semester with clarity, confidence, and renewed energy.
Topics and Questions Discussed in Episode 257 – Mid-Year Reset: Re-Introducing Yourself as a Coach with Chanavia Patterson
- Mid-year reset: Re-introducing yourself as a coach
- Why you need a mid-year coaching reset
- RESET framework for school leaders and instructional coaches: Reframe, Equip, Structure, Engage, Tackle
- Using audits to gather the data and perspective you need to make decisions
- Tips for getting through the last few weeks before winter break
- Micro moments to boost morale
- Your first 30 days of January: Preplanning for a successful new semester
- 9 reflective questions every coach and school leader should ask before the next semester starts
- Moving from endless to-do lists to intentional “Done” lists
- Time blocking: Separating instructional and administrative priorities
- Culture-based leadership: influencing how people think, act, and interact
Grab the Action Plan Toolkit
Want some help with your mid-year reset?
Grab the Action Plan Toolkit! It’s filled with practical resources that build on what we talked about in this episode. You’ll get tools to help you conduct a needs assessment, set clear priorities, and create a focused plan so you’re not spinning your wheels or just crossing things off an endless to-do list. Instead, you’ll make real progress at your school!
Ready to listen?
This post contains links to products from one or more of our advertisers. This means I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post when you click on links to those products. Thank you for your support!
Learn more
- Episode 242 – How to Introduce Yourself as an Instructional Coach
- Buzzing with Ms. B on Instagram
- Join My Facebook Group: Instructional Coaching with Ms. B
- Free Five-Day Challenge: Coaching Resistant Teachers
- Chanavia Patterson on Instagram @principalpatterson
Helpful Resources
- Instructional Coaching Action Plan Toolkit Binder: Forms, Planners, & Guide on TpT
- Instructional Coaching Action Plan Bundle
- Instructional Coaching Action Plan Bundle – PD, PLC + Coaching Cycle Forms on TpT
- Instructional Coach Binder Megapack – Editable Forms, Calendars, Planning Tools
- Instructional Coaching Binder Megapack – Editable Forms, Documents & Tools on TpT
- Buzzing with Ms. B TpT Store
- The Confident Literacy Coach
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app
Thank you for listening to Buzzing with Ms. B: the Coaching Podcast. Want more coaching ideas
Check me out at buzzingwithmsb.com and on Instagram @buzzingwithmsb.
If you love the show, share it with a coach who would love it too, or leave me a review on iTunes! It’s free and it helps others find this show, too. Happy coaching!
Podcast produced by Fernie Ceniceros






