Steven Hornyak, Ed.D.
Founder & Principal Consultant
After spending 18 years in public education — starting as a classroom teacher, advancing to school leadership, and eventually serving as Chief Innovation Officer — I saw firsthand the mounting pressures facing America's public school districts.
Districts are fighting on multiple fronts. They're defending enrollment against an expanding voucher ecosystem. They're navigating AI adoption without clear guidance. They're maximizing limited funding while managing post-ESSER cliff challenges. And they're doing this with teams stretched thin and external pressure intensifying.
Yet the consulting landscape has overlooked public education. The firms that dominate K-12 are often transactional, focused on compliance rather than strategy. They lack the deep practitioner experience needed to understand what actually works in schools.
That's why I founded BrightPath K-12. Public school districts deserve a strategic partner who understands their world from the inside — someone who has taught in their classrooms, sat in their board meetings, and navigated their budgets. Someone who believes in public education as fiercely as they do.
“I kept thinking: where is the McKinsey for public schools? Where is the firm that combines strategic rigor with real understanding of what public education is fighting for?”
