The last quarter of the year (October, November, and December) marks a time when the school routines of teachers, school administrators, and families are in full swing. Although our education system has undoubtedly encountered some of its most challenging years of late, the 2023 school year continues to have its challenges as we search for the new normal after a pandemic. Multiple studies citing academic losses (check out the latest NAEP literacy scores, for example) have created high-stakes pressure to recover quickly with dwindling ESSER pandemic funding. In addition, VC-backed funding of EdTech startups is at its lowest in over nine years.
The K-12 buying or purchasing cycle in the fourth quarter is a time that's typically labeled as the "awareness" or "gathering information" stage. Typically, all major school purchases for the current school year have been made by August, so the last quarter of the year should be focused on getting your brand on the radar of influencers and decision-makers for the following school year (yes.. that's the 2024-2205 school year). Use your top-of-funnel (TOFU) and middle-of-funnel (MOFU) marketing channels, such as social media, content marketing, PR, event marketing, etc., to increase your brand's reach and awareness and start to inform them how your product will uniquely help them solve their top challenges.
Crafting timely content that your audience values is critical in this awareness stage. To help you get started, we have listed the essential K-12 education holidays, events, and conferences in October, November, and December that EdTech marketers can incorporate throughout the fourth quarter. We've also noted the top priorities and challenges of educators, district and school administrators, and parents during this critical time.
Shameless Plug: Each year, our EdTech Marketer's Planner includes all these events mentioned in this post and more. It also contains a planning process that helps you craft timely content that best aligns with your target audience's top needs.
October
Fall is here, and with it comes all the fun crafts and learning activities. (Hello, pumpkin spice everything!) October is the first month of the school year when educators can stop triaging and putting out fires and begin taking the driver's seat with innovation. As they get to know their students more, they may explore new tech tools and strategies to accelerate their learning and keep them engaged. They may even seek out restorative tools and strategies as daily routines are established.
October typically marks many schools' first quarter, and grades/progress reports are sent to families. Parent-teacher conferences are also held during this time. Teachers hope to communicate and empower parents as an effective learning partner in their child's academic journey.
Administrators: October is National Principals' Month, and it's a great time to acknowledge and celebrate all of the many things principals do every day to support educators, parents, students, and their community. EdTech brands can appreciate principals by authentically thanking them and highlighting them in social media, newsletters, and emails. Get employees to create quick thank-you videos that can be turned into Reels with complementary trending sounds. Highlighting principals who currently use your product is also a great (and strategic) way to thank them.
At this point in the year, administrators are focused on keeping their school communities safe and ensuring students have the resources and supports they need to succeed academically and socially. The 2023 school year started out riddled with teacher and staff shortages, and school administrators are tasked to fill in gaps. These shortages also create extra responsibility and stress for teachers and support staff.
October also marks the end of the goal-setting portion of the buying cycle for school districts, where they set goals and assess needs for the following year. Once goals are set, they backward plan into those goals and determine what technology aligns most with them. Depending on the purchase size, they may also make last-minute purchases for the current school year.
Teachers: Teachers are settling into the reality of the rest of the school year. Depending on when their school year started, some teachers may schedule conferences with families to provide student progress reports. If you are looking for a unique spin for your marketing campaigns, remember that teachers love a good theme, so think about ways to theme your content around fall. Remember, most educators work in the public sector, so keep themes focused on the season and not religious holidays.
Families: Families anticipate a report from their child's teacher on their academic performance. They have learned how to best communicate with their child's teacher and can receive important information from their teacher and school. Depending on their child's progress report, families may seek additional tutoring and assistance to support their child. If your EdTech brand offers tutoring directly to families, this is a great time to target families with your services. Note: We also see an uptick in high-dosage tutoring services bought for schools and districts during this time.
November
November can be a tumultuous time in K-12 education. Students and educators are getting antsy for Thanksgiving break, and there's limited time to complete the required learning standards. By this time in the school year, classroom routines and communities are typically built, and teachers know better what classroom management and material delivery styles work best for their students. They continue to seek creative ways to deliver content and keep their students engaged. If your EdTech brand effectively delivers content, this may be a great time to share tips, use cases, and examples that work.
This month also marks a season of gratitude as many celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, and it is National Gratitude Month. This is a perfect time to pause, reflect, and thank teachers for doing everything they do for students and families. Consider sharing gratitude-focused activities that teachers can do with their students. You can also craft blog posts and videos on social media that show your gratitude for teachers.
