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Dennis Sparks

Dennis Sparks is the emeritus executive director of NSDC. In July 2007, Dennis stepped down from the position of executive director, a position he held for more than 20 years. Dennis now works with leadership teams in developing their capacity to continuously improve teaching and learning in all classrooms.

Leading Through Learning

In the online publication Leading Through Learning, Sparks offered thoughts and ideas on a range of leadership topics over the course of two years. PDK International originally published these columns and collaborated with NSDC to make them widely available online.

All issues

• Leaders promote gratitude and appreciation -- Vol. 2, No. 18. May 25, 2009
• Leaders exemplify positive attitudes and mutual respect -- Vol. 2, No. 17, May 11, 2009
• Leaders listen with empathy -- Vol. 2, No. 16, April 27, 2009.
• Leaders cultivate civility -- Vol. 2, No. 15, April 13, 2009.
• Leaders revinvent themselves -- Vol. 2, No. 14, March 23, 2009.
• Leaders choose "deep change" or "slow death -- Vol. 2, No. 13, March 9, 2009.
• Leaders cultivate solitude and community -- Vol. 2, No. 12, Feb. 23, 2009.
• Leaders nurture the soul -- Vol. 2, No. 11, Feb. 9, 2009.
• Leaders develop clarity regarding professional learning -- Vol. 2, No. 10, Jan. 26, 2009.
• Leaders use every opportunity to promote learning-oriented conversations -- Vol. 2, No. 9, Jan. 12, 2009.
• Leaders tell stories that motivate and guide -- Vol. 2, No. 8, Dec. 22, 2008.
• Leaders speak from the heart -- Vol. 2, No. 7, Dec. 8, 2008.
• Cultivating professional literacy -- Vol. 2, No. 6, Nov. 24, 2008.
• Ways leaders can affect frames -- Vol. 2, No. 5, Nov. 10, 2008.
• The importance of reframing -- Vol. 2, No. 4, October 27, 2008.
• Acquiring new habits of mind and practice -- Vol. 2, No. 3, October 13, 2008.
• Not all relationships are created equal -- Vol. 2, No. 2, September 22, 2008.
• Leaders relate, repeat, and reframe -- Vol. 2, No. 1, September 8, 2008.

• Cultivate the problem-solving abilities of others -- Vol. 1, No. 16, May 27, 2008.
• Focus attention on high-impact activities -- Vol. 1, No. 15, May 12, 2008.
• Setting goals at which you cannot fail -- Vol. 1, No. 14, April 28, 2008.
• Managing "next actions" -- Vol. 1, No. 13, April 14, 2008.
• Creating cultures of interpersonal accountability -- Vol. 1, No. 12, March 24, 2008.
• Match words with deeds to establish trust -- Vol. 1, No. 11, March 10, 2008.
• Leaders’ energy essential to organizational motivation -- Vol. 1, No. 10, February 25, 2007.
• The leader’s role in cultivating positive emotions -- Vol. 1, No. 9, February 11, 2008.
• Serving students through values-guided leadership -- Vol. 1, No. 8, January 28, 2008.
• When leaders speak their truth -- Vol. 1, No. 7, January 14, 2008.
• Cultivating clarity of purpose -- Vol. 1, No. 6, December 17, 2007.
• The power of leaders’ authentic voice -- Vol. 1, No. 5, December 10, 2007.
• Find the core of an idea -- Vol. 1, No. 4, November 26, 2007.
• What it really means to learn -- Vol. 1, No. 3, November 12, 2007.
• Leaders write to learn -- Vol. 1, No. 2, October 29, 2007.
• Leaders first change themselves -- Vol. 1, No. 1, October 15, 2007.

NSDC articles and speeches by Dennis Sparks

Annual Conference -- 2006

Notes from Distinguished Lecture: Cultivating Ourselves as Leaders (PDF), December 2006.

