As in any industry, IT teams supporting K–12 schools must navigate a challenging landscape. But with education on the line, IT staff take on significant responsibility for ensuring that the technology they support provides an optimal digital experience for teachers and students alike.
Despite strict budgets and small IT teams, school districts must keep devices safely and continually refreshed. That task can be overwhelming in the face of such obstacles as reduced federal funding and constantly evolving security threats. Add to that the trend of school districts adopting one-to-one device programs, and suddenly those necessary device refreshes demand resources that many teams simply don’t have.
“I think the funding is going to be one of the larger issues for schools moving forward, especially after the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund wraps up,” says Caitlin Witry, senior manager of the education partner program at CDW. “ECF is about to expire shortly, and then the last round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds would expire in September 2024.”
While it can be daunting, IT teams can’t delay or ignore the task of refreshing huge numbers of devices. Keeping them updated helps prevent interruptions in education and breaches in security. But there are some solutions and services available to help IT teams confront the challenges of device refreshes and maintenance.
Keeping Devices Refreshed Amid Funding Limitations
According to a recent survey from Lenovo, K–12 IT leaders are prioritizing device refreshes despite tight budgets. “With the increased number of devices a district is now required to maintain, as well as non-stop demands for more bandwidth, IT leaders want devices that support fast and robust Wi-Fi,” Lenovo reports. “Nearly all districts (94 percent) struggled with videoconferencing during the pandemic, and bandwidth was the leading cause of trouble. Wi-Fi 6 outranks 5G nearly 4 to 1 as an ‘important or very important’ priority.”
Some leading IT companies are working with schools and service providers to offer assistance and funding. One such program is the CDW Education Collaborative, a community of K–12 technical administrators across North America who work alongside CDW Education’s experts to navigate changes, updates, challenges and solutions within their Google and Microsoft environments.
Tech leaders such as Google and Microsoft offer automatic update policies, but devices in the K–12 setting frequently have shorter life spans than those in professional settings. Student devices may need to be refreshed or replaced more often, which can become expensive for schools and force them to find alternative solutions.
“Lately, we’ve seen schools trying to extend the life of their devices by using cases and extended service plans such as accidental damage protection, using more break/fix programs and trying to extend their lifecycles rather than doing a refresh every three years,” Witry notes. “They’re trying to stretch the bang for their buck.”
Contact your dedicated Account Manager:
John Buttita 
Sales Manager
877-325-3380
johnbut@cdw.com