Recent Posts
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, with another round of COVID-19 relief funding for education. The new law includes: $129 billion for K-12 state education agencies, including $800 million for children experiencing homelessness $40 billion for colleges and universities $2.75 billion to governors for use by private schools Read More »
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By Guest Contributor Lisa Wolfe Lisa Wolfe joins us again to provide an update on education news. From an education perspective, reopening schools and the status of spring assessments dominated the education headlines during the first quarter of 2021. Plus, the news of investment, growth, and acquisition in the education community during Q1 is Read More »
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Each year, we review the marketing strategies that we believe will guide our customers to success in the spring selling season and beyond. When we look at the trends for 2021, it quickly becomes clear: In today’s environment, a focus on data, digital, and customer engagement will pave the path to marketing growth and sales Read More »
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If the view from your window looks anything like mine, spring may be the furthest thing from your thoughts. But, thankfully, it really is right around the corner and now—before the crocuses pop their heads through the snow—is the time to start planning for the spring 2021 selling season! Although this year’s selling cycle has Read More »
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By Guest Contributor Caroline Gilchrist, Skyward, Inc. In a world of connectivity, pockets of darkness remain. Twelve million children in the U.S. lack the internet access or devices they need to participate in remote learning. This disparity has only become more apparent—and devastating—amid the pandemic. Are you looking to light up the dark? Here are Read More »
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By Guest Contributor Lisa Wolfe Now that the second half of the school year is underway, let’s take a look at the hot topics in education for 2021. Although COVID-19 has put added pressure on the education system, many of this year’s topics are the same ones that the community has dealt with for ages. Read More »
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Reaching educators and engaging them are both an art and a science and, generally, we lean into what worked in the past. 2020 required us all to pivot plans and rethink strategies for communicating with educators. As teachers and the greater education community figured out how to teach and learn in new ways, there were Read More »
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Typically, at this time of year many education marketers are spending a lot of time on the road, traveling from one conference to another. However, face-to-face education conferences came to a halt in the middle of March 2020; many went virtual for the rest of the year with a few cancelling completely. This year, for Read More »
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We all—especially these days—spend countless hours behind our screens, communicating via email, private messaging, Zoom, and other online tools. But at the end of the day, who doesn’t still love going to their real-world mailbox and checking to see what surprises (other than bills) may have arrived that day? It might be a greeting card Read More »
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That’s what MDR learned after surveying nearly 1,000 K-12 teachers in October 2020 after this far from ordinary year in education. There are some silver linings to be found in education’s pandemic response, and we explored teachers’ experiences and attitudes. Educators are highly positive towards technology in the classroom, with 54% indicating it was very Read More »
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After months of back and forth, a new COVID-19 relief package was approved and signed into law on December 27, 2020. It includes $54.3 billion for the Education Stabilization Fund, a significant addition to the $30.75 billion that was allocated when the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was approved in March 2020. Read More »
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By Guest Contributor Lisa Wolfe Just weeks ago, Dictionary.com named “pandemic” its Word of the Year and users of the online dictionary selected “unprecedented” as the People’s Choice 2020 Word of the Year. No “words” are truer as we have all spoken and written those two words during 2020 more than ever before in our Read More »
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In Chicago, a third grader attends virtual school at the dining room table, her laptop perched on a stack of books and her father nearby in case she needs help. A high school student in Maine is learning physics in a newly designed classroom, with 10 of her classmates, all wearing masks, at desks more Read More »
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Ringing in a new year always presents us with the chance to be optimistic and think about the opportunities it will bring. While 2020 may have looked a lot different than expected, as 2021 nears, we actually do have reason to be optimistic. Having said that, the change of a calendar year doesn’t necessarily mean Read More »
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Between a global pandemic, a presidential election, and heightened focus on equality and justice, 2020 has been a year like no other for learning. Amidst the challenges and uncertainty this year has brought, students of all ages are being challenged to reevaluate not only how they learn, but how to relate to one another. They Read More »
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The first few months of the 2020–2021 school year have been more than a bit “unusual.” However, in the run-up to Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, it is quite clear that we have much to be thankful for — even in the midst of what can sometimes feel like chaos. At MDR, we are pausing Read More »
