Name

ED Direction

Legal name

Ed Direction

Website

https://eddirection.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Consulting and School Improvement Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Teacher Tools for Language & Literacy (Lesson Planning, Assignments, Feedback) (EDAFAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interactive Presentation & Lesson Delivery Engagement Tools (EDAFAGAJ), Survey, Formative Assessment & Classroom Response (Quizzes/Polls) Tools (EDAFADAN)

Keywords

• K-12 education consulting
• School improvement services
• Professional learning
• Instructional coaching
• Educator effectiveness

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - K-12 Education Consulting: Ed Direction generates revenue through providing data-driven improvement services to K-12 school systems including coaching, professional learning, performance management, and appraisal supports. Services are tailored to individual school and district needs and likely structured as consulting engagements or contractual partnerships with educational agencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ED Direction provides data-driven improvement services to K-12 schools, districts, and state education agencies. Its core work includes tailored coaching, professional learning, performance management, and appraisal supports, anchored in proprietary methodologies such as Rapid Improvement Cycles (RCI), Collaborative Coaching, and Teacher-Driven Observation (TDO), all delivered through long-term consulting engagements that build internal educator and leader capacity.

Product overview

ED Direction (now part of MGT) is a K-12 education consulting firm and practice area of Cicero Group that provides data-driven school improvement services. The company offers a portfolio of interconnected services centered on building educator capacity through coaching, professional learning, and evidence-based methodologies. Core service offerings include Instructional Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Teacher Leadership Development, and Professional Learning and Growth, all enhanced by proprietary digital resources (Learning Spaces and EdThrive). The company's approach is grounded in frameworks like Rapid Improvement Cycles, Collaborative Coaching, and Teacher-Driven Observation (TDO). Ed Direction has published authoritative works including 'Collaborative School Improvement' and 'The Transparent Teacher,' which document their methodology. They operate state-level partnerships such as the IL-EMPOWER program with the Illinois State Board of Education, and function as a management consulting practice within Cicero Group's broader service offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Instructional Coaching Professional coaching services that help school professionals engage in deliberate practice to measurably impact student learning, drawing on best insights from coaching fields outside education.
• Leadership Coaching Experienced leadership coaches assist educational leaders in building relationships of trust, solving complex problems, and staying current on research and policy that influence their work.
• Teacher Leadership Development Builds the expertise and confidence of teacher leaders, resulting in school systems that are innovative today and have internal capacity to continually improve for years to come.
• Professional Learning and Growth Customized professional learning content designed to meet specific school and school system needs, supported by Learning Spaces and EdThrive digital resources.
• Appraisal and Root Cause Analysis Uses an assets-based approach to collect and examine data from multiple sources, identify strengths, needs, and barriers, and guide root cause identification and implementation of effective strategies.
• Management Consulting Data-driven decision support services for top management to assess needs and capture value, bringing deep functional expertise in advanced research, analytics, operational excellence, and trajectory transformation.
• Collaborative School Improvement (Book) A best-selling book identifying eight key practices for effective school-district collaboration on data-based inquiry, drawing on case studies from three districts to help schools build capacity for data-driven transformation.
• The Transparent Teacher (Book) A practical book outlining the Teacher-Driven Observation model that helps teachers take charge of their own growth, effectiveness, and job satisfaction using peer-collected classroom data.

Quantifiable outcome

• Schools improved at least two designation levels in one year (IL-EMPOWER partnership)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEd Direction was selected as an approved Learning Partner through the IL-EMPOWER initiative, becoming part of Illinois' statewide system of differentiated supports and accountability as outlined in the Illinois Quality Framework. They work in all three areas: Governance and Management, Curriculum and Instruction, and Climate and Culture.
• IL-EMPOWER School Support ManagerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEd Direction works side-by-side with IL-EMPOWER's School Support Managers to provide schools with unbiased assessment of student learning and practical guidance to address root causes of underperformance.
• StoryWork InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEd Direction partnered with StoryWork International to facilitate an extended protocol with Thomasville High School to redefine their organizational purpose and values through storytelling.
• Cicero GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEd Direction is a practice area of Cicero Group, a premier management consulting firm focused on implementing data-driven strategies for private, public, and social sector organizations. Ed Direction represents Cicero Group's K-12 education expertise.
• MGTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEd Direction has united with MGT to impact even more communities. The same trusted team continues operations now under the MGT umbrella with expanded services, solutions, and expertise.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TNTP (formerly The New Teacher Project): National nonprofit that partners with school districts and states to improve teaching effectiveness and student outcomes through training, coaching, and policy work. Directly comparable to ED Direction's K-12 instructional coaching and school improvement practice.
• District Management Group (DMGroup): Consulting firm that partners with school districts to improve operations, instruction, and leadership. Closely comparable as a fee-for-service K-12 improvement consultancy targeting district superintendents and state agencies.
• Education Resource Strategies (ERS): Nonprofit that works with school districts on strategic resource use, school improvement, and equitable outcomes. Comparable as a research- and data-driven K-12 improvement partner serving districts and states.
• Battelle for Kids: Nonprofit that partners with schools, districts, and states on educator effectiveness, student success, and leadership development. Comparable as a K-12 improvement services provider serving state education agencies.
• Insight Education Group: Education consulting firm focused on instructional coaching, teacher evaluation, and school improvement services. Direct competitor in the K-12 coaching and professional learning space.
• Public Impact: Consulting firm working with school systems on talent, leadership, and school turnaround initiatives. Comparable as a K-12 improvement consultancy with state and district-level engagements.
• Solution Tree: Professional development and school improvement publisher that delivers workshops, coaching, and frameworks (e.g., PLC at Work) to schools and districts. Comparable K-12 professional learning and improvement provider.
• Learning Forward: Nonprofit professional association focused on effective professional learning for educators. Comparable as a provider of educator coaching, standards, and learning services to schools and districts.

Broad incumbents

• Frontline Education: Large K-12 software and services company serving school districts with HR, business, and instructional management solutions. ED Direction has been featured on Frontline's podcast; broader incumbent serving overlapping K-12 improvement buyers.
• McKinsey & Company (Education Practice): Global management consultancy with a dedicated K-12 education practice serving states, districts, and foundations. Broad incumbent competing for the same state-level school improvement and turnaround engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ed_dir

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ED Direction