• Contact Us

    Emma Prillaman

    eprillaman@educationweek.org

  • Where

    Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel 
    Phoenix, AZ

  • When

    Wednesday – Friday

    October 25-27, 2023

The only professional development event dedicated to the executives who serve K-12 Districts

Join us October 15th & 16th for the 7th annual EdMarketer Summit. This invite-only conference for executives in marketing, sales, customer success and product development has become a “must-attend” event for better understanding their K-12 customers and setting strategy for the year ahead.

Over two days, the Education Week and EdWeek Market Brief teams, along with a variety of invited District, School and other leaders, will foster insights, networking and inspiration.

But don’t take our word for it… See what attendees have to say:


  • My first EdWeek Summit was definitely time well spent and provided good return on investment. The variety of session topics—from product trends and sales/marketing best practices to funding and leadership—provided valuable insights…The size of the conference was just right for networking and reconnecting with colleagues around the industry.
    Conni Francini | Chief Executive Officer | Clarity Consulting, Inc.
  • An incredible event from start to finish. The EdWeek team brought together the highest caliber thought leaders to discuss critical issues in K-12 education, scheduled each session in a manageable and efficient cadence, with a consistent level of professionalism at every turn. From the venue - where all of the sessions were informative, engaging, and all in one centralized location - to the receptions and other informal opportunities to meet colleagues in person - they literally thought of everything. A phenomenal experience and value.
    Eden Bloss | Vice President of Communications | Carnegie Learning
  • The EdWeek Market Brief Summit provided actionable insights and feedback from district leaders on how edtech vendors can bring value and work in partnership to support district goals. It was time well spent and I will use the research and insights for strategic planning.
    Klaire Marino | VP Product Marketing | Lightspeed Systems
  • I found the numerous panels with superintendents and district leaders to be extremely valuable. Listening to superintendents discuss the state of their districts and their priorities helped me better understand the education landscape and contextualize where our company could help meet district needs.
    Anna Houseman | Group Product Marketing Director | Riverside Insights
  • I gained a tremendous amount of insight into how district leaders are vetting resources, working with vendors, and planning for the future of their students and teachers. It was a great event!
    Felicia Zorn | VP Customer Success | Progress Learning
  • This conference definitely exceeded my expectations. The half-day sessions were perfect with my schedule. I found the panel discussion with investors to be particularly useful!
    June 2021 EdWeek Market Brief Summit Attendee

EdMarketer Testimonial: Intimate Setting, Focused Intel

There are conferences focused on marketing, and on education. But they don’t offer the specific, customized insights that the EdMarketer Summit delivers to marketing executives working with K-12 districts, says Jennifer Hoitsma, the vice president of marketing and brand strategy at Mentoring Minds.

Who will I hear from?

Learn from this year's confirmed panelists, who include edtech leaders, senior-level district officials, and state-level policy experts

  • Kahle Charles, assistant superintendent of assessment, curriculum, and instruction, St. Vrain School District (CO)
  • Barton Dassinger, principal, Chicago Public Schools (IL)
  • Lisa Davis, director of program innovation and student well-being, Howard County school system (MD)
  • Dan Evans, executive director for assessment, accountability, and research, Pinellas County School District (FL)
  • Mark Ferrandino, deputy superintendent of operations, Denver Public Schools (CO)
  • Rick Gaisford, educational technology specialist, Utah State Office of Education
  • Michael Griffith, nationally-recognized expert on K-12 state and school finance and education policy, formerly with Education Commission of the States
  • Eric Hirsch, founding executive director, EdReports.org
  • John Jorgenson, chief marketing officer, Carnegie Learning Inc.
  • David Millage, VP of Education, Sphero
  • Kevin Schwartz, technology officer for learning and systems, Austin Independent School District (TX)
  • Lisa Spencer, executive director of instructional technology and support, Prince George’s County School District (MD)
  • Robin Sykes, senior vice president, K-12 marketing and communications, EVERFI
  • Melissa Tebbenkamp, director of instructional technology, Raytown Quality Schools (MO)
  • Daniel Thatcher, program director, National Conference of State Legislatures
  • Charlotte “Nadja” Trez, executive director of learning and language acquisition, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District (N.C.)


Who should attend?

