Press Category: On the Wire

Washington, D.C. — August 10, 2026 — CoSN — The Consortium for School Networking today released an executive summary of its new guidance for K-12 school district leaders, “From Screen Time Mandates to Purposeful Technology Policies and Guidance,” a resource designed to help school systems navigate the growing number of state policies and community discussions surrounding technology use in schools. The executive summary is publicly available, while the full guide is available exclusively to CoSN members.

“As states and communities take a closer look at screen time in schools, districts need guidance that is both thoughtful and practical,” said Stacy Hawthorne, Ed.D., CETL®, Board Chair, CoSN; Executive Director, EdTech Leaders Alliance. “CoSN created this guide to help leaders reduce low-value screen use while protecting purposeful technology that supports accessibility, assessment, intervention, creation, collaboration, and future readiness for students. The guide includes policy considerations, implementation questions, family communication tools, board talking points, checklists, and sample language districts can adapt to their local context.”

Offering a quality-over-quantity framework, the resource is built around three principles that CoSN recommends anchor local education technology policies:

• Centered on Learning: Education technology should be used only when it strengthens, extends, personalizes, or makes learning more accessible.
• Students Are Protected Online: School-issued devices should operate within district-managed systems that include cybersecurity, content filtering, privacy protections, and other safeguards.
• Locally Led: Education technology decisions should reflect the unique needs, priorities, and circumstances of individual communities.

“School leaders are facing unprecedented pressure to navigate the complexities of student screen time. CoSN is proud to launch this timely toolkit to equip school district leaders with clear, actionable guidance to build thoughtful policies,” said Keith Krueger, CEO, CoSN. “This powerful new resource builds on CoSN’s ongoing Purposeful Education Technology resources and moves policy beyond bans and measuring quantity to a more important focus on quality.”

The guide also defines different categories of technology use, explains how expectations should evolve from early childhood through high school, and provides tools educators can use to determine whether technology is the right choice for a lesson. It also helps districts comply with minutes-based mandates and communicate clearly about what their current systems can and cannot measure.

Additional sections address the technical and staffing demands associated with parent oversight provisions, required exceptions for assistive technology and other legally protected uses, and the potential consequences of blanket restrictions on district-managed education technology, such as workforce readiness gaps and barriers for students with disabilities.

Finally, the guide includes a policy alignment crosswalk to help districts incorporate screen time expectations into board policies, administrative regulations, instructional guidance, professional learning, and family communications without conflicting with existing policies. Taking the recommendations a step further, the guide provides ready-to-adapt materials, such as sample board policy language, family and staff communication templates, and more.

The executive summary and full guide are available at www.cosn.org/screentimepolicy.

About CoSN

CoSN, the world-class professional association for K-12 education technology leaders, stands at the forefront of education innovation. We are driven by a mission to equip current and aspiring K-12 education technology leaders, their teams, and school districts with the community, knowledge, and professional development they need to cultivate engaging learning environments. Our vision is rooted in a future where every learner reaches their unique potential, guided by our community. CoSN represents over 2,000 school districts and 14 million students and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. www.cosn.org

ParentSquare, the leading family engagement infrastructure for K-12 districts, today announced centralized reporting, a new capability within ParentSquare Pay that gives district administrators a unified view of payment activity and account management across every school in their district.

Historically, districts have had little visibility into money collected at the school level. Payments came in as cash, checks, and through a patchwork of online tools—each handled school by school—leaving finance teams without a district-wide picture of what was collected and where. ParentSquare Pay began moving school payments online, and centralized reporting now extends this visibility to the district level so finance teams can see, reconcile, and manage payments across every school in one place.  

With centralized reporting, administrators have access to a single screen to view, filter, sort, and export payment activity for all schools. A new payouts report shows all deposits made from ParentSquare Pay into district bank accounts, so finance teams can complete reconciliation without cross-referencing a separate payment processing system.

As part of the redesigned navigation experience, the account management process has been similarly streamlined. A centralized account management view now shows the status of every payment account in the district at once, helping teams catch configuration gaps or inactive accounts before they affect collections. Large districts can also use a new bulk setup workflow to configure payment accounts for all schools in a single session.

