Meet Heather Eaton, District Partnerships at Goalbook

In a small town in Northeast Ohio, Heather Eaton called her classroom “Ellis Island” because, “I invited all kids in,” said Heather. Students with multiple disabilities, students with IEPs, students receiving interventions, and general education students were all a part of this classroom. Heather always had an open door and welcomed students of all abilities.

“You know what these kids needed?” asked Heather. “Some exposure. So I said, ‘Bring them all in.’”

Heather spent all of her education career in elementary education, teaching Pre-K all the way to 5th grade. But for the majority of her career, Heather taught 4th grade. After giving birth to her third child, she began to look for work that would allow her to still have an impact on education, but on a larger scale.

Before joining Goalbook, Heather worked as a curriculum specialist with an education publishing company. When she began looking into Goalbook, she identified with the mission and wanted to join the company. In this Q&A, Heather shares about her work on the Partnerships team and how it supports Goalbook’s mission.

1. What inspired you to get into education?

I knew since I was eight years old that I wanted to be a teacher. I’m the eldest of five children, and for my whole life, I was very much like the assistant mother. We had a playroom in our old house, and I made it into a school. I would teach my brother about the Yellow Pages phone book and what they were for. I taught him to read and even made him memorize the phone book! He’s a professor now and still brings up that I made him memorize the phone book. I also used to babysit the kids in the neighborhood and helped to run a day care in our high school.

Teaching was just something I naturally loved. I’ve always loved working and helping ‌children, so it was no surprise that I went to undergrad for Elementary Education.

2. Was there a specific moment when you first considered transitioning to the private sector?

After I completed my Master’s in School Administration, I began thinking about how I could use my degree to make a positive impact in education on a larger scale. I kept this thought under my hat as I started my family and was lucky enough to be teaching in the same small town that I live in.

When COVID-19 hit, it shook up everything. As we started looking at the 2020–2021 school year, there was an overwhelming amount of families in our district that wanted an online option for their children. I asked to be one of the teachers who took on this program, and I’m so glad I did. Don’t get me wrong, it was chaos at first. We were truly building the program from the ground up and figuring out how to make a fully online learning experience work for our students. By the end of the year, though, I had a teaching experience that I was very proud of. That year ended up being one of my greatest risks and one of my greatest rewards.

I realized how much I loved being able to work from home and not feel so pressed with my own children. I went back into my physical classroom the next year, but I began to look at roles where I might be able to work from home, while also being able to make an impact on education.

Before teaching, I had worked in pharmaceutical sales for a time. I had enjoyed meeting so many new people and being able to genuinely help doctors and their patients, so I knew a role where I could spend time helping others was for me.

I left the classroom and joined an educational publishing company. I learned so much there, and I’m so grateful for that experience, but at the same time I knew something was missing. I didn’t feel the same passion there that I felt in my school district. But then, I found Goalbook. A company of educators who want to help teachers and students? I was sold and couldn’t wait to be a part of the things Goalbook was doing!

“I saw a company with a lot of educators and educators at heart who have a passion for kids.”

3. What attracted you to Goalbook’s mission?

Goalbook’s mission is everything that I believe in. I worked with the most amazing teachers and administrators during my time in the classroom. I watched them jump through hoops and sometimes work with nothing to get students to succeed. But I saw that the special education population was oftentimes one of the most challenging to serve. The lack of resources and the overload of paperwork made even the most seasoned teachers stressed. It felt impossible some days to ensure that all students were experiencing success in their learning.

When I started looking into Goalbook, I thought it was too good to be true. I got a trial account and started exploring Goalbook Toolkit and kept saying, “Where was this when I was in the classroom?” We could have eliminated so much hassle and heartache. It was like a breath of fresh air for teachers: benchmarking assessments, scaffolded goals, progress monitoring resources, and UDL strategies all working together to not only paint an accurate picture of a student but to grow that student and help them succeed.

As I continued to learn more and hear what was important to the folks who work at Goalbook, it really aligned with everything I care about. I saw a company with a lot of educators and educators at heart who have a passion for kids.

