2021 was quite a year. Lots of money to be made, and tons and tons of mergers and acquisitions. As a friend of mine said when describing the EdTech activity for 2021, “The EdTech community is eating their young.”

And she wasn’t exaggerating (much). A good bit of the activity was prompted by the obscene amount of money still unspent and waiting in the wings, and companies believing they can consolidate the competition and still have time to earn the billions waiting to be spent. Still other deals were prompted by nervous owners disappointed in the speed at which the various stimuli are making their way into the market. And of course, many of the deals were just good business.

Whatever the case, 2021 is in the bag, and we’re all looking forward to 2022. Want to know what to expect? One of the best ways to predict the future is to take aspects from the past and follow them to a somewhat logical conclusion. We are fortunate at the Learning Counsel to have tons of new and exclusive research to work from. The implications from the just completed National Survey are compelling, and provide enough fodder for education futurists to make hundreds of predictions. Fortunately, I am not a futurist, so I won’t make nearly that many. But I will make a few. Here goes…

1) Schools will become increasingly flexible about their definition of enrollment. They simply have no choice. The genie is out of the bottle, and both parents and students have discovered that there are other ways to get an education. The consumer education market is strong and growing stronger. Smart districts who want to maintain their attendance are being forced to comply. According to Learning Counsel research, in 2021, districts cite 20-35 percent “will not return physically” but want to remain affiliated with learning from their district, indicating a high demand for online options. That’s on top of previous years, when already 27 percent of school-aged students were doing some kind of non-traditional schooling. It becomes a simple proposition: Either provide flexibility, or the last one to leave please get the lights.

2) Straight to consumer curriculum is a pretty good bet. Parents went on shopping sprees for digital learning in quarantine, jumping up spending by over $1B in under six months for consumer professional grade apps, sites and services.  Prior to the pandemic, consumer growth had slowed from 20 percent CAGR to 17 percent, but is now up again at a rate of 25 percent.  American consumers are buying good digital learning online in the form of courseware, apps and online full curriculum.  The homeschooling service providers are up by 300 percent or more, as some experienced site crashes because they were not ready for the huge volume of interest.

3) Social emotional learning and wellbeing programs are not just for students anymore. Student wellbeing is among the top concerns of virtually every district surveyed, but teacher wellbeing made the list as well. 74 percent of teachers are self-reporting feeling overwhelmed or burned out. Only 26 percent report feeling or doing okay. This is showing in districts’ inability to hire and retain staff. In fact, the 2^nd largest pressure being cited by administrators is the inordinate struggles they are having finding teachers and staff. 

4) The intersection of healthcare and education will become more and more blurred, brought on by the increasing state of student emotional wellbeing. For companies that have a solution for wellbeing, whether you call it whole child or SEL or mental health, the need is almost overwhelming. Bet the farm. The money will absolutely be there, and more. This is very real, and our youth need all the help we can give them.

5)  Our schools need real solutions. The Coronavirus exposed a number of weaknesses and accelerated the timetable on the digital transition in education. Old, trusted solutions are no longer a shoe-in. Companies that have gotten by for the last 20 years on their relationships and massive sales forces need to tighten up their game. School districts are looking for what works. All the old rules have gone bye-bye. Changes that have been needed for years will finally happen. Having graduating seniors who can’t read, write or do mathematics is no longer going to be okay. Expect large staff changes, especially at the superintendent and building principal levels. Companies that have real solutions need to be bold. Now is the time.

6) Everything you knew about marketing and selling to school districts is changing. But don’t panic. We have the answers that you need now. Have a question? Feel free to reach out. That’s why we’re here. You can email me personally at charles@learningcounsel.com or even phone me. No, not Zoom, just the old-fashioned telephone. 704-309-8099.

About the author

Charles Sosnik is an education journalist and editor and serves as Editor in Chief at the Learning Counsel. An EP3 Education Fellow, he uses his deep roots in the education community to add context to the education narrative. Charles is a frequent writer and columnist for some of the most influential media in education, including the Learning Counsel, EdNews Daily, EdTech Digest and edCircuit. Unabashedly Southern, Charles likes to say he is an editor by trade and Southern by the Grace of God.