Posted by It’s a time of transition in the nation’s school districts. And one of high stakes for education companies across the market.
Over the past four years, an enormous amount of federal stimulus funding, about $190 billion, has flowed into schools to support a public education system attempting to rebound from the worst of the pandemic. That funding stream is being phased out after this year. A tangled assortment of school district needs, however, have not gone away, and as a result, many school systems are showing a strong interest in maintaining spending in a variety of academic and non-academic areas, through one funding source or another.
A new EdWeek Market Brief special report takes an in-depth look at which types of products and services school districts are planning to spend the most or least amount of money on in their budgets for next fiscal year. The report, School District Purchasing Priorities, 2024-25, breaks down projected spending, product category by product category.
It also offers insights about overall market conditions, shifting district attitudes toward technology—including artificial intelligence—and the most pressing challenges facing district and school administrators, and teachers, that are influencing their buying.
The report focuses on projected spending in school systems in fiscal year 2024-25—beginning this summer and extending through the next academic year—and is based on nationally representative surveys conducted of district and school leaders, as well as classroom teachers, by the EdWeek Research Center.
Now in its third year, the report finds that core demands remain strong for many of the products that top decision-makers have come to see as essential, in areas like social-emotional learning, supplemental math and English/language arts materials, and devices, in particular.
It is not difficult to see why those appetites remain undiminished. There’s widespread anxiety among district and school leaders and teachers about an array of academic and non-academic hurdles. For top-level K-12 administrators, there are persistent worries about recruiting and retaining teachers. Among educators, there are concerns about students’ mental health and classroom discipline.
And there’s a conviction that the loss of federal stimulus aid will have a negative impact on academic recovery.
Readers of the report will get the following:
The findings in these and other areas will guide education companies in their sales and marketing strategies, product design, customer support, and their overall strategic vision.
Our EdWeek Market Brief members can download the report, and non-members can learn more about access here.
Download the Report
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