For Sunnybrook School District 171 in Illinois, ParentSquare Pay has already improved how payments are collected and reported. “Payments happen in the place families are already engaged, and going cashless has given us financial visibility we never had before,” said Mike McGowan, District Technology Director at Sunnybrook School District 171. Centralized reporting scales these workflows by giving finance teams a single district-wide view for reconciling and managing payment activity across every school.

“Schools have always collected money in a dozen different ways, and districts were left piecing the picture together after the fact,” said Anupama Vaid, President and Founder of ParentSquare. “As we continue building on the powerful combination of communications and payments, our goal is to give finance teams one clear view of every school so they can spend less time reconciling and more time on the students that money supports.”

Centralized reporting is available now to all districts with ParentSquare Pay. To learn more about ParentSquare Pay, visit parentsquare.com/platform/payments.

About ParentSquare

ParentSquare is the leading family engagement infrastructure helping K-12 districts nationwide reach every family with an award-winning, all-in-one communication platform. Reaching over 22 million students, ParentSquare helps districts consolidate disconnected tools and outdated communication systems with personalized messaging, websites, forms, payments, attendance solutions, and more, in one easy-to-use platform. With powerful features for achieving 100% contactability, two-way translation into 190+ languages, and purpose-built AI enhancements, ParentSquare empowers districts to invite every family to be involved in their student’s education, no matter their home language or the device they use.

Recognized for growth and innovation by Inc. 5000, GSV 150, and more, ParentSquare was founded in 2011 in Santa Barbara, California. Learn more at parentsquare.com

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Washington, D.C. (August 5, 2026) — CoSN — The Consortium for School Networking today announced that Keith R. Krueger will step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in spring 2027, concluding a 32-year tenure that helped shape CoSN into the leading professional association for K-12 education technology leaders.

Since becoming CEO in 1995, Krueger has guided CoSN through every major era of education technology, from early dial-up connectivity to generative artificial intelligence.  Under his leadership, CoSN expanded its membership, launched nationally recognized professional development programs, strengthened its influence in policy discussions, and has become a trusted resource for over 2,000 school districts navigating rapid technological change.

“Serving CoSN for 32 years has been the honor of my professional life,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN. “When CoSN began, connectivity was a rare luxury. Today, technology is woven into the very fabric of learning. None of this work happens in isolation. I am deeply grateful to the more than 125 Board Members who have served while I was CEO, our dedicated staff, and the thousands of amazing education technology leaders who have worked alongside us to expand opportunities for students and support the safe, responsible, and effective use of education technology.” 

A defining element of Krueger’s legacy is his advocacy for the federal E-Rate program. CoSN championed E-Rate from its inception in 1996, helping shape what has become one of the largest sources of federal support for K-12 connectivity. The program has helped bring broadband and Wi-Fi access to virtually every classroom and library in America, narrowing the digital divide for tens of millions of students.

Recognizing that technology leadership requires more than technical expertise, Krueger also led the creation of the Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL®) designation in 2011. Today, CETL® is widely recognized as the premier certification for K-12 technology leaders, preparing over 900 district leaders to navigate increasingly complex digital learning environments. 

Throughout his tenure, Krueger has remained at the forefront of the issues shaping the future of K-12 education, including:

• Driving K-12 Innovation: Identifying the top hurdles, accelerators, and tech enablers shaping the future of teaching and learning through CoSN’s annual Driving K-12 Innovation report.
• Advancing AI Readiness: Helping school system leaders navigate the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence through the CoSN Gen AI Maturity Tool and regional district leadership summits.
• Promoting Purposeful Technology Use: Championing intentional, safe, and responsible technology use for teaching and learning through initiatives such as Purposeful Education Technology and Screens in Balance.
• Strengthening Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Developing the Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal and Mini Seal, helping advance security protocols for more than 1.4 million students nationwide.
• Building Global Connections: Leading senior U.S. delegations across Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America to identify emerging trends and best practices in educational technology.

