Supers to EdTech Companies: Don’t Call Us, We’ll call you

From this survey published by the National Superintendents Roundtable

COVID-19 has unleashed a tsunami of work for school superintendents as they distribute food to students, implement distance learning, and prepare for a different fall school environment. What’s not helping, they say, is a flood of sales calls from technology vendors offering to help.

The National Superintendents Roundtable surveyed its 97 members after one of them took to Twitter to tell marketers to “just stop.” Sixty-seven responded and their answers reveal a deep vein of irritation with marketing campaigns aimed at schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. “What superintendents want most is to be left alone in the middle of this crisis,” says James Harvey, executive director of the Roundtable. “They worry that unvalidated products are being marketed to parents and teachers that distract from the district’s mission.”

Other findings:

• Just 46 percent of superintendents reported they are the right person to be contacted about technology needs.
• Only 20 percent of interactions with vendors have been positive since the COVID-19 outbreak, while 32 percent have been negative.
• 48 percent worry about vendors marketing unvalidated products to teachers and parents.

Three quarters of superintendents view the possibility of adopting and buying free products and services downstream with a skeptical eye. Districts need to review them, and superintendents expect budgets to tighten.

You can download a PDF of the report here.