Grow yourself in order to grow your team.

Do you spend your days managing others only to find you’re still putting out fire after fire? What if there was a better way to get things done? There is—leadership coaching is disrupting the scattered management era of education in all the right ways.

Get the tools and strategies needed to transform how you think about school supervision that builds capacity, leadership, and learning. This book will help you:

• Learn to use neuroscience research productively
• Expand your use of communication skills
• Understand examples of leaders implementing coach-like behaviors into everyday practice to produce results 
• Learn specific approaches to supervise and coach for growth 
• Approach difficult conversations that impact thinking and change with confidence

At the crux of coaching culture is mindset—this book will teach you how to cultivate a growth  mindset and strong emotional intelligence as you coach and  grow  capacity in others.

"RESULTS Coaching Next Steps invites leaders to function as coaches and clearly teaches them how to coach. It is truly transformational for those unfamiliar with coach leadership and for veteran coaches alike. This book transformed me as a school principal and continues to serve as a fundamental resource in training school leaders. It is without a doubt my top recommendation to anyone who asks how to learn coach-leader skills."
—Dr. Hank Staggs, ACC, Director
Governors Academy for School Leadership, Tennessee

"Finally! Another must-have for my professional library! RESULTS Coaching Next Steps speaks to education leaders who continue to focus on being a coach leader, no matter what their title or position. The book drives novice and experienced coaches to reconnect to the essentials and renews your commitment to never interact the same way again."
—Kim Richardson ACC
Teacher Development Coordinator, Hampton City Schools

The future of professional learning starts here.

Even the most experienced teachers provided with the highest quality instructional materials benefit from additional support to ensure student success. Simply adopting new instructional materials is unlikely to significantly change teacher practice. Ensuring a level of excellence that benefits all students calls for an approach to professional learning that is anchored in the use of high-quality curriculum and grounded in immersive learning experiences for all teachers.

Transforming Teaching Through Curriculum-Based Professional Learning offers a framework for practitioners looking to undertake this work. The curriculum-based professional learning detailed here enables teachers to deepen their understanding of the essential components of successful curriculum implementation and work together to provide instruction that has a positive impact on student engagement and learning. Features include

• Detailed case studies based on actual schools and districts that illustrate the elements of curriculum-based professional learning in action
• Detailed guidance on the roles and responsibilities of teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders
• Comparison charts that show the distinctions between curriculum-based professional learning and more traditional forms of professional development
• Elements icons that help readers navigate each chapter of the book

Teachers’ jobs are changing in real time. When they are supported with both high-quality instructional materials and curriculum-based professional learning, they can position our schools to achieve the dual goals of equity and excellence.

Strategic observation practices to drive coherence and results

Supervision is often dreaded by teachers and principals alike because it can be disconnected from the context of the actual classroom and school. But when a culture of supervision is created – by differentiating which practices have the greatest impact in the context of the work educators are doing at the building and individual level – then supervision is about examining practice, working together to solve problems, and constantly improving.

Differentiated Supervision shows you how to develop a laser-like focus on improving an entire system while simultaneously addressing the individual needs of a diverse teaching staff. It lifts supervision out of isolation and presents a comprehensive model that provides a coherent method for creating a culture of supervision for supporting individuals, small groups, and the whole school in implementing high leverage strategies that improve student learning. Readers will find:

• A clear framework for knowing what supervision practices to use when, and for what purpose
• Useful templates and protocols for different supervision practices on a companion website
• Helpful examples and vignettes from the field to show how to differentiate supervision for teachers
• A unique focus on student learning at the center

Supervision is more than a series of steps that leads to final evaluation - its changing the culture and achievement in your school from just thinking about it as appraisal, but a powerful mechanism for growth.

Expand your leadership capacity to help your school reach its potential

All schools have the capacity for schoolwide instructional excellence. Schools with leaders who adopt a coaching stance as part of their practice are more likely to realize this success. Leaders achieve success with their teachers, their students, and their families, not alone.

Leading like a C.O.A.C.H. reframes the approach to schoolwide change from a leader acting alone to a leader working with a community in which each member contributes their strengths and ideas to improving instruction. Renwick, a well-known blogger and writer on literacy and leadership, encourages school leaders to embody five practices: 1. Create confidence through trust; 2. Organize around a priority; 3. Affirm promising practices; 4. Communicate feedback; and 5. Help teachers become leaders and learners. Throughout this practical guide, readers will find

• Reflective questions
• Activities
• Indicators of success
• Examples of leaders coaching teachers to excellence
• Wisdom from the field     

This book provides new and veteran leaders with a practical approach and easily adoptable ideas for helping their schools realize their full potential.

Master the Age of Complexity through innovative growth.

From far-reaching impacts of COVID-19 to environmental and economic concerns, we’re living in the Age of Complexity that will likely be with us for generations to come. How then can schools and organizations change their learning environments to foster innovative thinking in students when the Age of Complexity is always at the forefront? Peter Gamwell and Jane Daly answer that question and more by demonstrating how to understand problems the world faces as living, changing systems.

Built on the philosophy that the prosperity of any organization is directly proportional to how it values its people, affords them autonomy, and gives them creative rein, this book provides resources including:

• A new way to define brilliance, and 10 specific ways you can shift your organization to prepare your school and community for the Age of Complexity
• Detailed case studies from schools excelling in the Age of Complexity
• Links to videos showcasing real-world students and educators in action
• Key takeaways highlighting each chapter’s critical content
• Reflective questions to facilitate the application of ideas into school and district settings
• Actionable strategies to use in classrooms and school communities

As the world continues to grow more complex, this resource provides timely direction on how to think big about innovative growth, even if the first step is small.

