What’s top of mind for district leaders? At DMG’s 22nd Annual Summit in NYC, held February 5–7, we brought together over 200 district leaders from 77 districts nationwide to explore the biggest challenges in public K-12 education today.
Over three days, districts shared their work on raising student outcomes, improving special education, making a difference through secondary and special education scheduling, and increasing focus and alignment through strategic planning. We also examined the evolving role of AI-driven tools in education. Here, we provide some highlights of our time together.
Opening Session and Case Study
In the opening keynote, John Kim, DMG CEO and founder and Harvard Business School professor, provided a review of the state of the sector, highlighting the most pressing challenges district leaders were facing — from stalled academic recovery and structural imbalances to increasing politicization. Emphasizing the urgent need for bold thinking and innovation in public education, he challenged leaders with the following questions: What will you do differently to drive both operational excellence and innovation in your district? What’s on your conveyor belt of ideas? His remarks set the tone and focus for the conversations that followed over the next two days.
In a subsequent session, John Kim led participants through a thought-provoking Harvard Business School case study discussion in which they examined the challenges of driving organizational change, highlighting the complexities of change leadership in systems with long-standing structures, traditions, and expectations. They discussed practical frameworks and tools that district and school leaders could apply to their own unique contexts.
Keynote
Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and professor at the Yale Child Study Center, delivered a keynote on the transformative power of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools. He emphasized the importance of a systemic, whole-school approach to SEL that prioritizes the well-being of both educators and students by creating emotionally supportive environments. Dr. Brackett also highlighted the vital role of emotionally intelligent leadership in building a culture that promotes both academic achievement and emotional wellness.
“I want everyone to become an emotion scientist. We need to be curious explorers of our own and others’ emotions so they can enhance, rather than hinder our well-being and success in life.”
~ Dr. Marc Brackett
Following his keynote, Dr. Brackett led a session exploring evidence-based strategies to help educators and students better understand and regulate their emotions.Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming education, redefining how we teach, learn, and connect in classrooms around the world. In this fireside chat, participants explored recent developments in AI in education and discussed the opportunities and challenges these tools present, as well as their potential to empower both educators and students.
Strengthening School Board Governance & Aligning Strategic Priorities
In an exclusive session for superintendents and board members, John Kim led a dynamic discussion on strengthening school board governance. Drawing on national research and real-world experience, John Kim explored how to build and sustain effective superintendent–school board partnerships. Using the case study method, participants examined key governance challenges and strategies, leaving with a clearer understanding of how to establish the foundations for more effective collaboration and long-term success.
Breakout Sessions
Beyond Compliance: Integrating Special Education into Core Teaching and Learning
Leaders from North Adams Public Schools (MA) and Community Unit School District 300 (IL) shared how they are transforming special education to be more inclusive, collaborative, and student-centered, with limited resources and growing needs. Superintendents Barbara Malkas and Martina Smith described their shift from a compliance-driven approach to one rooted in instructional leadership, shared responsibility, and inclusive practices. Central to this work is a clear vision that sets high expectations for students with disabilities and guides district strategic decisions, resource allocation, and every day practice.
“At the heart of our efforts is a mindset that students with disabilities are not “someone else’s responsibility”. Special education staff and general education teachers are working to better serve all students, together.”
~ Dr. Barbara Malkas, Superintendent, North Adams Public Schools (MA)
Closing the Gap: Achieving Outstanding Academic Results
Leaders from Birmingham City Schools (AL), Central Falls School District (RI), and Fresno Unified School District (CA) shared how they used DMG’s Breakthrough Results program to overcome deeply rooted academic challenges and achieve rapid, measurable improvement in student outcomes.
While each of the three districts brought its own context and challenges, they all found success by focusing on a few key elements of the Breakthrough Result program:
“One of the most powerful aspects of the program is that teachers can grow as leaders while knowing they have the ongoing support of a BTR performance coach.”
