District Management Group
A Powerful Fusion of Education and Management Best Practices

Former President of the United States John F. Kennedy believed that “leadership and learning are indispensable to each other,” highlighting the importance of education. The CEO of District Management Group, John J-H Kim extends this idea by stating, “I think everybody understands that providing a strong educational foundation is important to our society as a whole. We want everybody to be equipped with a quality education that serves as a foundation to pursue worthy jobs and higher studies.” The company specializes in leveraging education and management best practices, along with specialized technology, to support the systemic improvement of K-12 public schools across the U.S.

District Management Group defines success as achieving simultaneous improvement in student outcomes, operational efficiencies, and resource allocation to ensure sustainable change. In order to help public school districts achieve this, the company has the following offerings: membership and learning, consulting services, professional development, and management solutions that incorporate technology. The first of these offerings—membership and learning—was one of the building blocks of District Management Group at the time of its inception in 2004. Through its membership network, District Management Council, the company provides public school district leaders access to conferences and professional development opportunities as well as access to extensive research. This network now comprises an active group of forward-thinking leaders across 150 districts nationwide. “The distinctive aspect of our network is that it covers districts as large as Los Angeles Unified School District to a thousand-student district. Our network encompasses both urban and suburban districts, with varying demographics, all across the nation,” adds Kim.

The company’s consulting practice provides districts with educational and management best practices as well as implementation support to address key challenges such as strategic planning, special education, human capital management, resource allocation, and program evaluation.

District Management Group works in collaboration with district leaders, and is consistently focused on bringing about long-lasting change.

District Management Group has also developed solutions that combine technology with best practices to help districts and schools embed sustainable improvements. One example of this is the company’s elementary scheduling solution. Recently, the company implemented this solution at Bibb County School District (GA). A significant and persistent achievement gap existed between the district’s highest and lowest performing schools, and district leaders knew that in order to raise achievement, they needed district-wide instructional guidelines. But putting this into place across 22 elementary schools was daunting. Working with the district, District Management Group was able to analyze existing practices and help codify instructional guidelines aligned with best practices. Then, using its proprietary elementary school scheduling software, the company worked with district staff to develop schedules for each classroom across the 22 elementary schools. The software ensured that new schedules met the newly established guidelines, which included educational best practices such as increased time for reading and math, a 45-minute intervention period, and specials every day, for every grade, at every school. Optimized scheduling ensured that each student had access to similar instructional practices and services, thereby improving equity and allowing for implementation of practices recognized as best for learning.

District Management Group has been on a mission to bring a combination of education and management best practices to school districts across the nation. Established in 2004, the company has a proven track record of working in collaboration with district leaders to bring about systemic improvement. Its best practice consulting, technology-enhanced solutions, professional development, and membership services are supporting district leaders in driving improvement in our nation’s public schools. The company has emerged as a pioneer in this sector, bringing a systems-thinking approach to ensure all students are served effectively. “If you want to improve student outcomes, you need to strengthen management capabilities. This is how our public education leaders deliver lasting impact for students,” concludes Kim.