Olivia Wahl engaged in discussion around a conference table in a classroom or meeting room.
Olivia Wahl and a teacher sitting at a table reviewing notes and writing in a notebook.
Olivia Wahl and three women seated around a table with papers, pens, and office supplies, engaged in a discussion in an office or classroom setting.

My coaching and consulting work is built on a foundation of genuine dialogue and mutual respect. I believe the most powerful educational transformations emerge through open, collaborative conversations. I specialize in facilitative and dialogical approaches where we engage as true thought partners - each bringing valuable expertise to the table. In this balanced partnership, we'll develop strategies that remain firmly centered on teacher empowerment and student success. Your unique context, challenges, and aspirations drive our work together. I'm here to listen deeply, ask meaningful questions, and co-create solutions tailored specifically to your educational community.

Consider these possible sparks for shared inquiry: 

• What is a dilemma you or your students are facing?

• What are you or your students feeling stuck/wrestling/grappling with?

• What is a wondering/a topic you'd like to study together?

• What is a practice you want to incorporate? 

• What do you want to be more efficient with/about?

What specific challenges or opportunities are you currently navigating? What would meaningful support look like for you right now?

Collaborative Partnerships for Educational Growth

Coaching Support

Facilitative Approach

What is the goal of a facilitative collaboration?

Guiding you and your team towards discovering your own insights and solutions.

How does this coaching approach work in practice?

I act as a facilitator, guiding you and your team to self-discovery. I use open-ended questions, active listening, and feedback to help you identify your goals, challenges, and growth opportunities. 

Together, we set teacher-focused goals around empowerment, self-awareness, self-directed learning, and individual growth.

Here's how we'll approach our coaching partnership:

You’ll share your needs clearly, along with any data you've collected.

We’ll explore and develop your insights, solutions, and strategies. 

You’ll develop your self-reflection and problem-solving skills.

Dialogical Approach

What is the goal of a dialogical collaboration?

Establishing shared meaning and collective understanding between you and your team.

How does this coaching approach work in practice?

I balance inquiry and guidance, asking open-ended questions that encourage self-discovery and help your team co-create meaning. While I can provide advice, you have autonomy over our path forward.

Together, we set student-focused goals around empowerment, growth, and informed decision-making.

Here's how we'll approach our coaching partnership:

You’ll come ready for open-minded communication and sharing perspectives about your needs.

I’ll be a thought partner in exploring and developing your insights, solutions, and strategies. 

We’ll grow together through mutual empathy, risk-taking, and commitment to a trusting relationship.

Consulting Support

Directive Approach

What is the goal of a directive collaboration?

Offering expertise to you and your team when in need of knowledge, solutions, and insights. 

How does this coaching approach work in practice?

I share expertise with specific recommendations to help your team reach desired outcomes. While I will provide advice, you have autonomy over our path forward.

Together, we set strategy-focused goals for achieving rapid results, developing specific skills, and calibrating established protocols. 

Here's how we'll approach our consulting partnership:

You’ll engage in asset-based conversations around data trends, student engagement, and learning structures.

I’ll use my skills, knowledge, or expertise to help you find a clear path to solutions.

We’ll implement solutions with clarity around student outcomes.

Line drawing of a person on a computer screen with a speech bubble.

Mentorship & Resource Connections 

Connecting frontline educators, caregivers, and business startups with cutting-edge research and industry experts through personalized mentorship and collaborative learning circles. Together, we'll strengthen your impact as a champion for the students and communities you serve.

Book a session

Black background with three white outline geometric shapes: a hexagon on top, a triangle on the bottom left, and a circle on the bottom right.

Play & Inquiry:
The Heart of Learning

Championing dedicated time for play and inquiry during the school day through rich, immersive experiences and thoughtfully designed schedules that prioritize these essential learning approaches. 

Learn more

Black and white line drawing of a target with an arrow hitting the bullseye.

Personalized Learning &  Classroom Transformation

Crafting personalized belief statements that capture educators' journeys while collaboratively designing research-informed classroom structures with clear learning targets, student choice, and differentiated support. Through coaching cycles and innovative learning labs, we build collective efficacy and encourage the productive risk-taking essential for vibrant school communities.

Illustration of four hands connected, surrounding a gear icon, symbolizing teamwork and collaboration.

Transdisciplinary Curriculum Design

Designing cross-grade curriculum calendars featuring engaging, idea-centered units with clear learning targets and authentic literacy experiences. Our approach connects students with real-world audiences, integrates literacy across content areas, and leverages curated mentor texts within project-based learning to foster transformative understanding.

  • "The best thing about our coaching sessions is that there are offerings to help create, not simply suggestions or being told to do it 'this' way. Data analysis from a different point of view is also interesting, as I am vested with my students day in and day out."

  • "I really enjoy the community and brainstorming that happens in a coaching cycle. I like being able to celebrate my students, and I enjoy the feedback from fellow educators. "

  • "You are always super supportive of me. I appreciate you so much. I felt supported when you listened to me without judgment and spoke on my behalf about sharing materials with department members."

  • "A lot of 'life' was happening around this coaching cycle, with my daughter being sick and being out for other training on Monday and again this coming Monday. Still, I didn't feel stressed about your coming in. I am glad you are seeing my authentic classroom and that I am comfortable just letting you into the beautiful mess. I am still working on finding 'my people,' but you feel like 'my people'."

  • "Allowing this experience to truly be in the moment met my needs and allowed for the authenticity of the process. In the future, I can see myself and my fellow coaches supporting each other like this. Up to now, coaching has been supporting teachers as thought partners. Now, coaching can be coaches as thought partners collaborating to grow ourselves as an integral part of supporting student growth."

  • "I felt safe to teach the way I believe is best. I felt prepared by my building coach as a reading teacher and as a lab host. Most of all, I am walking away with reassurance in my teaching, research to back up my teaching, and that I have grown as a teacher. I feel supported to continue to take risks and feel encouraged to create larger goals for myself and my class."

  • "In every lab I've had the chance to participate in as a superintendent, teachers always point to the support they've received from their colleagues–this comes in the form of planning, as well as the personal support required to take the risks inherent in trying something new as a teacher with an audience."

  • "As a principal in our labs, we’ve seen time and time again how capable kids are when we give them time and space to work--we don't have to make sure they're ready first--they learn by doing and improve through repeated, more refined approximations."

Current Partnerships &
Collaborations

A metallic letter 'B' with two square cutouts, one near the top and one near the bottom, on a dark background.
Illustration of a stylized knight's helmet with a blue and gray color scheme
Black and dark blue NCTE logo.
NCTA logo with interconnected abstract figures and the letters 'NCTA' beneath.
Logo of the U.S. Department of Education with the acronym 'ED' in large bold letters and the department name beneath it.
Seal of the New Hartford Central School District featuring a knight in armor with a helmet and crest, text encircling the emblem.
A stylized logo with a large navy blue letter W and a detailed illustration of a bulldog's face to the right
Logo for BOCES with a pattern of blue circles and the names Oneida, Herkimer, and Madison.
Logo featuring a stylized sunrise with sun rays and the text 'reimagineED' underneath.
Map outline of New York State next to text that reads "NEW YORK STATE OF OPPORTUNITY Certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise".

Get in touch.

Interested in working together? Send a message and I will be in touch shortly. To contact the Schoolutions podcast, please click here.