They Lived It. Now They’re Selling It. The Rise of the EdTech Insider.
Something is shifting in the EdTech world, and if you’ve been paying attention, especially on LinkedIn, you’ve probably already noticed it. The people who spent a decade or more managing device fleets, navigating budget cycles, surviving bond failures, and fighting for every dollar in a K-12 IT department are quietly packing up their district badges […]
The Technology Fee Strategy That’s Keeping School IT Budgets Intact
Every spring, school technology directors face the same uncomfortable math. Devices are aging, warranties are expiring, and the IT budget (already stretched thin) has to somehow cover repairs, refreshes, new software, and whatever this year’s unexpected crisis turns out to be. Something always gets cut. But a growing number of schools have found a quiet, […]
Going, Going, Gone: The Live-Auction Playbook for K12 Device Retirement
There’s a good chance someone in your building has stayed up past midnight watching a stranger sell a box of gas station candy for $40. Or a single pair of sneakers for $300. Or an unsorted pallet of returned electronics to a bidding war of forty people, all shouting through their thumbs. Welcome to the […]
The End of the Vendor Carousel: Why Districts Are Betting on Fewer, Deeper Partnerships
For a long time, the conventional wisdom in district procurement went something like this: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spread the work around. Use one vendor for repairs, another for deployment, a third for buyback and disposition, a fourth for accessories. Keep everyone hungry, keep everyone honest, and never get so dependent […]
The Case for a Case: How One Simple Accessory Can Save Your Device Budget
When a school district deploys hundreds or thousands of devices, every line item matters. Chromebooks, iPads, and MacBooks represent significant capital investments, and protecting that investment doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, one of the highest-return decisions a district can make costs less than taking your family out for dinner. A quality protective case […]
Your Staff Has Better Things to Do This Summer
Summer is the most valuable window in the K12 calendar. No students, lighter schedules, and a rare stretch of uninterrupted time to get things done. For most district IT and operations teams, that window gets consumed by one thing: device refresh. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of devices need to be collected, inspected, repaired, sanitized, re-tagged, re-wired […]
MacBook Neo: The Right Device for Schools, With One Big Vulnerability
Apple has done something schools have been asking for for years. With the MacBook Neo, they’ve finally released a device that competes directly with Chromebooks on price, starting at just $599 retail and $499 with education pricing, while keeping everything inside the Apple ecosystem. For K12 districts, that’s a big deal. Schools that have committed […]
Better Coverage, Lower Cost: Why K12 Schools Are Pairing Extended Warranties with OEM Plans
When your district invests in MacBooks, iPads, or Chromebooks, they ship with an OEM warranty from Apple, Google, or the device manufacturer. That warranty is a great starting point. It covers manufacturing defects and hardware failures right out of the box. But for K12 environments, where devices live in backpacks, get passed between students, and […]
Why Your Next Device Refresh May Cost More Than You Think
For the past several years, school technology leaders have grown accustomed to predictable device pricing cycles. Refresh every 3–4 years. Budget accordingly. Replace aging fleets. Repeat. That predictability is starting to shift. A combination of rising memory demand, AI infrastructure expansion, and renewed global tariffs is quietly putting upward pressure on device costs. While the […]
It’s Not the Logo. It’s the Lineup.
Every March, brackets get busted for the same reason. Everyone bets on the #1 seed. The powerhouse program. The household name. The brand everyone recognizes. On paper, they’re bigger. Flashier. Deeper. And then a 12-seed with discipline, chemistry, and grit sends them home. The lesson? It’s not the logo. It’s the lineup. The same dynamic […]