Lessons Learned
July 1 is equal to New Year’s Day at ERG. Our work revolves around the school year, and most schools and school systems start fresh on July 1st. If staffing changes are going to be made, they usually happen at this time, along with funding and resource allocations. We’ve gotten used to this rhythm of life where the peaks and valleys don’t always align with the rest of the business world. Instead, they align with the hustle and bustle of working with teachers and schools.
If January is a time to set resolutions, then July is also ERG’s time for reflection. We like to look back and consider the highs, the lows, and what is headed our way in the coming year.
Here are a few of our lessons learned over the last year:
We can do hard things.
A year ago, we were in the thick of revamping our website and it was tedious, time consuming, and HARD. We finally launched it in October, and it was well worth all the reviewing of commas and vocabulary and photos. Local as well as international friends of ERG have let us hear from them through the website, making it all worthwhile!
Schools still make us happy.
After 15 years, we still find energy at the school level that is unparalleled. Watching teachers apply content and ideas with students is still the heart of ERG’s work. The walls of ERG are often full of stories from the field that highlight the successes of the schools and school systems we work with. Consulting with educators is hard, but magical and rewarding in a way that cannot be described to people who don’t work in schools. And we don’t plan to stop anytime soon!
We cannot stop learning.
Growing all learners is a mantra at ERG and the growing includes us. New research is coming out each day related to instructional best practices and our travels to New Jersey, California, Texas, and Sydney over the last year have helped us see education from a variety of perspectives. We continue to refine our services to bring the best possible processes to schools that will get results.
It is not easy to navigate the current politics and differing opinions in education these days, but we are committed to doing the very best we can. ERG lost a contract this year to a much larger educational company and we took time to pause and wonder what we did wrong.
Ultimately, we realized we didn’t do anything wrong, we just did it differently – and we’re ok with that. We love being a small giant (instead of a large corporation) and we will continue to bring a personal touch to our schools and districts the best way we can. That means our learning at ERG never stops.