“Keith is one of the nation’s longest-serving education association executives, and his impact on K-12 technology is impossible to overstate,” said Stacy Hawthorne, Ed.D., CETL®, Chair of the CoSN Board of Directors. “From helping close the connectivity gap to building the CETL® credential from the ground up, he didn’t just lead CoSN — he helped define an entire field. On behalf of the board and the thousands of members we serve, we are profoundly grateful for his vision and his service.” 

Krueger is a past chair of the Learning First Alliance, served on the Executive Committee of the National Coalition on Technology in Education & Training (NCTET), and has advised organizations ranging from the Friday Institute at NC State University to the American Library Association and the National Park System. A Certified Association Executive (CAE), Krueger holds a master’s degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. His career has also included a focus on artificial intelligence at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and Stanford’s Accelerator for Learning, as well as digital equity research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Krueger’s contributions have been widely recognized across the education sector. In 2025, he was named to District Administration‘s “Top 100” and was previously recognized as one of Technology & Learning‘s “Big 10” most influential people in education technology. He was also named a “Top 30 Transformer” by the Center for Digital Education.

The CoSN Board of Directors will launch a national search for the organization’s next CEO and will work closely with Krueger to ensure a smooth leadership transition through spring 2027. The CEO search timeline will be posted on CoSN’s website after Labor Day.  

About CoSN

CoSN, the world-class professional association for K-12 education technology leaders, stands at the forefront of education innovation. We are driven by a mission to equip current and aspiring K-12 education technology leaders, their teams, and school districts with the community, knowledge, and professional development they need to cultivate engaging learning environments. Our vision is rooted in a future where every learner reaches their unique potential, guided by our community. CoSN represents over 2,000 school districts and 14 million students and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. www.cosn.org

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BALTIMORE, Md. — July 30, 2026 — Michigan’s Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS) today announced the renewal of its partnership with Concentric Educational Solutions through the 2026-2027 school year. This agreement continues the implementation of Concentric’s human-centered service model districtwide for a third year, further engaging students and families to overcome the barriers to consistent attendance.

YCS offers many learning opportunities for students. Experts in PreK-12 education, along with universities, businesses, and parent partners, have assisted in the development of the district’s educational system. This system includes the Ypsilanti Puentes Multilingual School, Ypsi Connected Community School, and the Ypsilanti Magnet Schools. It also includes YCS’s International Baccalaureate and STEAM schools, other Project Based Learning and Leader in Me programs, its Early Learning Centers, and its elementary, middle, and high school campuses. The district is committed to helping every scholar succeed academically while growing socially and emotionally, and it has built a wide range of programs, from dual language immersion to STEAM and robotics, to meet the diverse needs and interests of its students. Consistent attendance is central to that mission, and decreasing chronic absenteeism is a key goal of YCS’s Five-Year Strategic Plan. 

In the 2024-2025 school year, Concentric was selected to support efforts to improve student attendance districtwide. Concentric’s approach relies on trained members of the community to gather real-time insights from students and families, helping school systems respond to absences earlier, align resources, and address the factors driving disengagement. Services Concentric will continue providing to YCS include:

• Home visits by trained, community-based teams to families across every YCS school.
• Engagement with families through collaborative discussions to identify barriers to attendance.
• Custom ethnographic research from noted scholar and Howard University Professor Dr. Ivory Toldson. This research interprets data collected during family engagements to outline why chronically absent students have disengaged from learning.
• Collaboration with YCS administrators that turns research into intervention and support strategies for the students and families engaged during home visits.

“While Ypsilanti has made progress in improving our attendance numbers, we still have more work in front of us before all our scholars, from PreK to 12, are back in the classroom, reengaged in learning, and reconnected to opportunity. Strengthening our relationships with parents is central to this, as we know they are key partners in our students’ success,” said Dr. Carlos Lopez, Assistant Superintendent at Ypsilanti Community Schools. “Concentric Educational Solutions has played a key role in supporting our efforts to fight chronic absenteeism in classrooms across the district. We look forward to them continuing to aid us in the work to remove the barriers that are keeping students at every level from achieving their fullest potential in the 2026-2027 school year.”

