EdWeek Market Brief’s Most Popular Stories of 2023: Funding Cliff, Florida, and Killer Mistakes to Avoid
Over the last year, companies serving the education market have been focused on many issues, but two stand out: the federal funding cliff, and new developments in major state markets.
A review of EdWeek Market Brief’s most popular stories in 2023 reveals that those two topic areas have drawn the greatest attention. That isn’t surprising, considering that both the end of federal stimulus aid and controversial policies adopted in states such as Florida and Texas promise to significantly impact how school districts spend money in the future.
Companies were also hungry to know how to better understand districts’ needs and how to communicate with them, as reflected by the popularity of stories about how to build a research base and how to make a good impression on social media.
Here are the top 10 most-read stories we produced in 2023, and some of the key takeaways vendors should remember from each.
1. Profile of a Key K-12 Market: Florida
In 2023, school districts across Florida were forced to adjust to major shifts in state policy that impacted everything from school choice to their selection of academic resources.
Staff Writer Alexandria Ng took a deep dive into those dynamics in Florida, as part of an ongoing series of stories profiling critical state education markets. Florida serves around 2.9 million public K-12 students, and it’s home to half of the 10 largest school systems in the country.
Many districts in the state have been closely reviewing academic resources to ensure that they meet a series of new state laws that restrict lessons on gender and race. School systems are selecting products with the state’s standards in mind.
2. Texas is Overhauling Its Curriculum Adoption Process. Here’s What It Means for Ed. Companies
A new measure in Texas completely revamped the state’s review and approval process for instructional materials, and the changes had big implications for vendors working in the major market.
Contributing Writer David Saleh Rauf took an in-depth look at the law, known as House Bill 1605 and signed in June by Gov. Greg Abbott. It established that school districts opting to use products that are on the state board-approved list will receive an additional $40 per student in state funding, and opened the door to the state creating its own resources to potentially compete with publishers.
As a result, publishers will likely face a divided market, where products are either approved and tied to financial incentives for districts or facing a disadvantage by not qualifying for the bonus.
3. 7 Ways Education Companies Fail to Do Their Homework on Districts
Making a mistake such as failing to understand the local context or the needs of individual school districts can hurt an education company in establishing a new relationship.
Before reaching out, vendors need to know enough about a system — its priorities, demographics, budget, and technology ecosystem — to draw a convincing link between what the system needs and what products can offer.
Staff Writer Emma Kate Fittes spoke with district administrators who described some of the most common shortcomings exhibited by companies that fail to do their homework on districts.
Among the most prevalent mistakes: stretching the truth (such as falsely implying they’ve met a district administrator or their colleagues at a conference) or getting basic facts wrong (such as not realizing an administrator has changed jobs).
4. The Programs Most Likely to Go Away When Stimulus Funding Ends
It’s no surprise that the looming funding cliff was top of mind for our readers in 2023. With the September 2024 deadline for obligating federal stimulus dollars quickly approaching, school districts have entered an era of hard choices.
Managing Editor Sean Cavanagh summarized the results of a nationally representative survey, conducted in January and February, which asked district administrators and school principals which categories of products they will likely to cut from their budgets as aid runs out.
Summer learning programs, computing devices, tutoring, and student mental health resources are among the areas of spending likely be on the chopping block, said the K-12 officials surveyed.
5. The Biggest Mistakes Education Companies Make on Social Media
The majority of educators are aware of companies’ outreach to them via social media, an October EdWeek Market Brief survey found. It can be a key part of building awareness and understanding of a vendor’s product.
But half of educators say the messaging they see is too sales-heavy and product-focused.
Staff Writer Michelle Caffrey explains where vendors’ communication falls short, and some alternate approaches that have been received more positively. Overall, our survey found educators are asking for more substance from companies on social media, including a focus on best practices for educators and more information about what products actually do.
6. Why Company Outreach at Education Conferences Succeeds or Flops
Conference season in 2023 was robust, as COVID restrictions faded further from view. Some of the biggest gatherings in the K-12 industry — SXSW EDU, Bett, and ASU+GSV — were scheduled within a two-month spring window.
EdWeek Market Brief wrote about the kinds of messaging and outreach at education conferences that hits the mark among K-12 employees, and those that flop.
Among the major takeaways from the EdWeek Research Center survey, conducted in January and February, is that educators look for practical insights from vendors at the events. Around half of educators say sessions that teach them how to use a product, or vendors who can explain how a product aligns with their needs, would make them want to learn more about a company.
7. Districts Face the Funding Cliff. Here’s How to Stay Off the Chopping Block
Fittes looked into what district expectations companies will need to meet in order to keep their product or service off of a the cutting room floor as the one-time boost in funding winds to a close.
Many administrators are focused squarely on academic results. If companies can prove their products or services have made a positive impact on student achievement, they have a much better chance of having a contract renewed, the story found.
District and school leaders are also thinking about cost, teacher feedback, and usage data.
8. Optimism Collides With Anxiety Over Future of Ed-Tech Market
In addition to concerns about the drying up of stimulus aid, education companies have been worried about lagging enrollment in school systems, and the possibility of an economic slowdown.
Rauf captured the state of unease in the industry in a story based on a series of interviews with company executives and others gathered at this year’s SXSW EDU conference.
Despite those anxieties, company officials also maintained a sense of optimism about their abilities to persist, and the overall potential to bring more innovation into the market.
9. In Their Own Words: How School Districts Are Preparing for the Loss of Stimulus Money
EdWeek Market Brief asked K-12 officials in an open-ended survey question what strategies their district is using to try to stretch COVID-era aid. Key words in district administrators responses included: “eliminate,” “reevaluate,” “recreate,” and “collaborate.”
In this story, Ng looked at what district officials wrote in response to that question, identifying common threads.
In North Colonie Central Schools in New York, administrators are preparing to scale back summer learning from being available to all students, to targeting the students who need it most — such as special education, at-risk, or new students.
“These are the types of programs that have been scaled back or eliminated,” said Jim Wager, principal of the district’s Shaker High School. “But how do we continue to support these students knowing that even more are struggling?”
10. How ChatGPT Could Transform the Work of Education Companies
With the emergence of more advanced and reliable versions of generative AI came a rush of ideas. For leaders of education companies, the new technology offers possibilities not just for the products and services they provide schools, but their own internal workflows and processes.
Fittes talked to Jon Reifschneider, director of Duke University’s Master of Engineering in AI for Product Innovation program about potential uses for K-12 vendors — and the challenges to consider first.
Marketing, sales, and human resources are all areas where AI can bring efficiencies, Reifschneider said. But companies shouldn’t make the mistake of using AI just for the sake of it. The technology requires a large amount of data, and often identifying a tech failure can be difficult, which can lead to “really big problems,” he said.
Image by Getty.
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