The rapid proliferation of reading coaches is one of the responses to increased attention to reading achievement and the achievement gap in the United States. In recent years, reading has been the focus of both state and federal reading initiatives. With the changing roles have come a variety of new titles, such as reading coach and literacy coach, and there is considerable variability in the job descriptions for these coaches. Some coaches are volunteers with no specific training in reading, while others are school district employees with master?s degrees and reading specialist certifications. In some schools, tutors who work with students are also called coaches. These individuals have a variety of levels of training, and they may work for companies (both profit and nonprofit) that supply supplemental services to students attending schools labeled by the state as "in need of improvement," based on the guidelines of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. At present, there is little consistency in the training, backgrounds, and skills required for such positions, and there is little consistency in the general competence of coaches, in part because there are no agreed upon definitions or standards for the roles. This position statement addresses reading coaching as a means of providing professional development for teachers in schools. Specifically, there is evidence that one-shot, workshop oriented professional development efforts do not result in changes in classroom practices or in student learning. Coaching provides the additional support needed for teachers to implement various programs. however, that potential will be unfulfilled if reading coaches do not have sufficient depth of knowledge and range of skills to perform adequately in the coaching role.