Anyone who cares deeply about the needs of K-12 buyers and wants to make well-informed business decisions, including:

  • Chief Marketing Officer; VP, Marketing; Director of Marketing
  • Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Product Officer
  • VP, Sales; VP, Customer Success
  • Director, Research; VP, Strategy

NOTE: While we do invite District and School leaders to participate on panels and in social functions, this is to foster learning and professional development for the service provider community. EdMarketer Summit is not an opportunity for commercial activity.


Research

At the core of the EdMarketer Summit is our annual EdMarketer research. Each year, we survey both EdMarketers and District/School Leaders, revealing new insights and tying them to previous trends to help you benchmark against your peers and better understand the buyer journey.

Community

Every year, attendees tell us that EdMarketer is a rare opportunity to connect and learn from their fellow marketing leaders in an intimate, exclusive, and fun environment.

Context

EdMarketer brings the voice of K-12 buyers alive, through panels of district and school leaders as well as presentations by the award-winning journalists and editors of Education Week and EdWeek Market Brief.


  • Day 1 - Oct. 25

    Wednesday

  • This session, which will incorporate interactive polling, will provide an overview of the topics we'll be covering throughout the summit.
    Interactive Polling Session
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • It’s up to school superintendents to set the vision for what their school districts want to accomplish not only academically, but also in supporting student and teacher well-being and building strong ties between their schools and the community. In this session, we’ll get a window into how school district leaders create an agenda, and how they attempt to execute on that vision. We’ll talk with them about how they make decisions, when they delegate, and how they know when to make important pivots in order to accomplish the district’s goals. In addition, we’ll ask them about their expectation for vendors, and how the education companies that work or want to work in their districts can establish themselves as trusted partners – not just those who are merely fulfilling contractual obligations.
    Panel Discussion

  • With the unprecedented churn among school leadership and personnel, the importance of a comprehensive and accurate foundation to successfully adapt your marketing and sales strategy has never been more pronounced. At the heart of this adaptation lies data—a powerful tool that equips businesses with the insights necessary to create targeted and relevant solutions. This conversation with Market Brief Publisher Maurice Bakley will focus on how businesses can use data to reach the right decision makers, identify new priorities and emerging market needs, align their services with educational demands, and develop products that truly resonate with educators and students.
    Fireside Chat

  • Laws that require school districts to follow the “science of reading” – emphasizing evidence-based approaches to the subject – have swept through state legislatures. Thirty-one states have approved those policies. In this session, we talk to a top district academic/curriculum official about how state requirements on reading are affecting instructional purchases, professional development, assessment and more.
    Flash Briefing

  • Many school district officials say they want research-based or evidence-based products for their school systems. But what do they mean by research and evidence? For education companies, knowing how to go about arranging a research study for a product can seem overwhelming. In this interactive session, academic researchers who help education companies arrange research studies on their products draw from their experience to explain what kinds of evidence districts look for, and the array of options companies have for building a research base that works for them. The presenters will also talk about the costly and time-consuming missteps companies need to avoid. The researchers will be joined by a K-12 district administrator with a lead role on product evaluation who talks about the evidence districts look for before committing to purchases. This session will be interactive and feature extensive Q-and-A, in which companies in the audience can pose practical questions that have stumped them when they’re thinking about how to build an evidence base and what sort of research they’re ready for.
    Learn and Reflect

  • Receive essential information for the evening and next day.
    Where
    Grand Ballroom

  • Day 2 - Oct. 26

    Thursday

  • The recent adoption of a new state math framework in California – the nation’s largest education market – has reignited longstanding debates in that state over the best approach to teaching math. We take California’s discussion as launching point for a broader discussion with district curriculum decision-makers on how states and school systems are setting policies for math instruction, taking into account state standards, parent and community feedback, and what research says about effective teaching and learning. To what extent have discussions about the “science of reading” laid the foundation for similar discussions of math?f
    Panel Discussion
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • We deliver up-to-date insights from our annual survey of district leaders to inform education companies’ sales, marketing, product development, and customer success strategy for the coming year. This year’s presentation features new, original data collected on districts’ plans to spend remaining stimulus dollars and the steps they say vendors can take to boost their chances getting spared from the budget axe.
    Research Presentation
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • The pandemic may have been officially declared to have ended in May, but it continues to impact learning, according to results of a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of teachers, school leaders, and district leaders. Learn how, while exploring what educators say they need now to continue to move learning forward.
    Flash Briefing