Columns

• Principals amplify teachers' outstanding practices, Results, May 2005.
• Principals serve schools as leaders of professional learning, Results, April 2005.
• Principals establish relationships that energize and foster teamwork, Results, March 2005.
• Information provides direction, inspires continuous improvement, Results, February 2005.
• Principals partner with supervisors, teacher leaders, Results, December/January 2005.
• Principals possess a vision of quality professional learning, Results, November 2004.
• Principals first change themselves, Results, October 2004.
• The principal's essential role as a learning leader, Results, September 2004.
• Set goals for learning with a sense of urgency, Results, May 2004.
• Professional development apartheid, Results, April 2004.
• Take action to bridge the knowing-doing gap, Results, March 2004.
• The intellectual and creative capacity of educators, Results, February 2004.
• Leadership is intensely interpersonal, Results, December 2003/January 2004.
• Leaders as creators of high-performance cultures, Results, November 2003.
• Significant change begins with leaders, Results, October 2003.
• NSDC's theory of change, Results, September 2003.
• Change begins within each of us, Results, May 2003.
• Advocate each day for powerful professional learning, Results, April 2003.
• Form strong partnerships to ensure quality professional learning, Results, March 2003.
• Together we can support school leaders, Results, February 2003.
• High-performing cultures increase teacher retention, Results, December 2002.
• Employ a 'people strategy' for school improvement, Results, November 2002.
• Dramatic improvement depends on powerful intention, action, Results, October 2002.
• Conversations that make the case for professional learning, Results, September 2002.
• The capacity of teachers and principals to create better schools, Results, May 2002.
• Amplifying positive deviance in schools, Results, April 2002.
• Wishful thinking and other barriers to improvement, Results, March 2002.
• Improved social relationships are fundamental, Results, February 2001.
• Align learning experiences for all educators, Results, December 2001.
• Time for professional learning serves student learning,, Results, November 2001.
• Reinventing the wheel, school by school, Results, October 2001.
• Fundamental choices determine quality of professional learning, Results, September 2001.
• NSDC Revises staff development standards, Results, May 2001.
• The real barrier to improved professional development, Results, April 2001.
• Advocating for powerful forms of professional development, Results, March 2001.
• Expect the impossible, Results, February 2001.
• Leadership development key to school improvement, Results, Dec/Jan 2001.
• Improve the quality of learning in high-poverty schools, Results, November 2000.
• NSDC adopts the code of ethics for staff development, Results, October 2000.
• Six ways to immediately improve professional development, Results, September 2000.
• Asking tough questions about electronic professional training, Results, May 2000.
• Make principal development a priority, Results, April 2000.
• Corporate lessons for evaluating staff development, Results, March 2000.
• A national plan for improving professional development, Results, February 2000.
• Winning schools demonstrate value of staff development, Results, Dec/Jan 2000.
• Using lesson study to improve teaching, Results, November 2000.
• The real reason we don’t invest in staff development, Results, October 1999.
• Staff development has a role in preventing school violence, Results, September 1999.
• What teachers should expect from staff development, Results, May 1999.
• Investments in teacher learning reap student achievement benefits, Results, April 1999.
• How can schools make time for teacher learning? Results, March 1999.
• Plugging educators into technology, Results, February 1999.
• High standards for principals bolster school performance, Results, Dec/Jan 1999.
• School leaders must be system designers, Results, November 1998.
• Meeting the reading challenge in low-income schools, Results, October 1998.
• Teachers must be staff development leaders, Results, September 1998.
• Staff development to Learning First’s mission, Results, May 1998.
• Teacher expertise linked to student learning, Results, April 1998.
• Learning from our critics, Results, March 1998.
• Professional learning at center of science reform, Results, February 1998.
• Improving student learning requires deep change, Results, Dec/Jan 1998.
• Ambitious student learning goals require powerful strategies, Results, November 1997.
• Are we getting the results we want?, Results, October 1997.
• What’s in a name?, Results, September 1997.

