Tom Many and Susan Sparks are happy to support ongoing learning through published materials. See the publications below and follow the links to view or purchase.
Books:
Articles
Tom Many and Susan Sparks are happy to be a regular contributor to the Texas Elementary School Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) Publications. While these are written primarily for principals, they are likely useful for a broad range of teacher leaders as well. We hope the articles below useful! To help in locating the article that’s right for you, they have been sorted by topic.
Focus on Learning
- Shifting the Purpose of Pre-Assessments: Providing Evidence to Inform a Teacher’s Instructional Practice
- A Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum is Not a Proper Noun
- The Need For SPEED: Criteria for Designing Effective Pyramids of Intervention
- What Matters Most: Using Power Standards to Define What is Essential
- Prioritizing the Standards Using REAL Criteria
- The Power of Professional Learning Communities to Disrupt Inequity and Ensure Learning For All
- A Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum is Not a Proper Noun
- Shifting the Purpose of Pre-Assessments: Providing Evidence to Inform a Teacher’s Instructional Practice
- Are We Making A List or Delivering On A Promise: The Unintended Consequences of Believing All Standards Are Equal
- In Celebration of Teaching Geeks: A Conversation with Bill Ferriter
- Reflective Audits Focus School Improvement: A Case Study of One School’s Journey Towards Becoming a PLC
- Prioritizing the Standards Using R.E.A.L. Criteria
- SOAP Notes: A Tool to Promote Reflective Dialogue About Student Learning
- The Need for SPEED: Criteria for Designing Effective Pyramids of Intervention
- It Depends on the Time of the Day
- What Matters Most: Using Power Standards to Create an Operational Definition for What is Essential
- Matching Classroom Instructions with Common Assessments
- Flying Kites: The Principal’s Leadership Role in a Professional Learning Community
- The Top 10 List of Frequently Asked Questions About Common Assessments
Collaborative Culture
- BumperStickers to Inspire Your PLC
- Sails and Anchors: Coaching Roles and Resources
- Coaching Teams: Drill Deeper
- Making the Case for Coaching Collaborative Teams
- Habits of Practice
- Coaching 2.0: Shift the Focus to Collaborative Teams
- Connoisseurs of Interactive Tools and Strategies: How Team Use Process to Achieve Results
- Pathways For Coaching PLCs
- Clarifying Roles And Responsibilities
- Structures: The Building Blocks of Collaboration
- Focus: A State or Condition Permitting Clear Perception and Understanding
- Why Professional Learning Communities Are More Relevant Than Ever
- Protocols: A Powerful Prescription for Professional Learning Prescription
- Take Me Out to the Ball Game!
- Stop Micromanaging Teams
- Engagement Precedes Alignment
- Look for the Leverage Points
- Harness the Power of Teacher Leadership
- All Together Now: Special and Regular Educators Prosper in PLCs
- Building Collective Capacity: A Defining Moment in Schools
- Inspire a Lasting Commitment to Learning
- The Tumbleweed Turnaround: Leading a Culture of Learning
- Buy A Dog: Confronting Toxic Behaviors in Your School
- A Thousand Conversations
- Slip Slidin Away
- The Secret To Success
- It’s not Pixie Dust, it’s Protocols
- Get Off Your “But”
- What’s On Your Refrigerator Door? Clarifying What Really Matters in Your School
- Making Diamonds: Top-Down Pressure and Bottom-Up Support
- Make Time for Collaboration
- A Rose By Any Other Name: Professional Learning Communities
- The Myth of the Hundredth Monkey: Creating Learning Communities in Schools
Results Orientation
- SOAP Notes: Promote Reflective Dialogue
- Hundred DayPlans: Stay the Course
- Focus: A State or Condition Permitting Clear Perception and Understanding
- Double Duty Data: Understanding the Dual Role of Using Data in a PLC
- Reject the Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectations
- More Than Wishful Thinking: Using 100 Day Plans to Achieve School Goals
- The Stars Are in Alignment: The Importance of Aligning Tactics, Strategies and Goals
- Results from Precinct Commanders: Using Results to Drive School Improvement
- The Real Deal: Creating an Authentic Results Orientation
- Balanced and Coherent System of Assessment
- Three Rules Help Manage Assessment Data