From the District Office to Frontline: One Leader’s Mission to Help Texas Schools Thrive

After 29 years in public education, Eryn Gradig is bringing her Medicaid expertise and firsthand experience as a Frontline customer to districts across Texas.

When Eryn began her career in education nearly three decades ago, she never imagined she’d one day help school districts across Texas strengthen their Medicaid programs. 

She started as a fifth-grade teacher before moving into first grade, eventually discovering a passion for special education. After earning her master’s degree, she became an educational diagnostician, later serving as an ARD facilitator and eventually a special education coordinator for Plano ISD. 

Along the way, one responsibility unexpectedly changed the course of her career: Medicaid. 

“I inherited the Medicaid program about 12 years ago,” Eryn said. “It was definitely a learning curve.” 

As the district’s Medicaid administrator, she oversaw compliance, service tracking, billing, and documentation while also supporting Frontline V3 and supervising multiple special education teams including teachers of the visually impaired, orientation and mobility specialists, and music therapists.  

“It was a lot of hats,” she laughed. “Sometimes things got pushed to the side because there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.” 

Living the Challenges Districts Face 

Managing school-based Medicaid isn’t simply processing claims. 

Every day meant monitoring compliance deadlines, reviewing billing activity, supporting providers, answering questions, and ensuring documentation was complete, all while balancing numerous other district responsibilities. 

“There isn’t enough time in the day,” she said. “You’re making sure staff are documenting correctly, following up on billing, answering emails, and helping people understand the process.” 

She understands why many districts struggle. 

Revenue pressures continue to grow while regulations become increasingly complex. 

“Districts need every dollar they can get,” she said. “If I can help them with the pieces they’re missing to increase their revenue, that’s exactly where I want to be.”  

Why Frontline? 

Plano ISD became a Frontline customer after working with other Medicaid vendors. 

For Eryn, the decision wasn’t simply about software. 

It was about trust. 

She had already worked with Frontline through special education solutions and believed in the partnership the company provided. 

“Our emails to Frontline were always answered quickly,” she said. “I knew someone was working on my issue, and they followed up before I ever had to ask.” 

That level of support stood out. 

“You’ve got to trust your vendor,” she said. “With Frontline, I always felt supported.”  

She also saw the difference it made for providers. 

After implementing Frontline Medicaid and Service Tracking, something unexpected happened. 

Nothing. 

“No complaints,” she said with a smile. “When principals weren’t hearing from providers that the system wasn’t working, that’s when I knew we were in a good place.” 

From Customer to Colleague 

Joining Frontline wasn’t a sudden decision. 

In fact, it had been years in the making. 

“People had been telling me for years, ‘You need to come to Frontline,'” Eryn said. “I always told them I needed to stay until I felt ready to retire.” 

Once the timing was right, the decision became easy. 

She wanted to continue supporting school districts but on a much larger scale. 

“I wanted a new adventure where I could still support districts the way Frontline supported me.”