  • In this interactive polling session, attendees will get a window into the markets that their industry peers are looking to expand to next – and why. We’ll ask about the biggest state markets and others that draw intrigue by virtue of their growing student populations or other characteristics. And we’ll ask about the opportunities education companies see outside the United States. At a glance, China’s education sector appears to have lost some luster recently. Which global markets have become more attractive and will draw investments from providers working in curriculum, assessment, ed-tech, PD, SEL, and other areas?
    Interactive Polling Session
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • School systems across the country have sought to set more uniform expectations for buying ed tech, and for its performance and compatibility with other tools and platforms. In this session, we talk with top district tech officials about their tech expectations, and how they weigh factors such as cost, interoperability, data privacy, and student and teacher engagement, when making purchases.
    Panel Discussion
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • Turning in smart, effective responses to requests for proposals often determines whether education companies get to bring their products to districts or get left on the sidelines. In this interactive session, attendees will gain insights from Rick Gay, the executive director of business services for the Fort Bend (Texas) ISD -- and one of the country’s most experienced K-12 leaders on school district procurement -- on the biggest myths and misconceptions about school district solicitations for products and services. We’ll also talk about the biggest mistakes companies make that scuttle their responses to RFPs, and how companies can read these documents with an understanding of what districts are really after, and what they don’t want? This is everything vendors want to know about RFPs but were afraid to ask. ||| Attendees will walk away with: • Insights on how to closely read an RFP: What can a company tell about a school district’s absolute red lines, and what are the opportunities for companies to be creative in their responses? • Killer mistakes to avoid in responding to district solicitations: What are the self-inflicted errors that stop school districts in their tracks? • What does the future of RFPs look like? In particular, do companies have to be prepared for a remote, Zoom-based RFP process, or will in-person presentations be the norm?
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Artificial intelligence has arrived in school districts. Classroom educators and central-office administrators are already weighing what technologies like ChatGPT will mean for everything from students’ critical thinking to the streamlining of teacher lesson plans to risks of academic fraud. But what will the evolution of AI in schools mean for the types of products and services that education companies work to create for schools? In this session, led by Khan Academy Director of Professional Learning Stacie Johnson, we’ll discuss how district demands for AI – and their concerns about it – will influence the kinds of innovative new products and features companies attempt to bring to market, and how it may affect existing solutions. ||| Attendees will walk away with: + Insights on where AI has the greatest potential to upend school-focused products, and where its impact is likely to be limited, at least for now; + Information on how education companies are changing their internal product-development functions and teams to account for AI; + A greater understanding of the ethical and legal challenges posed to companies developing AI products.
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Join us for an interactive workshop tailored to seasoned marketers targeting school districts and education leaders. Dive deep into the world of education marketing with exclusive data and insights directly from EdWeek’s propriety databases. In this session you'll discover how senior district and school leaders engage with EdWeek's premium content. You'll gain valuable knowledge about what headlines and subject lines truly captivate your audience and uncover those that fall short. And you'll elevate your content marketing game with actionable insights that you can take back to the office and put into practice.
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Whether they’re guiding organizations from the C-suite or overseeing specific teams within companies, company leaders’ skills are being tested by a series of bedeviling uncertainties – how districts will react to the loss of federal stimulus funding, staffing turnover in school districts and the private sector, and the rise of game-changing technologies like generative AI. In this session, we’ll lead a structured discussion with executives and managers on their strategies and habits of mind in making smart strategic decisions amid ambiguity. We’ll talk through some of the most common scenarios that leaders face, such as in establishing partnerships with districts and managing talent, and share ideas on what approaches have worked. ||| Attendees will come away with: *Intel collected this year by EdWeek Market Brief of K-12 business officials through an open-ended survey question on the biggest professional challenges they face *Ideas from peers on how to navigate specific scenarios and develop new skills in managing customer relationships and creating the conditions so your team can succeed
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Many education companies count on venture capital to fuel growth innovation. But with the once-mighty flow of venture funding having slowed, company leaders are likely to face increasingly tough questions from funders about how their products will solve the practical challenges facing teachers, administrators and students in equitable ways. They’ll also face questions about how their missions align with longstanding district interests in addressing academic and social-emotional needs across their enormously diverse communities. In this interactive discussion, Dr. Vanessa Monterosa, a senior associate partner at NewSchools Venture Fund, draws from her experience supporting equity-focused venture leaders and designing an investment process that leverages educator voices. She’ll also draw on her experiences as a key district influencer: Dr. Monterosa is a former LAUSD administrator who designed and led districtwide digital citizenship strategy and other ed-tech initiatives in the nation’s second-largest school system. Participants will: • Get first-hand perspective on the types of vision and messaging that resonate with a mission-focused funder • Understand trends and patterns that shape social impact funding • Learn how to prove to potential funders that your company has thought about practical questions for implementing your vision in schools
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Many school systems have put a major focus on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in curriculum and instruction and in overall educational opportunity. But now districts are also getting criticized for those efforts and drawn into cultural political fights. We talk with a district leader about how a school system navigates these battles, and what kinds of support it needs from vendors in answering critics.
    Flash Briefing
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • Over the course of just a few years, education companies’ workplaces have been transformed. Many employees now expect to be allowed to work mostly remotely – and many employers have sought to accommodate their desires. But for education organizations, new workplace flexibility creates a new set of challenges. How can education companies create a coherent, mission-focused organizational culture in an environment in which most of employees’ contact with each other is via a computer screen? Education companies also face questions about how quickly they should ask workers to return to the office – if at all – and about whether job flexibility has become a requirement for acquiring talent. In this panel, we talk to education company officials about the new normal, and how they’re trying to nurture and maintain environments that serve both their organizations’ missions and employees’ needs.
    Panel Discussion
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • Ed-tech companies’ growth expectations often rely heavily on their non-executive leaders to successfully execute the strategic plan. However, while 74% of C-level executives find that their non-executive leaders have little or no experience scaling a company, only 15% are confident they’re providing the necessary mentoring and support for their high-potential employees. In this conversation, EdWeek Market Brief Publisher Maurice Bakley will explore the leadership gaps that exist in most ed-tech companies, examine why non-executive leaders struggle to grow, and discuss the steps companies are taking to help non-executive leaders reach the next level.
    Fireside Chat