“We’re proud that Ypsilanti Community Schools chose to renew this powerful partnership,” said Concentric Educational Solutions CEO Molly Hebert Loyd. “Superintendent Dr. Alena Zachery-Ross, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Carlos Lopez, and the rest of the YCS team have created an environment that is removing the barriers to better attendance for students in classrooms districtwide, and we are proud to be a part of their efforts. The Concentric team is looking forward to continuing to collaborate with the YCS team on efforts to drive down the number of chronically absent students in the school system in the upcoming school year.”

To learn more about Concentric Educational Solutions’ approach to student enrollment, re-engagement, and combating chronic absenteeism, download the company’s white paper on chronic absenteeism, visit the company’s website, follow the organization on X, or connect on LinkedIn.

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Washington, D.C. (July 24, 2026) — CoSN — The Consortium for School Networking today announced that Delaware Area Career Center (DACC) in Delaware, Ohio, has been awarded an additional Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Mini Seal for the Classroom Practice. Having already received a Mini Seal in the Leadership and Business practices, this achievement reflects DACC’s ongoing commitment to improving student data privacy.

The CoSN TLE Seal is a national distinction recognizing school districts and other education agencies that implement strong policies and practices to help protect student data privacy, with the Mini Seal acknowledging progress in one of five key areas: Leadership, Business, Data Security, Professional Development, and the Classroom.

To qualify for the Mini Seal in the Classroom Practice, districts must ensure educators:

• Implement a curriculum to promote student information literacy, digital citizenship, and Internet safety;
• Remain aware of and regularly use the school system’s established process for vetting and procuring online services;
• Model appropriate use and protection of student data for their students; and
• Communicate to parents clearly about the collection, use, and protection of student data.

“Effective student data privacy depends on both strong policy and intentional implementation,” said Keith Krueger, CEO, CoSN. “DACC’s TLE Mini Seal in the Classroom Practice reflects its commitment to equipping educators and students with the knowledge and tools to use education technology safely and responsibly while helping families understand how student information is protected.”

“The Classroom Practice Mini Seal reflects DACC’s commitment to empowering teachers and students through thoughtful, secure, and effective use of technology,” said Rory Gaydos, Director of Information Technology, Delaware Area Career Center. “This recognition was achieved through a strong partnership between high school leadership and the technology team, whose collaborative efforts have helped embed trusted learning practices into the daily classroom experience.”

DACC’s achievement also demonstrates Ohio’s broader statewide focus on student data privacy. In November 2025, Ohio partnered with CoSN through the TLE State Partnership Program, which provides districts with unlimited free TLE Seal applications, exclusive state data privacy benchmarking reports, and resources and guidance to support improvements in privacy practices. Through the program, DACC is one of nine districts and education agencies in the state to earn a TLE Seal or Mini Seal. To date, TLE Seal recipients nationwide have improved privacy protections for over 1.4 million students.

The CoSN TLE Seal is the only privacy framework designed specifically for school systems. Earning the TLE Seal requires that school systems have taken measurable steps to implement, maintain, and improve organization-wide student data privacy practices. All TLE Seal recipients are required to demonstrate that improvement through a reapplication process every two years.

To learn more about the TLE Seal Program, visit: www.cosn.org/trusted.

About CoSN

CoSN, the world-class professional association for K-12 education technology leaders, stands at the forefront of education innovation. We are driven by a mission to equip current and aspiring K-12 education technology leaders, their teams, and school districts with the community, knowledge, and professional development they need to cultivate engaging learning environments. Our vision is rooted in a future where every learner reaches their unique potential, guided by our community. CoSN represents over 13 million students and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. www.cosn.org

About the CoSN Trusted Learning Environment Seal Program

The CoSN Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal Program is the nation’s only data privacy framework for school systems, focused on building a culture of trust and transparency. The TLE Seal was developed by CoSN in collaboration with a diverse group of 28 school system leaders nationwide and with support from AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) and ISTE+ASCD. School systems that meet the program requirements will earn the TLE Seal, signifying their commitment to student data privacy to their community. TLE Seal recipients also commit to continuous examination and demonstrable future advancement of their privacy practices. www.cosn.org/trusted