~ Dr. Stephanie Downey Toledo, Superintendent, Central Falls SD (RI)
Enhancing Opportunities for Students without Increasing Costs through Strategic Scheduling
This session provided insight into how DMG partnered with the San Bernardino City Unified School District (CA) to transform secondary school scheduling and staffing. Through detailed reviews of middle and high school schedules, the DMG team uncovered root causes challenges and delivered actionable recommendations. These efforts led to improved outcomes in high schools and redesigned guidelines for middle school schedules that are better tailored to student needs. DMG also helped the district address staffing inequities systemwide, promoting more equitable resource use and stronger alignment with student needs across all schools. The work also fostered cross-department collaboration, built trust among stakeholders, and positioned the district to make more strategic, student-centered decisions moving forward.
“The process revealed deeper systemic challenges but also clarified where and how to act.”
~ Sudha Venkatesan, Director of Secondary Education, San Bernardino City Unified School District (CA)
Better Outcomes in Special Education: Maximizing Student and Staff Success Through Scheduling
Leaders from Griffin-Spalding County Schools (GA) and Butler Area School District (PA) shared how DMG’s school scheduling software DMSchedules has helped them bring greater clarity, efficiency, and equity to special education scheduling. They explained how the software significantly reduced the time spent on manual scheduling and conflict resolution, and helped with compliance, allowing teams to focus more on student progress, instructional alignment, and intervention effectiveness.
“For us, DMShedules helped uncover both overstaffing and understaffing, which were previously misunderstood due to a lack of clear visuals.”
~ Aaron Royhab, Director of Special Education at Butler Area School District (PA)
From Vision to Action: Effective Strategies for Implementing Your District’s Strategic Plan
District leaders from Birmingham City Schools (AL) and Portsmouth School Department (RI) shared how they effectively implemented their strategic plans to produce real results for students, staff, and communities. Leaders shared strategies for overcoming common implementation challenges, using data to guide decisions, tracking progress effectively, building a culture of accountability, and maintaining stakeholder engagement to ensure the district’s goals are achieved.
The message was clear: strategic plans must be living documents, not static checklists. Effective implementation requires ongoing monitoring, alignment across stakeholders, and decisions anchored in clearly defined priorities. Ultimately, success depends on consistent leadership, strong community trust, and integrating the strategic plan into everyday practice—from school board meetings to teacher planning time.
Putting Every Dollar to Work in a Post-ESSER World: Academic-ROI Guides the Way
Leaders from St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 (IL) and Rockford Public Schools 205 (IL) shared how they leveraged DMG’s Academic-ROI methodology to evaluate their programming, strengthen district systems, and align resources with their strategic priorities, ensuring that every dollar spent drives meaningful student outcomes.
St. Charles CUSD 303 used Academic-ROI to uncover performance gaps and inefficiencies in its dual-language program. The analysis helped district leaders make a compelling case for a more effective and cost-efficient model, better aligned to student needs, which will launch next year.
“In education, there’s so much emotion around our programs because we care deeply. Academic-ROI presents the facts clearly and helps you make a more educated decision about the direction of the program you are evaluating.”
~ Dr. Paul Gordon, Superintendent, St. Charles Community Unit SD 303 (IL)
At Rockford PS 205, the A-ROI methodology is being used districtwide to create a common language within the district and enable district leaders to assess new initiatives based on success criteria and measurable outcomes rather than personal attachments.
Optimizing Resource Allocation: Insights from a Budget Simulation
Building thoughtful, strategic budgets requires balancing the needs of many stakeholders and making trade-offs. At the Summit, participants had the opportunity to engage in an interactive session where they stepped into the roles of leaders of a fictional school district to navigate the complexities of strategic budgeting. Through a realistic simulation, district leaders worked to stay within budget, allocate resources using data, and align spending with district priorities, all while managing trade-offs and competing stakeholder interests. The session offered hands-on experience and valuable insights into the challenges and decision-making required to build thoughtful, effective budgets.