  • Matthew Gross began his career as a music teacher in the South Bronx. He would go on to found Newsela, an education company that offers curated, differentiated instructional content and serves over 40 million students and 3 million teachers. Gross, who served as CEO of Newsela until this year and is now the company’s executive chairman, will talk about the origins of the company, its expansion over the past decade, and the lessons that he learned during the journey about building relationships with school districts, developing a beloved ed-tech product, and managing growth. Newsela was recently named one of Fast Company’s most innovative companies and was a 2020 winner of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Award. Deloitte also named Newsela one of the fastest-growing tech companies.
    Fireside Chat
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • Day 3 - Oct. 27

    Friday

  • In this session -- one of our most popular – we'll present our latest, exclusive EdWeek Market Brief survey data taken from district leaders on whether they will increase, decrease, or keep level spending in specific product categories for next fiscal year, 2024-25. Those categories include core and supplemental math and ELA curriculum; social-emotional learning; devices; classroom, interim, and summative assessment; learning management and student information systems, and more.
    Flash Briefing
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • Turning in smart, effective responses to requests for proposals often determines whether education companies get to bring their products to districts or get left on the sidelines. In this interactive session, attendees will gain insights from Rick Gay, the executive director of business services for the Fort Bend (Texas) ISD -- and one of the country’s most experienced K-12 leaders on school district procurement -- on the biggest myths and misconceptions about school district solicitations for products and services. We’ll also talk about the biggest mistakes companies make that scuttle their responses to RFPs, and how companies can read these documents with an understanding of what districts are really after, and what they don’t want? This is everything vendors want to know about RFPs but were afraid to ask. ||| Attendees will walk away with: • Insights on how to closely read an RFP: What can a company tell about a school district’s absolute red lines, and what are the opportunities for companies to be creative in their responses? • Killer mistakes to avoid in responding to district solicitations: What are the self-inflicted errors that stop school districts in their tracks? • What does the future of RFPs look like? In particular, do companies have to be prepared for a remote, Zoom-based RFP process, or will in-person presentations be the norm?
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Artificial intelligence has arrived in school districts. Classroom educators and central-office administrators are already weighing what technologies like ChatGPT will mean for everything from students’ critical thinking to the streamlining of teacher lesson plans to risks of academic fraud. But what will the evolution of AI in schools mean for the types of products and services that education companies work to create for schools? In this session, led by Khan Academy Director of Professional Learning Stacie Johnson, we’ll discuss how district demands for AI – and their concerns about it – will influence the kinds of innovative new products and features companies attempt to bring to market, and how it may affect existing solutions. ||| Attendees will walk away with: + Insights on where AI has the greatest potential to upend school-focused products, and where its impact is likely to be limited, at least for now; + Information on how education companies are changing their internal product-development functions and teams to account for AI; + A greater understanding of the ethical and legal challenges posed to companies developing AI products.
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Join us for an interactive workshop tailored to seasoned marketers targeting school districts and education leaders. Dive deep into the world of education marketing with exclusive data and insights directly from EdWeek’s propriety databases. In this session you'll discover how senior district and school leaders engage with EdWeek's premium content. You'll gain valuable knowledge about what headlines and subject lines truly captivate your audience and uncover those that fall short. And you'll elevate your content marketing game with actionable insights that you can take back to the office and put into practice.
    Interactive Polling Session

