In her first role after graduating from college, Erin was a counselor at a juvenile detention center. It was a dual-diagnosis facility for mental health and drug addiction. “Every kid I worked with had a challenging time with school,” said Erin. “And this piqued my interest in how education can support you in so many ways holistically.”
When Erin moved into education, she first worked as a special education teacher in Brooklyn, New York. She taught 9th and 10th grade math for four years before moving back to Seattle, Washington, where she is from. She taught elementary school for one year, “which was interesting. They were so cute, but I went right back to [teaching] high school,” Erin said. “Shout out to elementary school teachers!”
Erin also worked as a lead learning specialist and then as an assistant principal in her last year before joining Goalbook as a Customer Success Manager. She knew this was the right role for her because she could have a larger impact on a greater number of people outside of one particular school.
In this Q&A, Erin shares how reflecting on what brings you joy can help steer your personal and professional life.
1. What inspired you to go into education?
I took a special education course in undergrad. I honestly don’t know how I ended up there, but it was one of my favorite classes. I didn’t really think I would end up doing that as a career, but it was an intersection of a lot of things I’m interested in.
When I was a counselor, I worked in a facility with a revolving door: kids would leave and then come back again. A consistent throughline I saw was that a lot of the kids did not have good experiences in school. They were either having a challenging time in school, or they had dropped out. This piqued my interest in education.
Someone I knew in New York thought I would be a good fit as a special education teacher at their school. I became very interested in the role based on my experience as a counselor and knowing the positive impact that school can have on people’s lives. It was a different venue than I had been before, but I ended up really loving it.
2. How did you learn about Goalbook, and what attracted you to Goalbook’s mission?
I knew someone who worked at Goalbook, so that’s how I initially heard about it. I looked at the jobs that were available and saw a part-time content contributor, which seemed really cool to me. I am a very tedious lesson planner, so the part-time contributor role aligned with things I enjoy. It felt more like a hobby than a part-time job.
I also used Goalbook Toolkit when I was teaching, and it changed my teaching practice. It supported me in standards-alignment and really understanding how important content is across grade levels.
I have always taken a lot of pride in being able to make content accessible for different types of learners, so it was amazing to learn more about Goalbook as a company. Goalbook wants all students to succeed, and that was what I tried to do as a teacher and then as a content contributor.
3. What does your day-to-day look like?
It depends on the time of year and the season.
In the summer and towards the early fall, there is a lot of training. So I connect with Partners about their needs, aligning the trainings with their priorities, and then actually going and delivering the trainings or doing virtual training. That time of year is very training-heavy.
In the spring, it’s very busy with the renewal process and making sure Partners have what they need for next year. We work together to develop a vision for what their goals are for the following school year and align trainings to that.
The rest of the year is spent supporting educators in their implementation of Goalbook Toolkit. I stay in close contact with Partners, making sure their priorities are being met. And if not, we ask how we can meet them, or if they have different priorities from the beginning of the year, and how we can adjust.
One of my favorite parts of the role is the ability to work on projects outside of the typical day-to-day, and that are based on what you’re interested in. As I’ve worked here longer, I’ve found different pockets within the Customer Success team of things that interest me. I have the independence and support of my manager to pursue those things and spend time working on areas of interest as well. For example, now I’m researching a lot about AI.
“Goalbook Toolkit is a foundation for a lot of districts, and I hear from them about how Goalbook Toolkit has supported their district priorities or educators themselves.”
4. In your eyes, how does your work support Goalbook’s mission?
The connection to the mission is most apparent when I’m working directly with teachers and seeing them get excited about different strategies or a goal that will support a specific student.
I’m always really excited to train everyone, but I especially like training new teachers or teachers who are getting access to Goalbook Toolkit for the first time because they are experiencing the impact that it can have and how it does support student outcomes. Goalbook Toolkit really does support their ability to do their job more efficiently.
Talking with district leaders and hearing their priorities and vision for their special education department also connects with our mission. Goalbook Toolkit is a foundation for a lot of districts, and I hear from them about how Goalbook Toolkit has supported their district priorities or educators themselves.
5. Was there a specific moment when you first considered transitioning to the private sector? How did you determine what role in the private sector would be best for you?
There wasn’t one specific moment, but over the years, different life events and circumstances caused me to discover more of what interests me.
I had a part-time content contributor role, and seeing behind the curtain made me more interested in that work. I really love teaching and being in schools, but taking my own interests outside of the classroom into account was important to me. And these interests aligned with my work at Goalbook.
I had a very hard time deciding if I actually wanted to leave the classroom. It is a tough place to be in when you love what you do. I asked myself, “Do I want to make this jump and stay true to the things outside of teaching that I love?” It was a challenge.
The customer success role is multifaceted, which I appreciate a lot because there are so many different things that we do.
I like the social aspect of this role: there’s a ton of interaction with teachers. I’m still tied closely to schools, and that was important to me when I was thinking about the next step in my career. I didn’t want to remove myself from working directly with schools.
This job is the best of both worlds. I get to have an impact on more people than I would have as a teacher, and I still get to work with educators. I don’t work directly with students, but I know the work that I’m doing is impacting students.
“I think making sure that you can maintain whatever joy you get from teaching to wherever you’re going is important.”
6. What’s your advice for narrowing down roles for educators who are considering making a career pivot?
I think my number one piece of advice is to really take stock in what you enjoy about your job right now. Think about what skills you have that are transferable or similar, because there are so many things about teaching that are very unique. But there are also transferable skills.
Ask yourself, “What brings me joy? What skills do I use that bring me joy, and how can I find those somewhere else?”
There are so many challenging aspects about teaching, but there is also a lot of joy in teaching. I think making sure that you can maintain whatever joy you get from teaching to wherever you’re going is important.
7. What are one or two things you love here?
The people at Goalbook are great. Like 12/10. Everybody’s amazing.
It’s refreshing to work in an environment where a lot of people were teachers previously. During trainings, we say that Goalbook is created by teachers and for teachers. I do think this makes a difference because everyone is speaking the same language, and that experience is very unique. It’s amazing to have that connection and alignment with people. Every time I have a conversation with someone, it’s very clear that everybody’s on the same page, which I appreciate.
I also love the opportunity to work on projects that are aligned with your interests. It’s amazing that Goalbook gives us the space to do that. This gives us a different way to approach the work, and it typically aligns with what we’re best at.
I appreciate being able to leverage strengths that I have in a different way to support people on the team who also support me in ways that are not necessarily my strengths, too. I love the teamwork piece and the ability to pursue projects outside of my role, and the freedom and encouragement to do that.
8. Which team activity has been your favorite?
Some of us on the Customer Success and Partnerships teams went to a Golden State Warriors game in San Francisco. It was so fun to hang out with everyone, but also, I got to see Steph Curry play live, which was amazing. That was probably the highlight.
9. What are you watching/listening to right now?
Watching: White Lotus. I think everyone is watching that.
Listening to: My number 1 Spotify listen this year is Olivia Dean. She’s one of my favorite artists. It’s very relaxing but uplifting music.
10. Early bird or night owl?
I think it kind of depends. I will go back and forth.
If I’m doing early morning workouts, I’m an early bird. If not, I probably stay up later than I should.
