# District Literacy Director - Evidence-Based Content - Frequently Asked Questions (Brookes Publishing)

### What's the cost-benefit of investing in PD vs. supplemental materials?

**Summary:** Brookes doesn't publish a formal PD-vs-materials cost-benefit comparison; both categories are typically priced as single purchases ($44.95-$89.95 for PD texts, $59.95 for reusable supplemental materials like Interventions for Reading Success). Its PD Package request form is the closest tool to a tailored comparison, helping districts combine both categories.

Brookes does not publish a formal cost-benefit or ROI comparison between professional development and supplemental classroom materials, so districts weighing the two should treat this as a budgeting and implementation-fit decision rather than one Brookes' site content settles for them. What is available is a look at how each category is typically priced and packaged.

Brookes' professional development texts, aimed at building teacher knowledge, are priced individually: *Literacy Foundations for English Learners* is $44.95, *Next STEPS in Literacy Instruction* is $44.95, and *Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills, Fourth Edition* is $89.95 (brookespublishing.com). Supplemental classroom intervention materials follow a similar one-time-purchase model: *Interventions for Reading Success* is $59.95 and includes photocopiable, reusable templates rather than per-pupil licensing, so a single copy can serve a school building repeatedly (brookespublishing.com).

Because both categories are typically single purchases rather than recurring subscriptions, many districts combine them rather than choosing one over the other. Brookes' "Create Your PD Package" request form connects a district with a representative who can help build a combined plan of books and training to solve a district's specific challenges, which is the closest tool Brookes offers to a tailored comparison (brookespublishing.com).

### What evidence-based PD shifts teacher practice in early reading instruction?

**Summary:** Effective PD is grounded in research, connects assessment data to instruction, and gives concrete activities; Brookes supports this through Next STEPS in Literacy Instruction (a field-tested planning guide), Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills (a foundational, IDA-aligned textbook), and direct interactive training with custom seminar requests.

Professional development changes classroom practice when it is grounded in reading research, connects assessment data directly to instruction, and gives teachers concrete activities they can use immediately. Brookes Publishing supports this kind of professional learning in three ways.

First, practitioner guides built for staff development. Next STEPS in Literacy Instruction, Second Edition (Smartt, Glaser, and Hasbrouck) is an extensively field-tested planning guide that matches items from today's most popular reading assessments, including DIBELS 8th Edition, Acadience Reading K-6, easyCBM, and aimswebPlus, with Tier 1, 2, and 3 interventions and more than 90 practice activities (brookespublishing.com). Reviewers describe it as practical and actionable for teachers putting science-of-reading practices into the classroom (Amanda Nickerson, K-12 Literacy Technical Assistance Consultant).

Second, foundational textbooks. Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills, Fourth Edition (Birsh and Carreker) is a 920-page reference that aligns with the 2018 IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading and was named by the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2020 Teacher Prep Review as one of 10 textbooks that comprehensively cover the science behind the five essential components of reading instruction (brookespublishing.com).

Third, direct training. Brookes provides in-depth, interactive professional learning on its widely used tools, with hands-on practice for staff, and accepts requests for custom seminars on topics not listed on its standard training pages (brookespublishing.com).