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 […]
Unity Creates Stability: Why Industry Collaboration Is the Real Competitive Advantage
After attending FETC in January, one theme stuck with me long after the conference halls cleared out: competition in this industry is everywhere, and that’s not a bad thing. Anyone who’s spent time in the EdTech or K-12 services space knows the reality. Districts move. Relationships evolve. One year you’re the primary partner, the next […]
From the Front Lines to the Feed: How Educators and District Leaders Are Shaping the Future of EdTech Through Social Media
If you told someone five years ago that superintendents would be publicly reviewing partners on LinkedIn, or that CTOs would be posting weekly insights from the trenches, they probably wouldn’t have believed you. Today, it’s happening…and it’s changing how the entire EdTech industry listens. Educators and district leaders are increasingly taking to social media to […]
Why AI Policy Matters More Than AI Tools in K–12
Artificial intelligence is rapidly making its way into K–12 classrooms. From lesson planning and tutoring tools to administrative automation, AI-powered platforms promise efficiency, personalization, and innovation. However, as districts rush to adopt these tools, an important reality is often overlooked: AI tools are only as safe and effective as the policies that govern them. We […]