Our Approach
Since 2005, we’ve worked alongside more than 150 school systems and state leaders to make transformative shifts in their resources, structures, and practices. While the current moment poses unprecedented challenges, we know that change is possible, and we have the tools and team to support it. Our research-driven, collaborative approach and unrivaled analytic expertise helps leaders build a better future, one in which all students—especially those with the greatest learning needs and those furthest from opportunity—attend a school where they can learn and thrive.
“ERS has been the gold standard of whom … districts want to work with to understand how to organize resources for greater impact. What stands out are data analytics, tools, and the ability to go really deep.”
—Tom Boasberg, Former Superintendent, Denver Public Schools
What We Do
In all our work, we focus on the larger picture: how resources (people, time, and money) work together to create strategic systems that support strong schools. We bring the latest research from the field to every partnership, providing rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis and facilitating decision-making processes to help education leaders drive change. By the end of an ERS engagement, our district and school partners feel shared ownership over their opportunities and are better equipped to take action.
Data Analysis for Decision-Support and Case-Making: Our unparalleled analytic expertise, proprietary benchmark database, and ability to integrate research, best practice, and stakeholder feedback allow us to quickly identify high-priority challenges and opportunities. Whether we’re assessing district spending patterns, examining school portfolio configurations, dissecting inequities in student learning time, or analyzing compensation structures, we shed light on the most critical challenges and opportunities for driving transformation. Our partners use these analyses to inform strategic planning cycles, superintendent transitions, central office reorganization efforts, school board inquiries, new district initiative launches, and more.
Strategy Design: Every district has a strategic plan, but strategic school system leaders don’t stop there. Instead, they take the next step to translate their high-level visions for student success into a set of clear strategic priorities powered by the concrete shifts in staffing, schedules, and budgets needed to enact meaningful change. Our unique approach helps leaders craft the specific school- and district-level resource use, practice, and policy shifts they need to successfully achieve their vision. By pinpointing leading indicators and metrics, we also help leaders monitor change to ensure they stay on track.
Implementation Support: We help turn ambitious strategies into reality through hands-on support ranging from limited advisory on specific initiatives to detailed implementation support and guidance for full-scale transformation. Grounded in our years of on-the-ground experience partnering with large districts across the country, our implementation support uses research-based best practices to help leaders execute bold strategies. We excel in the creation of continuous improvement processes, adapting our work based on real-time progress, and ensuring that change management and stakeholder engagement are central parts of a district’s implementation plans.
Leadership Development: We offer standalone workshops for districts and state education agencies interested in growing their leaders’ skillsets or for individuals seeking to expand their knowledge base. In 2023, our Leadership Development events reached over 450 leaders—more than 90% of whom reported experiencing a change in understanding and action because of their participation.
Learn more about Leadership Development events here.
Tools, Publications, and Research: Our award-winning suite of free tools, publications, and research highlights district and state success stories and the lessons we’ve learned through our partnerships.
If you’re looking to implement student-based budgeting, reimagine teaching roles or compensation structures, redesign schools to improve student learning, or implement a System Strategy Return on Investment process, we have resources to help you get started.