Administrators: November marks the beginning of the information-gathering and research stage of the buying cycle for districts. This is an excellent time to build trust with administrators and decision-makers. Tightly align your messaging to their most pressing needs defined within the previous goal-setting phase. Then, conduct as many in-person and online events as you can. Surface up valuable content that clearly shows how your product uniquely solves their problems. All things email marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing are your friends.
Teachers: This is a busy time of year as teachers plan for upcoming fall celebrations and end-of-semester awards before a much-anticipated break on top of their daily classroom management, instruction, and planning. Classroom management is challenging as many students are distracted and less eager to learn. Surface up relevant and timely teaching activities or strategies that keep students excited and motivated and align with the curriculum. This is also a good time to surface self-care and other methods to help combat teacher burnout. Overall note: Teacher burnout is a timely topic every single month of the year. So get to know your audience, and figure out how you can help them get through the marathon of a school year.
Families: Families juggle class parties and fall festivities at school and childcare during Thanksgiving break in November. They often need reminders from the school or their teacher. Many families are still meeting with their child's teachers for a progress report check-in if they still need to. They may appreciate any easy crafts and activities aligned with gratitude. Families may seek products that provide complementary curricula and learning activities that help reinforce learning standards or help catch them up.
December
December is marked by winter break and everything accompanying the holiday season. Like November, there are festivities, class parties, and a countdown to winter break that may cause distraction. There can also be a lot of end-of-semester stress for both students and teachers. December often marks the end of the semester or term, which means final exams, projects, and assignments. This can create stress and time management challenges. Teachers also face the pressure of grading and completing administrative tasks before the break.
For EdTech purchasing, November and December are labeled the "information gathering" stage, where schools and districts search for products and services that align with their needs assessment. Continue to raise your awareness through webinars, value-driven content, and a helpful social media presence.
Administrators: School administrators face several unique challenges in December, especially as they work to ensure the smooth operation of their schools amid the holiday season and the end of the calendar year. The holiday season often presents opportunities for schools to engage with parents and the community through events, fundraisers, and outreach efforts. Administrators must coordinate these activities to build positive relationships and maintain a sense of community within the school.
Maintaining a safe learning environment is a year-round priority, but the holiday season can introduce unique safety challenges. Administrators may need to plan for increased security measures during holiday events or handle issues related to school safety, such as weather-related closures or safety drills during winter months. School administrators may encounter various operational challenges related to winter weather, such as snow removal, heating system maintenance, and transportation issues. These challenges can disrupt school operations and require quick decision-making and communication.
School administrators allocate time in December to plan for the upcoming second semester of the school year. Content that is focused on planning for the new year, innovative trends, and communications is likely to resonate with admins this time of year.
Teachers: Teachers are ready for winter break! The last few weeks of the year before winter break are a mix of crunch time of finalizing and entering grades, sending progress reports home, celebrating students' successes, and planning class parties.
Semester deadlines are quickly approaching, and grades will be due. Teachers may be scrambling to grab some last-minute content ideas to add to their grade book tied to the curriculum. This is an excellent time for brands to share fun activities connected to the curriculum that could be included as a grade for their grade book.
The best way to connect with educators this time of year is to provide entertaining, fun, and restorative resources, tips, and posts. Educators can have difficulty relaxing and taking the time they need guilt-free to recharge for the new year.
Winter-themed anything or "Year in Review" content is always a hit with teachers this time of year. If your brands have an activity or winter-related printable to share with teachers, now is the perfect time to share it on social media or in an upcoming blog post, email, or newsletter.
Families: Just like administrators and teachers, families are ready for a break from the school routine. They may look forward to the holidays and be prepared to spend time with each other. Keep any communication and resources centered around the winter break, holidays, or anything they can do quickly to bring learning to life.
Conferences
The peak conference season in K-12 education happens during the first and third quarter of the year, but over the past couple of years, more conferences have been popping up in October. EdTech Week kicks off in October, and higher education events like Educause also happen. Grade-level and subject-aligned conferences also occur.
Birthdays
Birthdays can be a great way to inject light and entertaining posts during Thanksgiving and Winter breaks. You can also use the birthdays of historical figures or famous people to create timely content your audience cares about most.
Quick reminder: Our free EdTech Marketer's Planner contains a more comprehensive list of education events, birthdays, conferences, and even content ideas. Once you've decided on the events you'd like to focus on, put this four-step campaign-planning process in place.
This post was written in collaboration with Hillary Trussel, Stevie Frank, and Porter Palmer.
