FAST 40: Growth Came Quickly for JBHM Education Group

By Anonymous

JBHM Education Group, LLC, an educational management services company, based in Jackson.

Five years ago, Mike Walters and Gary Bailey concocted an idea to help school districts in Mississippi improve curriculums and instructional strategies by establishing a company focused solely on that mission.

Bailey, AIA, a principal with Johnson Bailey Henderson McNeel (JBHM) Architects, P. A., in Tupelo, married to Kay, a Montessori schoolteacher, had long been a staunch supporter of education in Mississippi.

“My greatest challenge was surviving college,” said Bailey. “I was a poor young man, and just about to starve to death. Just the determination to fight for something that I wanted to do makes me choke up thinking about it. It’s tough, but if you have a vision, you fight through it ‘and do what you’ve got to do to achieve your dream. And that was mine.”

In 2000, Bailey collaborated with Walters, Ed.D, to form JBHM Education Group, LLC, to assist school districts in planning and designing more effective educational programs. Walters, the sole employee, began working immediately to improve curriculums and instructional strategies.

By the end of the 2002-2003 school year, JBHM Education Group was working to improve 11 schools. The list has grown to more than 80, including schools in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee.

JBHM’s expansion of services has also created a need for additional space. In March, the Education Group moved from 690 square feet to 7,000 square feet in the Lefleur’s Bluff Office Park off Lakeland Drive in Jackson.

“The work of JBHM Education Group is grounded in the belief that schools are inseparable from the civic, social and moral fabric of the communities we serve,” said Bailey. “We are committed to assisting our clients and their communities in building a consensus on the basic public school issues, solutions and directions.”

For years prior to the company’s formation, JBHM leaders and staff had been involved in school district evaluation and planning throughout the region, consulting on projects in school districts large and small, rural and suburban.

“We’ve taken great care to build our company on the selection of the most experienced and successful educators and technicians,” said Bailey.

JBHM Education Group services include school improvement, strategic planning, school finance planning, special education initiative, professional development, curricula, facility development and planning, federal programs planning, accreditation rating audit, career and technical education, supplemental education services and other specialized services.

For example, JBHM Education Group’s school improvement model is derived from research on effective schools and effective teaching. The improvement processes attempt to build a school’s capacity to internalize and institutionalize best educational practices. After an initial school assessment, a school-wide accountability plan is developed, outlining specific responsibilities for every school employee, including an evaluation component and timelines. The plan and resulting consultation is based on four critical research- driven elements: implementation of a guaranteed curriculum (Marzano), increasing student academic learning rates, improving school climate and frequently monitoring student achievement. School- level implementation of the model encompasses a consultant working side by side with the principal in the school two days a week during the duration of model implementation.

“We take pride in the fact that we do not offer products, but services, which are grounded in research and are tailored to meet the needs of an individual school and/or district,” said Walters. “Our mission is to enhance a school community’s capacity in preparing children for success.”

Founded in 1970 by Jim Johnson, AIA, JBHM now has six divisions, including JBHM Education Group, JBHM Architects, JBHM Facility Resource Group, JBHM Interior Design Group, JBHM Land Planning Group and JBHM Marketing Resource Group, and employs architects, designers and technical personnel in offices located in Tupelo, Columbus, Jackson and Memphis.

Copyright Mississippi Business Journal Nov 28, 2005