JSD interviews by Dennis Sparks

• Changing the world, one student at a time: An interview with Dennis Littky, JSD, Summer 2005
• Explain, inspire, lead: An interview with Noel Tichy, JSD, Spring 2005
• Tempered radicals speak courageously to inspire change: Interview with Debra Meyerson, JSD, Winter 2005
• How to have conversations about race: An interview with Beverly Daniel Tatum, JSD, Fall 2004
• Look for ways to ignite the energy within: An interview with Jane E. Dutton, JSD, Summer 2004
• Broader purpose calls for higher understanding: An interview with Andy Hargreaves, JSD, Spring 2004
• From hunger aid to school reform: An interview with Jerry Sternin, JSD, Winter 2004
• We care, therefore they learn: An interview with Ronald F. Ferguson, JSD, Fall 2003 (PDF version)
• Honor the human heart: An interview with Parker Palmer, JSD, Summer 2003
• The answer to 'when?' is 'now.': An interview with Peter Block, JSD, Spring 2003
• Change agent: An interview with Michael Fullan, JSD, Winter 2003
• Conversations about race need to be fearless: An interview with Glenn Singleton, JSD, Fall 2002
• Inner conflicts, inner strengths: An interview with Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, JSD, Summer 2002
• Bringing the spirit of invention to leadership. An interview with Ron Heifetz, JSD, Spring 2002
• In Search of Heroes: An interview with Roland Barth, JSD, Winter 2002
• Change: It's a matter of life or slow death. An interview with Robert Quinn, JSD, Fall 2001
• Why change is so challenging for schools. An interview with Peter Senge JSD, Summer 2001.
• Follow the winners. An interview with Jim Lanich and Ross Santy, JSD, Spring, 2001.
• Your biggest game: An Interview with Dave Ellis, JSD, Winter 2001.
• It all comes down to the teacher: An Interview with Terry Dozier, JSD, Fall 2000.
• Low incomes, high hurdles: An Interview with Kati Haycock, JSD, Summer 2000.
• Issues at the table: An interview with Julia Koppich, JSD, Spring 2000.
• Results are the reason: An Interview with Mike Schmoker, JSD, Winter 2000.
• Real-life view: An Interview with Ann Lieberman, JSD, Fall 1999.
• Try on strategies to get a good fit: An Interview with Susan Loucks-Horsley, JSD, Summer 1999.
• Assessment without victims: An interview with Rick Stiggins, JSD, Spring 1999.
• The singular power of one goal: An Interview with Emily Calhoun, JSD, Winter 1999.
• Making assessment part of teacher learning: An interview with Bruce Joyce, JSD, Fall 1998.
• The educator, examined: An Interview with Phillip Schlechty, JSD, Summer 1998.
• When there’s a way, there’s a will: An Interview with Robert Slavin, JSD, Spring 1998.
• Using technology to improve teaching and staff development: An interview with Kathleen Fulton, JSD, Winter 1998.
• Reaching out to talk about educational issues: An interview with Public Agenda’s Deborah Wadsworth, JSD, Summer 1997.
• Maintaining the faith in teachers’ ability to grow: An Interview with Asa Hilliard, JSD, Spring 1997.
• An Interview with Linda Darling-Hammond, JSD, Winter 1997.
• Merging Content Knowledge and Pedagogy: An Interview with Lee Shulman, JSD, Winter 1992.

Additional articles in NSDC publications

• A call to creativity, JSD Winter 2004.
• Exploring the relationship between staff development and improvements in student learning, with Tom Guskey, JSD Fall 1996.
• A paradigm shift in staff development, JSD, Fall 1994.
• Five models of staff development, with Susan Loucks-Horsley, JSD, Fall 1989.

NSDC Reports

• A National Plan for Improving Professional Development (with Stephanie Hirsh), 1999.

Articles by Dennis Sparks in non-NSDC publications

• Taking personal responsibility for professional development that improves student learning, Professional Development Brief, a publication of the California Staff Development Council, October 2002.
• Being an informed consumer of electronic learning, The School Administrator, March 2001.
• Ensure high-quality teaching through powerful professional development, School Board News. Feb. 20, 2001.
• Strengthening professional development, with Stephanie Hirsh, Education Week, May 24, 2000.
• What teachers know and don't know matters, Harvard Education Letter, July/August 1999.