In this episode of All Things Marketing and Education, Elana sat down with Rayna Elyse (Yaker) Glumac, the managing principal at RYE Consulting and the founder of RYE Collective. Rayna brings her encyclopedic knowledge of education practice and policy to discuss how the pandemic has shifted the dynamics in the education purchasing cycle, knowing how and when to best implement EdTech products, and how educators can advocate for EdTech products.
There's a lot to unpack here, and we'd love for you to listen to the entire podcast episode. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite points below. Make sure that you scroll to the bottom to access the resources that Rayna mentions.
How Pandemic Uncertainties and Federal Dollars Impacted EdTech
In some of our recent episodes, we’ve talked to educators and EdTech entrepreneurs about how the pandemic affected education, including the increased pressures that educators are facing and the increased demand for EdTech products. This time, Rayna shares how COVID affected the purchasing cycle, and further the dynamic between schools and EdTech industry.
As Rayna details, normally, the fiscal calendar of public K-12 education hits a hard stop on June 30, when school districts either use or lose that year's federal funding. In 2020, the government waived that deadline and released CARES Act funding, increasing schools' purchasing power by almost 30%. Along with uncertainties around what the 2020-21 school year would look like, that changed when and how districts purchased EdTech. Rayna explains:
"It broke this stigma of when you need to start a new concept, a new platform, a new product or service. We realized we can implement technology whenever we want."
Another shift was the expansion of Title 2 funding to reclassify onboarding new technology as professional development (PD). While expanded access is great, it also raised concerns about data privacy with more open educational resources (OER) in play, schools' IT infrastructure being overwhelmed by the infusion of new tech, and many more variables with districts' increased purchasing power. This is an emerging model, as Rayna describes:
"Prior to the pandemic, state-level, purchasing and adoption were dying off. In response to the pandemic, we saw a steep increase in states' increased influence and adoption with pre-approval lists, but they're actually not doing the purchase themselves. If you look at the California approval list, for example, you do not have to be on the list to sell. It's not required. It's a pathway. But every single state is different. And sometimes districts are different. There is no universal rule. This is always a fun discussion with our international clients."
Knowing The Differences Between Trial And Pilot Contracts
Rayna shares two ways in which EdTech Founders engage with educators: trials and pilots. A trial, generally three months or less, offers a new feature or product. She added:
"A trial is not usable for procurement. It's just an entry point. You usually do it at teacher level. I always say if you can do three teachers in the school, three classrooms, the odds are in your favor. Two out of three are going to work."
As Rayna explains, a pilot is a full implementation of your product. Many procurement initiatives require a track record of successful pilots. That requirement varies state to state, but successful pilots pave the way for selling to just about any district. Unlike a trial, a pilot includes PD and runs for a significant part of the school year. Rayna recommends five key elements for a pilot:
"One, I love to see a minimum of three months to really show the product's been implemented true. The second thing is if you don't scaffold best practices in your pilot, it's not going to work for you. Your product's not going to show results. Third thing is data, data, data. Do you need NWEA scores from last year? Do you need a pre-assessment? Are you going to ask the teachers to do a survey? Fourth thing is what are your outcomes? What are you promising from this pilot? We want to make it realistic. The last thing is an if-then statement like, 'If we reach the following outcomes, then you sign on for next school year, right?'"
Educators Can Be Advocates For EdTech
In Episode 9 of All Things Marketing and Education, Sandro Olivieri described the disconnect between EdTech end users and EdTech buyers. Rayna, however, gives educators a lot more agency in bringing products to market. She said that, instead of just accepting a pilot as one more thing to integrate into their classroom, they should be vocal about how (and if) it's working for them. She advised:
"Be upfront about if you have the capacity to really do it. If you feel like you got a tough class this year, or you got too much new technology, the more upfront you could be at the outset, the better for everyone. Because that company's depending on you."
Rayna also stressed that the product should be solving an instructional problem, not creating a new one, and that if there are issues, a timely resolution is critical. She suggested:
"Think of the pilot like another student. The faster we can have an intervention, have a conversation, the better. If you're doing a trial or pilot and the principal doesn't know about the problem, invite them into the classroom to see the product, to see it impacting in your classroom. Super important, super helpful."
If you want to learn more insights from Rayna and the team at RYE, sign up for RYE Collective launching this Spring.
