March 2019 | Employee Spotlight: Dr. Erin Herbruck

Dr. Erin Herbruck is a career Shaker educator who currently serves as the Director of Professional Learning and, just last month, was named Project Manager on the High School Principal Search. She has been with Shaker Heights Schools for 24 years -- 15 years as a Middle School teacher and the past nine in various central office roles. Later this spring, she will replace Dr. Lois Cavucci, Director of Human Resources, and will be part of a transition plan to merge the office of Professional Learning with Human Resources. When Dr. Herbruck isn’t at work or spending time with her family, she devotes time to her passion for yoga as an instructor and daily practitioner. Learn more about Dr. Herbruck.

How did your role in Professional Learning come about and why was is significant?
My mentor and former Shaker Heights Schools superintendent Mark Freeman appointed me to oversee planning and development, which included strategic planning and professional development. Then, when Dr. Hutchings came, he was passionate about the fact that we needed to continue to grow professional learning with a specific focus on faculty with educator licenses. That’s when my title changed and when the the professional learning role really came about. We had the opportunity to define the role, and create my job description. Along with help of many on the team and in central office, the department was built and the systems and structures by which we document professional learning were created.

This really elevated the value of professional learning among our instructional staff. At that time, we really started to structure professional learning days so that there was intentional, aligned and planned  professional learning taking place. Now educators can log and track their professional learning as they go, as opposed to having to search for examples of professional learning when their license is expiring. As a result of creating this role and department, which includes and Administrative assistant and 5 Instructional Coaches, we now have mechanisms to provide job-embedded and classroom focus professional learning and track professional learning time better than we ever had before. 

In May when you officially transition to Acting Executive Director of Human Resources, what opportunities do you see at the District?
The Human Resources team will be e involved in attracting, retaining and supporting all of our staff. That covers the range from recruiting, supporting staff as they continue to learn and grow in their roles, and implementing systems and structures to effectively support them when/if they leave the District. One of my core beliefs is that central office is here to support the schools, faculty and staff, not to make things difficult or bureaucratic. We are here to support them and we shouldn’t be making so many hoops that they are spending excessive time trying to find information or resources. My goal is that all of our faculty and staff feel like they can focus on their job and we can help them with all of the human resources management. We have spent the past few years refining many systems and structures, and we are ready now to take our support to the next level. As a career Shaker educator, I am excited to bring my knowledge, relationships, and skills to this work. Additionally, as we move into the future, it’s important to have people in senior leadership who know where we’ve come from and can be a part of determining where we can go. We always benefit from outside ideas, and we have many right here in the district ready to take us to the next level. 

What’s the most significant positive change you’ve seen at Shaker through the years? 
Definitely the implementation of IB. IB provides a curriculum framework. I know that IB comes with a lot of requirements and structures, and that can be challenging. I think in the end, our students truly benefit from IB, and our faculty and staff work extensively every day to implement the framework. 

What’s your goal in working with Finding Leaders on the High School Principal search?
To find someone who’s a philosophical and leadership match to help the High School move forward. It’s a premier high school and we need to ensure that continues. We need someone who can focus on instruction, provide systems and structures to support the needs of our students, families and staff, and match philosophically with what Shaker is all about, while also having an eye to our continuous improvement. The person will have to lead with equity and be a leader who has the emotional intelligence to be empathetic, vulnerable and communicate effectively. 

You’re a huge advocate for yoga and a teacher yourself. How did you come to yoga?
My very first year working at the administration building, I found a lump in my breast and found out that I had the BRACA II gene (my mother also has a BRACA gene). I made the decision to prophylactic double mastectomies. Unfortunately, afterwards, I developed terrible infections, so over the next three years, I had ten surgeries. I started to have so much pain and stiffness, especially in my back, so I looked for something to help me feel better. I found a yoga video and I started to do that, and then another Shaker teacher, Linda Roth suggested that I go with her to a beginner yoga class. What I never imagined is that I’d love it so much that I’d want to be a yoga teacher. And I also realized that the inquiry and the experience of thinking about yourself is more powerful than the movements. Yoga has taught me to slow down and to listen to people more intently. One of the best compliments I ever received from people in the district was that they didn’t even know I was sick. That helps me remember that when I was coming to work and feeling awful but still working, and that there are people doing that same thing every day. It gave me more empathy. It was this awful, great situation that was truly transformative. 

You’re a fan of research professor and author Brene Brown. Do you have a favorite passage from her work?
There’s a passage from her book Dare to Lead that’s really stuck with me. It reads: 
“As you think about your own path to daring leadership, remember Joseph Campbell’s wisdom: ‘The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.’ Own the fear, find the cave, and write a new ending for yourself, for the people you’re meant to serve and support, and for your culture. Choose courage over comfort. Choose whole hearts over armor. And choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid. At the exact same time.”