Notes
Coaching meeting 9.15.26
Kimberly Raforth and I met for our first coaching meeting on September 15, 2026 at 10:45 AM. The purpose of this meeting was to get to know one another through answering a series of questions which I had sent to Kimberly prior to the meeting and to begin to make connections between the content of the Literacy of Foundations course and the needs of the students in her classroom.
Professional Experience
Kimberly has 26 years of teaching experience. She now teaches 4th grade, but has taught all grades except first grade. She is considering retiring in 2029 when her youngest daughter graduates. She is thinking of several options for her retirement, including perhaps becoming a Reading Specialist and we even discussed the idea of her pursuing a doctorate.
Pathway to Teaching
As she left high school, Kimberly had decided that she wanted to be a teacher. As she began her college education, she became overwhelmed with some of the gen. ed. Classes and decided to abandon her idea of becoming a teacher. She worked as a bank teller for years and then became friends with a woman who was a teacher who encouraged her to come observe in her classroom. Kimberly went for the observation, and it became clear to her that she still wanted to be a teacher. She pursued her degree at Emporia State and became a teacher, even receiving her Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Baker University.
Familiarity with the content of the course.
Kimberly indicated that learning about the Science of Reading has been career changing for her. As she was teaching in kindergarten and second grade, she noticed some students who were not able to discern letter sounds or identify written letters. Now, because of the learning that she has done about the science of reading and dyslexia, she is better able to meet needs of students with similar issues. Although she is familiar with the content, she is eager to learn even more.
Course Challenges
Kimberly loves learning, so she does not see taking the course as a challenge because she is just so interested in the content! She stated that she feels as though the course could not have come at a better time due to some of the challenges faced by the students in her classroom. She did have questions about the quadrant activity and the identification of students in the scenarios as they relate to th quadrants. She will discuss this in her course.
A Typical Day
The day in Kimberly’s classroom usually begins with Wit and Wisdom, but she indicated that sometimes math is the first subject of the day. She discussed that sometimes the students feel more capable in math if it is the first thing in the morning. After either Wit and Wisdom or Math, students go to Specials, then lunch and recess. The afternoon brings instruction in Language Arts work including phonics, spelling patterns, grammar. Social studies and science complete the day. Currently students are working on figurative language in Wit and Wisdom, and she is working to simply have students put their thoughts on paper.
Guiding Principles
When asked to discuss the guiding principles in her classroom, Kimberly expressed that she wants to be sure that students know that they are her number 1 priority, and she wants each of them to feel as they they are her favorite. She talked about the importance of the relationship with each student and the influence that the positive relationship has on achievement.
Discussion of possible focus area
The results of the first Fast Bridge assessment revealed that 8 of her students need work with fluency. Consequently, Kimberly would like to craft a goal that includes increasing fluency for these 8 students. She will continue to explore the course materials and learn effective strategies to use to increase fluency. I asked if she has a need for additional resources and she indicated that she did not at this time. She also wants to set a goal to learn more about dyslexia.