We are grateful to everyone who joined us this year, and we look forward to seeing even more of you at next year’s DMG Summit on February 10 - 12, 2027 in New York City!
At DMG’s 23rd Annual Summit in New York City (Feb 4–6), 250+ district leaders from across the nation gathered to discuss some of public education’s biggest challenges including:
• Shifting competitive landscape
• Raising student outcomes
• Strategic resource allocation
• Special education
• Strategic staffing
• AI in education
• …and much more
Opening Session and Case Study
As always, the Summit opened with the State of the Sector, led by John J-H Kim, CEO and Founder of DMGroup, who outlined the most urgent challenges facing district leaders today.
Later, during John’s Harvard Business School case study examining Starbucks’ rapid rise—and its gradual loss of identity—he invited participants to apply structured problem-solving frameworks to complex issues in education.
Keynote:
Beyond General AI: Building Learning Science-Backed Experiences
Attendees heard about the latest innovations in AI in education, including AI models and capabilities fundamentally trained on learning science principles and designed to enhance teaching and learning both inside and outside the classroom.
Kaiz Alarakyia, Product Lead for Google DeepMind's AI for Education Research team, and Brit Mennuti, Product Lead on Google for Education, discussed Google’s new suite of AI models and capabilities and shared the approach that led to LearnLM in partnership with educators.
Beyond the sessions, the Summit was a powerful reminder of the strength of this community. Leaders reconnected with longtime peers, built new relationships, and celebrated impact, including the presentation of DMG’s 2026 Transformative Leadership in Education Award to Dr. Stephanie Elizalde, Superintendent of Dallas ISD (TX).
Breakout Session highlights:
Google for Education, How to Leverage AI in Education
Our partners from Google for Education taught a hands-on workshop, co-led by fellow Superintendent Dr. Michael Lubelfeld from North Shore School District 112 (IL), to teach attendees how to build Gemini AI agents. Attendees explored practical use cases such as evaluating RFPs, board member training and knowledge sharing, and state reporting and testing analysis.
PRISM Resource Management: Too Many Programs, Not Enough Time & Dollars, How to Choose What Works
This session explored how leaders use DMG's PRISM (Prioritizing Resources and Initiatives for Strategic Management) framework to evaluate initiatives, align spending with student impact, and make confident decisions about where to invest time and resources.
Dr. Marc Brackett on Emotion Regulation
Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, discussed emotion regulation as a foundation to effective leadership, well-being, and high performance. Dr. Brackett offered a roadmap for district leaders to create environments where educators and students are empowered to thrive.
Read Marc Brackett's article in the District Management Journal
Reimaging Staffing to Build Sustainable Futures, Even in the Time of Budget Cuts
At the Strategic Staffing session, participants learned how Cedar Rapids Community School District (IA) addressed a $12 million budget deficit by re-envisioning its traditional staffing model and refining roles & staffing structures to better align resources with instructional priorities and student needs.
Bridging the Divide between General and Special Education
The Special Education session examined how districts can strengthen collaboration between general and special education beyond traditional co-teaching models. Through a case study of Kyrene School District (AZ), participants explored how intentional co-planning and shared accountability can improve outcomes, and with practical tools that don’t require additional staffing.
Breakthrough Results in Attendance: Using Improvement Science to Reduce Chronic Absenteesim
Many districts are working to address chronic absenteeism, yet few are seeing meaningful improvement. This session highlighted how improvement science can help districts make real progress in getting students back to school.
Presenters shared how the Breakthrough Results program brings improvement science into action by engaging districts in laser-focusing on a specific group of students identified through data.
Predictive Assessments: Predicting State Test Performance with Precision
Districts often don't know if students will pass their state tests until after the fact, nor they do they have actionable recommendations to make adjustments throughout the year to improve student proficiency. In this session, DMG's Predictive Assessment team shared how our Predictive Assessment tool uses AI and ML systems to predict state test performance with 80% accuracy and provide specific and actionable recommendations for teachers within just a couple days of students taking the test. Students take 10 assessments, 10 times, of 15 minutes each throughout the year, and educators are able to intervene more effectively and transform their instruction.
Learn more here and reach out to our team with any questions.
