On Monday, I went in to the Houston A+ Challenge offices and talked to Nan about launching a quarterly newsletter for CFG Coaches. I think that it could really help with bringing people and ideas together. My vision is to put out a 4-page newsletter with a different theme or focus for each quarter (like Oprah). Each issue would include a cover story, a "Protocol of the Month," a "Spotlight" on an interesting coach, school or program, and of course, information and dates about upcoming Houston A+ events for CFG coaches. We would mail each issue to every coach that has been trained in Houston as well as the current principals of their schools. Some of the theme or focus words that we thought of are
New Challenges
Trust
Value
Sharing
Community
Leadership
Reflecting
Any other ideas? Please post your own comments.
My thinking behind including a "Protocol of the Quarter" is that so many of us just use the Tuning Protocol and Consultancy. Even mature groups need to stretch and use fresh activities to gain fresh perspectives. Amy W. led a group of new coaches through the Success Analysis Protocol on October 18. It got rave reviews, so I think that will be the featured protocol for the inaugural February 2004 issue.
I'm a little worried about the mailing list. I wonder how many people who have been trained over the years are still coaching or at least still using their CFG skills in a meaningful way. I wonder how many people have moved. I wonder how many people have left teaching. Maybe putting this mailing list together will help us find out.