Here's the full transcript of Rayna's podcast episode.
[Good human alert] Elana and some members of the LCG team are featured experts in Rye Collective but this is not a sponsored episode. We just love showcasing and learning from EdTech experts. As always, all opinions are our own.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
RYE Consulting, Rayna's business supporting EdTech founders and those who use their products
RYE Collective, Rayna's forum for EdTech professionals to share resources, information, and industry knowledge
StartED, a forum in which local students, education startups, and professional advisors come together for mutual benefit; Rayna and Elana are both mentors
Open educational resources (OER), a public digital library of open educational resources; Rayna is concerned about this valuable category of tech being impacted by current data privacy issues
CARES Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020, a federal appropriations bill benefitting the education sector, among others
Biden announcement of new Special Ed funding, Rayna discussed as one aspect changing the EdTech purchasing cycle
LearnLaunch Institute, a non-profit organization serving the education ecosystem in the New England region; Rayna is a mentor
Project FoundED, a community of EdTech founders committed to empowering entrepreneurs and educators; Rayna is a regular contributor and mentor; our previous guest Sandro Olivieri is Executive Director
NWEA, a research-based, not-for-profit organization creates assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency
TechWeek, Rayna is a contributor
AWS EdStart, Amazon's EdTech startup accelerator; RYE is a collaborator
Terms:
Request for Proposal (RFP), a business document announcing, describing, and soliciting bids on a project; a critical first step in EdTech contracts
Request for Information (RFI), request for information, a formal process for gathering information from potential suppliers of a good or service; a critical first step in EdTech contracts (similar to an RFP)
Request for Quote (RFQ), a process in which a company solicits suppliers and contractors to submit bids; a critical first step in EdTech contracts (similar to an RFP)
Title II, provides supplemental activities that strengthen the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders which includes
Get in touch with Rayna: LinkedIn
Get in touch with RYE Collective: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram
These resources are listed in the order in which they are mentioned in the podcast episode.
Episode Skeleton (use this to jump to the parts you want to listen to):
[0:44] Elana gushes a little bit about how much she loves Rayna
[6:15] Rayna talks a little about Rye Consulting and Collective
[9:49] Rayna speaks to some of the biggest shifts in the EdTech industry during the pandemic
[10:56] Two major shifts that happened in the EdTech industry
[17:51] RFP thresholds have lowered
[19:29] Getting on the pre-approved list to be implemented in districts
[21:06] Pilots and procurementsa
[22:29] Trials vs pilots in schools
[26:09] Ending with realistic expectations for outcomes
[27:45] Does your EdTech product solve a classroom problem right now?
[28:25] The importance of listening to educator voices
[35:40] Rayna speaks to some available funding and how to find available funding
Elana Leoni, Host
Elana Leoni has dedicated the majority of her career to improving K-12 education. Prior to founding LCG, she spent eight years leading the marketing and community strategy for the George Lucas Educational Foundation where she grew Edutopia’s social media presence exponentially to reach over 20 million education change-makers every month.
Rayna (Yaker) Glumac, Guest
Over the past nine years, Rayna has spearheaded growth in the EdTech market for over 100 companies from 16 countries, using her in-depth industry knowledge to design customized consulting solutions for innovative EdTech from around the world. Her foundation in education is built upon her experience as a Title 1 classroom teacher and made actionable by over a decade of work in the publishing and policy fields. Her insight on supporting education companies on how to sell to schools and elevate the education marketplace is illustrated through her practice as founder of RYE Consulting and RYE Collective. She is a regular contributor to programming with StartEd, LearnLaunch, FoundED, 1871, EdInno, TechWeek (IL, KC, NY, and SF), Gener8tor Education & Workforce Summit, and AWS EdStart. These engagements establish Rayna as a thought leader in the education community, providing insights on procurement, pilots, pricing, packaging, and market strategy.
About All Things Marketing and Education
What if marketing was judged solely by the level of value it brings to its audience? Welcome to All Things Marketing and Education, a podcast that lives at the intersection of marketing and you guessed it, education. Each week, Elana Leoni, CEO of Leoni Consulting Group, highlights innovative social media marketing, community-building, and content marketing strategies that can significantly increase brand awareness, engagement, and revenue.
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