By Charles Sosnik
I was talking with my son Stone over the Easter break. He’s a bright young man, finishing his second year at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina – a town tucked in the mountains where cold streams and wide vistas make for a great place to study. He’s been changing majors, joining a fraternity, debating with professors – doing all the things a curious student should. He recently settled on Finance, and he’s enthusiastic about it.
Our conversation turned to the economy and investment opportunities, and we landed on a useful observation: in business there really isn’t a “good” or “bad” economy in absolute terms. The real question is, where are the opportunities? In every economic climate, some people and organizations prosper. The task is to find where the advantage lies and position yourself to capture it.
When Stone asked how business was going, I described what I see in the school market. On one hand, global events and rising fuel and grocery prices have left people cautious about spending. On the other hand, the education sector is receiving unprecedented infusions of funds tied to pandemic relief and recovery efforts. Much of these resources are already allocated to states or school districts, and many of those funds come with deadlines for spending. In short, a significant flow of money is about to move into schools, and it won’t sit around forever.
So what are many education companies doing? Surprisingly, many are holding back, waiting to see who will secure the biggest share of those resources. That’s a missed opportunity. If you work in education, now is the moment to act.
Everything you can do to prepare—marketing, outreach, product readiness, partnerships—should be underway right now. The combination of available funds, urgent educational needs, and strict spending timelines creates a rare window. As deadlines approach, procurement activity intensifies and districts move quickly to purchase tools and services that address clear needs.
Let me be clear: geopolitical tensions and price inflation are influencing public sentiment, but they do not eliminate the funds designated for schools. Tens of billions of dollars in relief and recovery support are in the pipeline for education. The onus is on companies to engage school leaders, demonstrate value, and ensure their solutions are purchase-ready when districts start spending.
If you need help finding where to focus your efforts, the Learning Counsel can help connect you to research, programs, and contacts that place your offerings in front of decision-makers. Effective outreach and evidence-based messaging will make the difference between being overlooked and being chosen when budgets are finalized.
I care about this because the school community has urgent, real needs. Districts and schools are eager to invest in tools and services that support learning recovery, technology integration, professional development, and student well-being. Imagine 130,000 schools, each with an allocation of funds and a building full of students who could benefit from what you offer. That’s an enormous responsibility—and an enormous opportunity—to make a meaningful impact on students’ lives.
The pandemic shook education out of its old patterns and revealed both gaps and possibilities. More than two years of disruption have created not only financial opportunity for vendors but a learning opportunity for students. This could be education’s decisive moment: the chance to accelerate innovation and target resources where they do the most good.
If you want practical help finding your place in this market, call me. I prefer an old-fashioned phone conversation, though I’ll use digital meetings if necessary. Reach me at 704-215-3723, or by email at [email protected]. I bring decades of experience and context, and I’ll often bring my son Stone into the conversation—he’s studying finance and brings a fresh, analytical perspective.
About the author
Charles Sosnik is an education journalist and editor who serves as Editor in Chief at the Learning Counsel. An EP3 Education Fellow, he draws on deep roots in the education community to add context and practical insight to the education narrative. Charles writes regularly for a range of influential education publications and is committed to helping schools secure the resources they need to improve student outcomes. Unabashedly Southern, he often jokes that he’s “an editor by trade and Southern by the Grace of God.”