  • Whether they’re guiding organizations from the C-suite or overseeing specific teams within companies, company leaders’ skills are being tested by a series of bedeviling uncertainties – how districts will react to the loss of federal stimulus funding, staffing turnover in school districts and the private sector, and the rise of game-changing technologies like generative AI. In this session, we’ll lead a structured discussion with executives and managers on their strategies and habits of mind in making smart strategic decisions amid ambiguity. We’ll talk through some of the most common scenarios that leaders face, such as in establishing partnerships with districts and managing talent, and share ideas on what approaches have worked. ||| Attendees will come away with: *Intel collected this year by EdWeek Market Brief of K-12 business officials through an open-ended survey question on the biggest professional challenges they face *Ideas from peers on how to navigate specific scenarios and develop new skills in managing customer relationships and creating the conditions so your team can succeed
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • Many education companies count on venture capital to fuel growth innovation. But with the once-mighty flow of venture funding having slowed, company leaders are likely to face increasingly tough questions from funders about how their products will solve the practical challenges facing teachers, administrators and students in equitable ways. They’ll also face questions about how their missions align with longstanding district interests in addressing academic and social-emotional needs across their enormously diverse communities. In this interactive discussion, Dr. Vanessa Monterosa, a senior associate partner at NewSchools Venture Fund, draws from her experience supporting equity-focused venture leaders and designing an investment process that leverages educator voices. She’ll also draw on her experiences as a key district influencer: Dr. Monterosa is a former LAUSD administrator who designed and led districtwide digital citizenship strategy and other edtech initiatives in the nation’s second-largest school system. Participants will: • Get first-hand perspective on the types of vision and messaging that resonate with a mission-focused funder • Understand trends and patterns that shape social impact funding • Learn how to prove to potential funders that your company has thought about practical questions for implementing your vision in schools
    Interactive Breakout Session

  • In this interactive polling session, we’ll ask you about your company’s hits and misses in the constant struggle to get on the radar of new school district clients, and establish relationships. What were the outreach strategies that opened the door – email, conference activity, social media, or other? And once you got a foot in the door, what were the next steps that laid the foundation for a contract? Some companies may have started with pilots. Others with a campaign aimed at winning over teachers or principals. Or did they go straight to an RFP? We’ll put the questions to attendees, and share the results in real time.
    Interactive Polling Session
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

  • School districts have spent billions of dollars in federal emergency aid on major investments in academic interventions -- especially tutoring -- as well as curriculum, social-emotional learning, devices, classroom assessment, management systems, and many other needs. With federal stimulus aid set to expire in late 2024, how will district leaders decide what products and services to keep, or cut? In this session, we hear directly from district administrators immersed in those decisions about the process they’re following. Are they looking at usage data? Feedback from teachers? Evidence of academic gains or other outcomes? Or other factors entirely?
    Panel Discussion
    Where
    GRAND BALLROOM

7th Annual EdMarketer Summit

The education executive event of the year.

October 15-16, 2019

Renaissance Denver-Stapleton 
3801 Quebec Street
Denver, Colorado 80207

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You're In Good Company

Our past attendees have come from leading-edge education technology companies, big education publishers with legacy brands, and small start-ups making a name for themselves in the K-12 marketplace.

  • Member Rate

  • EdWeek Market Brief Members save $250 off the non-member rate when using your discount code now!
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  • $1,399
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  • Non-Member Rate

  • 13 Packed Sessions with Actionable Insights and the Voice of District Leaders.
  • $1649
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