About Delaware Area Career Center

The Delaware Area Career Center (DACC) is a premier career and technical education institution serving high school students and adult learners throughout Central Ohio. DACC provides innovative, hands-on learning experiences that combine rigorous academics, industry-recognized credentials, and real-world career preparation, empowering students to succeed in college, careers, and life. www.delawareareacc.org

Reading Eggs and Mathseeds from 3P Learning are the winning products of the 2026 CODiE Awards in the category for Best Gamification in Learning. Reading Eggs is a Science of Reading-aligned, ESSA-certified early literacy program that develops essential reading skills through systematic and explicit instruction, highly engaging activities, and rich opportunities for practice and consolidation. Mathseeds is also an ESSA-certified, highly engaging program developing numeracy skills in early learners.

“We are delighted that Reading Eggs and Mathseeds have been recognized with the CODiE Award for Best Gamification in Learning,” said Katy Pike, Chief Product Officer at 3P Learning. “Both programs combine carefully sequenced, evidence-based instruction with engaging activities, meaningful feedback, and motivating opportunities for practice. It is a real honor to see Reading Eggs and Mathseeds recognized together. Both programs are built on the same strong approach to teaching and learning.”

Designed by educators for students from Pre-K to Grade 5, Reading Eggs applies the essential components of effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Its explicit, systematic lessons, motivating rewards and easy-to-use interface help students build essential reading and phonics skills through regular, purposeful practice.

Mathseeds builds essential early numeracy skills through explicit, standards-aligned instruction. Students can begin at an appropriate level and progress through carefully sequenced, self-paced lessons. The program has been independently shown to improve mathematics achievement while helping young learners remain engaged and confident.

“This award is proof that our approach makes learning engaging, purposeful, and personal,” added Pike. “Reading Eggs, Mathseeds, and our other programs encourage active participation through carefully sequenced instruction, immediate feedback, and motivating opportunities for practice. Most importantly, this engagement is connected to measurable improvements in student achievement.”

The CODiE Awards – now in its 40th year – are the technology industry’s most established peer-reviewed recognition program. Finalists are selected through a rigorous evaluation process conducted by hundreds of independent industry experts including business leaders, educators, and subject matter specialists in each product category.

“The 2026 CODiE Award winners represent some of the most innovative and impactful solutions in the industry,” said Jennifer Baranowski, President of the CODiE Awards. “These organizations are solving meaningful challenges, delivering measurable outcomes, and helping shape the future of technology.”

About Reading Eggs

The Reading Eggs suite is a multi-award-winning online literacy solution grounded in the Science of Reading. Combining Reading Eggs, Fast Phonics and Reading Eggspress, it provides a structured, multi-year literacy pathway from first steps through to fluent, independent reading and advanced comprehension. Short, focused and highly engaging lessons use explicit, systematic instruction to make learning to read easy and fun. Used by over 20 million children in 16,000 schools worldwide, Reading Eggs is proven to accelerate literacy growth in as little as 20 minutes a week. Reading Eggs is part of 3P Learning’s global suite of online learning programs. Learn more at readingeggs.com/schools/admin/.

About Mathseeds​

Mathseeds is a multi-award-winning online program that helps young learners build essential early numeracy skills. Explicit, systematic instruction and sequenced learning pathways ensure every student starts at the right level, while short, focused lessons, vibrant animations and motivating rewards keep children engaged. Mathseeds is proven to boost achievement in as little as 20 minutes a week and is part of 3P Learning’s global suite of online learning programs. Learn more at mathseeds.com/schools.

About 3P Learning

​3P Learning (https://3plearning.com) is a global leader in online education, offering a multi-award-winning suite of programs. Our solutions serve over 18,000 schools across 130+ countries, reaching millions of students. Built by experienced educators and backed by more than two decades of research, our classroom tools are designed to help every child discover better ways to learn.

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