Developing Developers

You might expect a company full of professional developers tell you how important professional development is. At ERG, we obviously think you should have access to high quality professional development so you can continue to be your best educator self and do great things for students.

But what about professional development for the professional developer?

Hope and Alice have always been lifelong learners and used books as a way to deepen and broaden their understanding of content. Many years ago, they noticed the PEBC (Public Education and Business Coalition) was referenced by several authors like Debbie Miller and Cris Tovani, and in turn, they became curious about the organization. 

The more they learned about the PEBC, the more they liked it. As an organization that brought together authors and teachers and built community in a way to promote best instructional practices, it seemed like a great model. ERG knew they wanted to host events with that same spirit. 

One day in 2007, Hope emailed Cris Tovani, told her the story of ERG, and invited her to come to Winston-Salem to ERG’s first ever summer event. Surprisingly, she said yes! Turns out, Cris was going to be in Asheville, North Carolina that summer for an event and if Hope and Alice would come pick her up, she would be happy to spend a couple of days in Winston-Salem before flying back to Colorado. And, of course, they agreed!

Hope and Alice immediately got to work on agendas, venues, and invitations. These were the days before widespread social media and smartphones, so communicating was done primarily with old fashioned word of mouth.  

The event that summer came and went very quietly and not a ton of people attended. However, the benefits from that experience were huge and had lasting impact. Hope and Alice learned how to host professional events, had meaningful conversations with a professional hero who became a mentor, connected with other professionals, and received positive feedback from those who attended. Based on that feedback, Hope and Alice decided to host summer events with national authors for many years to come.

Some of the events were small and intimate while others included hundreds of people. The audience was often full of teachers and instructional leaders as well as administrators who worked regularly with ERG, so the impact was exponential at the school level. Big or small, the events always did what they were designed to do: develop the developers.

By reading, talking, and participating in their own events, Hope and Alice were able to fill themselves up professionally and energize for the year ahead. ERG has been and always will be about growing all learners. Including the ones leading the growing.

For Reflection:

• Who are your professional heroes and mentors?
• How are you taking time to develop professionally?
• What is the one next step that will lead you in the direction you want to go?