Bridge the Digital Divide with Research-Informed Technology Models

Since the first edition of this bestselling resource many schools are still striving to close the digital divide and bridge the opportunity gap for historically marginalized students, including English learners. And the need for technology-infused lessons specifically aligned for English learners is even more critically needed.

Building from significant developments in education policy, research, and remote learning innovations, this newly revised edition offers unique ways to bridge the digital divide that disproportionally affects culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Designed to support equitable access to engaging and enriching digital-age education opportunities for English learners, this book includes

• Research-informed and evidence-based technology integration models and instructional strategies
• Sample lesson ideas, including learning targets for activating students’ prior knowledge while promoting engagement and collaboration
• Tips for fostering collaborative practices with colleagues
• Vignettes from educators incorporating technology in creative ways
• Targeted questions to facilitate discussions about English language development methodology

Complete with supplementary tools and resources, this guide provides all of the methodology resources needed to bridge the digital divide and promote learning success for all students.

Get your data team working effectively! 

Data is a valuable resource for improving education. Unfortunately, many school teams struggle to make sense of new and often overwhelming data. What Does Your Data Team Sound Like? provides an approach that supports teams as they review a range of data sets, and improves their conversation about effectively applying data to instructional decision-making. Written to help teams navigate the world of data analysis for on-going school improvement, this book offers an easy to follow framework that dives deep into data-driven instruction. Readers will find: 

• Easy, step-by-step analysis techniques  
• Case studies that demonstrate different approaches 
• Checklists and flowcharts to help visual the process 

Developed by expert authors who have worked with data teams across a wide variety of settings and scenarios, this book will help educators take action to create better learning environments for students. 

It’s about the work, not the position. 

Leadership is what is done, not who is doing it. The leadership work blurs the lines between teachers and administrators. Leading Together introduces a collective approach to progress, process, and programs to help build the conditions in which strong leadership can flourish and student outcomes improve.

All school teams will find applicable insights as they explore the Collective Leadership Development Model for School Improvement. This book:

? Breaks down this innovative model and explains the significance and interdependence of each proven and tested component.
? Asks fearless reflection questions that both challenge and demand deliberate practice.
? Offers case study insights from an urban, rural, and suburban school.

Lead and learn together. Start building your team with an eye on the end game.

"Leading Together is the best guidance we have to date about how to collaboratively dismantle the wall that has stood between teachers and school administrators for over a century. This is a marvelously accessible book in which collective leadership is discovered through the eyes and voices of teachers and principals."
Joseph F. Murphy, Frank W. Mayborn Chair and Associate Dean
Peabody College of Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

"Leading Together includes rich research-based stories, reflective activities to spark action, and optimistic evidence about what this needed shift in school hierarchies means for improving student outcomes. Don’t just read this; adopt it as your guidebook to become an even more influential leader."
P. Ann Byrd, COO & Partner
Center for Teaching Quality, Carrboro, NC

"Once again, Jon Eckert offers his straightforward, no nonsense thinking to busy practitioners. His authentic knowledge of everyday life in schools coupled with a thoughtful framework informs every chapter in this book. There are elements of his model that can be used right away...big shifts or little tweaks! His stories and humor make it readable (and meaningful!) for those of us seeking creative and collaborative ways to lead schools and districts."
Joan Dabrowski, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
Wellesley Public Schools, Wellesley, MA

Improve overall school performance from start to Finnish!

 

Finland’s consistent performance in international student assessments has caused much curiosity in recent years. Educators around the world are exploring what Finland does well and how they remain at the top.

 

Pasi Sahlberg has hosted multiple delegations of educators in Finland seeking ideas and tools to apply to their home districts, and has determined real change can begin with four uncomplicated ideas. Focusing on leading learners, this book considers topics like:

• Physical activity is crucial for substantial learning
• Enhancing equity is an essential component of success
• Embedding ideas into your current leadership practices takes perseverance

 

Finland’s particular brand of leadership culture in education is an ideal model for improving educational performance anywhere

Don’t sink your school’s creativity—encourage it to set sail!

Do today’s schools stifle creativity? Some think so. Whether or not that assessment is fair, educational leaders need to innovate, implement creative leadership and cultivate possibility thinking.

This book is the definitive resource for making creativity a schoolwide core value. Introducing the groundbreaking Small Steps Approach to Instructional Leadership (SAIL) framework, Ronald A. Beghetto shows how big wins come from small, completely doable steps, and all creativity needs is a little nudge from you, the instructional leader. Content includes:

• “Creative leader checklists” summarizing actionable points in each chapter.
• The keys to removing the most difficult creative barriers
• How to sit with uncertainty instead of letting it derail innovation efforts
• When to “flow like water”, and when to “stand like a mountain” as you re-focus your school towards creativity 

Implementing these principles will produce positive effects that resonate in every aspect of your school. 

Watch this video from Ron Beghetto on "Responding to Uncertainty."

Check out the PCR Interview for Big Wins, Small Steps.

"Ron Beghetto's engaging work on creativity has profound implications for schools, and for the staff and students within them." 
Larry Rosenstock, CEO
High Tech High

“Creativity has become the holy-grail in education. Beghetto presents an authoritative, accessible, and unpretentious pathway toward creative leadership. Insightful, practical, and based on solid research, not popular myth.”
Yong Zhao, Author of World Class Learners

"Creativity is needed to negotiate a complex world. Big Wins, Small Steps invites educators to teach creativity by first practicing deliberate creativity one small step at a time."
Beth Miller, Executive Director
Creative Education Foundation