The idea for EKC Literacy was born out of a need for better, more customized learning experiences in international schools. As the ES Literacy Coach and then PK-12 Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Concordia International School in Shanghai, our founder Erin Kent was tasked with bringing in top-shelf professional learning to her school. In doing so, she found that the big authors with big ideas tended to use “one-size-fits-all” expertise regardless of the changing context of the school and its students, teachers, and parents.

But Erin realized that context matters. What works in Doha doesn't work in South Africa. What works in Shanghai doesn't necessarily work in Sao Paulo. So Erin pushed visiting consultants to adapt content for her school’s specific student, teacher, and parent population. She then began thinking that international schools deserved something different, something tailored to their unique circumstances. 

Between 2012 and 2015, Erin spoke at conferences on ways to tailor programming to the international contexts of schools, garnering her first consulting gigs in Hanoi, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong. She found this “made-for-you” consulting approach was a massive success for both educators and students. 

In August 2016, she launched EKC–Erin Kent Consulting–to bring tailored literacy solutions and learning experiences to schools around the world with the help of expert strategists. When COVID stopped all travel in 2020, Erin and her team found new ways to innovate collaboration with global clients, leveraging Zoom through team-based international consulting to deliver high-quality professional learning. 

Now, EKC Literacy’s 45+ global consultants help run customized, cutting-edge literacy programs in hundreds of schools and in seven languages. With both online and on-site trainings, we continue to innovate new products, programs, and resources to lift up others in the name of global literacy!