4. In your eyes, how does your work support Goalbook’s mission?

My job is to be the first point of contact for districts that are interested in learning more about Goalbook. Many of the leaders that I talk to are stretched so thin, as are their teachers. They want to see greater success in their students, and they want to make their teachers more effective.

I’m able to understand their perspective because I’ve lived in the world they’re in. I’m not only able to listen and relate, but I love being able to show them how we can help them with a solution in Goalbook Toolkit. With both our human touch of training and continued support, and our amazing Goalbook Toolkit, we CAN help them!

It is my pleasure to be able to show how we can lift some weight off the shoulders of teachers, and then add more successes to the plates of their students. Since I am an experienced teacher and teacher-leader, I also love being able to dive into certain parts of our tool that I know will be the most valuable to them. I love being able to talk “teacher” with folks who are also educators at heart, and to know that this will indeed help their students (we’ve got the proof!)

I mean, it’s amazing. It really is. At a recent conference, one teacher came up to me in the morning and was clapping. And then throughout the day, so many people came to the booth and shared about how great Goalbook Toolkit is and how it helped solve specific problems. It was like, “Wow. This is, this is just — wow. It’s everything that we say we’re going to do.” It was so much affirmation.

Heather (on the left) and a couple of her colleagues work at the Goalbook booth at the OAPSA conference in Columbus, Ohio.

5. What have you learned in your role so far?

I’ve learned so much! I think the biggest thing I’ve learned about Goalbook is that we’re not a traditional sales or publishing organization. We’re in it for the student and teacher outcomes, rather than the dollar signs. That was shocking to me at first.

Outside of education, often companies don’t show empathy, and people can’t come as they are. When you work in other business organizations, you very much have to keep buttoned-up and only share a certain piece of yourself. With Goalbook, I feel like I can share my whole heart. I’ve seen just how a company can care for you in such a different way.

“I love the company culture at Goalbook, which is very much “come as you are.’”

6. What are one or two things you love here?

I love the company culture at Goalbook, which is very much “come as you are.” I can be my authentic self here. There’s no box that you have to fit in here. There’s no certain way that you’re supposed to dress or interest that you’re supposed to have. Everyone is so varied here, and I love that so much. My teammates and Goalbook friends come from a variety of places and backgrounds, and I love that we can all contribute to the company’s mission.

I also get so excited for our Team Weeks! We are all based across the country, and it’s so great to have all of us together for a week at a time. The energy in the room at Team Week is exciting and contagious!

7. What’s something that made you laugh at Goalbook?

While I was not really looking forward to it (I was a cheerleader, and not an athlete), playing Pickleball with the Partnerships and Engineering teams ended up being so much fun at our Summer Team Week 2024!

The Partnerships team announced that we and the Engineering team would be playing pickleball, and I was more worried about pickleball than meeting people in person for the first time. I’m terrible at team sports.

I had no idea what I was doing, and it was like 100 degrees on the court, but I found solace and so much laughter with several teammates. There were a handful of us that were all feeling the same about pickleball, and we had so much fun. We were so terrible, but we were laughing.

We showed vulnerability with each other and laughed and entertained ourselves. We had a private coaching session, but we made up our own rules half of the time and would cheer for each other any time the ball actually made it over the net!

It ended up being my favorite thing. The folks that I played with weren’t people that I normally get to work with each day, so we began the event not really knowing one another and ended up as true teammates. It was an experience to remember.

8. What are you watching/reading/listening to right now?

Watching: The Chosen is a wonderful show, and my parents loved it. It’s about Jesus’s life. It makes me feel closer to my parents. The show I watch when I’m on my treadmill is Suits. Otherwise I’m watching YouTube kids and Disney shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Reading: Honestly, with three little ones, I’m usually reading children’s books. My favorite is C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Listening to: My running playlists that I put together on Spotify. Now that the weather is nice, I can run some miles outside!

9. Early bird or night owl?

I’m both. I have to get up early because of my kids, but I find myself staying up till midnight just so I can have some alone time. I’m glad to have no one asking me for anything at that time. I am really living the life late at night, drinking my sparkling water and eating air popped popcorn.