This paper reports on the preliminary results of an ongoing long-term study of the role of coaches from the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) in facilitating whole-school reform. The paper also presents a glimpse into the work of coaches at a very specific time in their work, both with schools and in their own understanding of coaching. The report focuses on two points: (1) how coaches assist and enhance schools' efforts at reform, that is, what kinds of activities coaches engage in, how these activities facilitate change, and what coaches think about these activities; and (2) how coaches' activities are grounded in CCE's core school-based practices. Data for the study were collected from the logs of, interviews with, and observations of 18 coaches. (Appended are a sample coach's log and the interview protocol.) Following are some of the key findings of the study: The coaches' principal activities focused on meetings facilitation, conflicts among staff members, teacher-student interactions, and solutions to schoolwide dilemmas. The most frequently mentioned roles of a coach were to ask questions, to mirror the school culture for teachers, and to bring resources to teachers. (Contains 12 references.) (WFA)