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What’s moving the needle in sales and marketing these days? Complete, Accurate, and Fresh Data. The definition of data quality is changing, largely because today’s education sales and marketers are using data as high-octane fuel for sophisticated activation strategies, like: Personalization Account-Based Marketing Customer Data Platforms Programmatic Advertising Defining Buyer Personas Identifying Lookalike Audiences Marketing Read More »
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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been keeping you up to date on its impact on states, schools, and spending. One area that we have been particularly focused on is the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) of which nearly $40 billion was allocated for K-12 and higher education. Read More »
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With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the headlines every day for most of this past year, it may seem that the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has taken a back seat. However, that is not the case: the CCPA’s regulations became final and effective as of August 14, 2020. Now that it has taken effect, Read More »
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School supply lists are a lifeline for teachers and districts. Outfitting students and classrooms has become a collaborative effort with teachers, parents, fundraising appeals and districts all pitching in. This year, with so much uncertainty about how and where instruction will happen and heightened focus on health and hygiene, lists look a little different. With Read More »
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We’ve all been paying close attention to the news and our local school communities, following the opening plans. MDR data experts have been capturing when and how school will be in session and which learning models each school will follow. Although, some schools started a little later this year, as of this week, most schools Read More »
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By Guest Contributor Lacey Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of UnboundEd Lacey Robinson is president and CEO of UnboundEd. To hear more from her, watch our webinar, Ensuring Educational Equity for the 2020-2021 School Year and Beyond. School looks different this year, and so could our instruction. COVID-19 continues to expose the unhinged, weathered, Read More »
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By Guest Contributor Lisa Wolfe Back-to-school 2020-2021 is like nothing any of us has ever experienced before. Everyday there seems to be new developments as school calendars are evolving, instructional models are changing, and new concerns for student, teacher and staff safety arise. And all the while, educators are striving to ensure educational equity for Read More »
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Calling back-to-school 2020-2021 “extraordinary” is an understatement. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, school leaders are grappling with making decisions about the best way to deliver learning to their communities’ students, changing school calendars and, above, all ensuring the safety of students, teachers and staff. They are also facing new demands on their budgets Read More »
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Heading back to school is always an exciting time for teachers, students and, of course, parents. School supplies and new clothes are purchased, teachers spend time setting up their classrooms and planning lessons for the new year, and everyone looks forward to seeing friends and colleagues. This year is different. As our country’s nearly 4 Read More »
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By Guest Contributor David Huber, Principal, South Side Elementary School, Connecticut This guest blog post is the first in a series by David Huber, principal of South Side Elementary School, in Bristol, Connecticut. Huber reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on learning in his school and district and the long-term changes that will Read More »
Read Now » By Guest Contributor David Huber, Principal, South Side Elementary School, Connecticut This guest blog post is the third in a series by David Huber, principal of South Side Elementary School, in Bristol, Connecticut. Huber reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on learning in his school and district and the long-term changes that will Read More »
Read Now » By Guest Contributor David Huber, Principal, South Side Elementary School, Connecticut This guest blog post is the second in a series by David Huber, principal of South Side Elementary School, in Bristol, Connecticut. Huber reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on learning in his school and district and the long-term changes that will Read More »
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Navigating the school buying cycle has always been about syncing your marketing efforts to the beat of the educators’ purchasing journey to avoid missed steps and lost opportunities. With the COVID-19 outbreak changing how we view “school” so drastically these past few months, navigating the upcoming school buying cycle is perhaps the most challenging yet. Read More »
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A Gallup report from fall 2019, Education Technology Use in Schools, found that slightly over half of teachers (53%) said they would like to use digital learning tools more often in teaching. Teachers are getting that opportunity now with EdTech (i.e., educational technology) adoption on fast forward, and MDR wanted to know how they were Read More »
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