K-12 Buying Season Is Here. It's Not Just About the Device

One K12 school was blocking roughly 1,000 phishing attacks per day, and had no idea it was happening. EDU Buying season is here, and security, classroom tools, parent controls, and teacher adoption all need answers before a single device gets ordered. Mat Pullen, Jamf's Product Marketing Director for Education and a former classroom teacher, joins hosts Kat Garbis and Josh Thornton for a frank conversation about what K12 schools are dealing with in 2026. ► Cyber attacks are increasing and students and teachers are the weakest link. ► Privacy requirements and safeguarding obligations are forcing schools to make uncomfortable tradeoffs. ► And when technology fails in classrooms, IT takes the blame, even though Mat argues it was never an IT problem to begin with. ► With the MacBook Neo lowering the price barrier for Apple in education, more districts are entering the buying conversation this year than before. Mat's advice: the device decision is the simplest one you'll make. 🔔 Subscribe for more Edtech content from Jamf: CHAPTERS: 1:51 Meet Mat Pullen: Product Marketing Director for Education at Jamf 2:51 Jamf Nation Live EDU: What Schools Are Actually Asking About 4:22 Top K12 Challenges in 2026: Budget, Security and Screen Time 6:57 Why Schools Are Easy Targets for Cyber Attacks 8:10 Student Privacy vs. Surveillance: How Jamf Balances Both 10:03 Jamf Parent: Giving Families Control of School Devices at Home 12:42 Technology in the Classroom Is an Education Problem, Not an IT Problem 14:58 MacBook Neo for K12: What It Changes for Schools on a Budget 20:05 Jamf Safe Internet: Content Filtering and Network Threat Prevention 22:12 Limited Privacy and Time-Based Policies: New Features Explained 25:58 Jamf for K12: One Solution for IT, Security, Teachers and Parents 29:05 Jamf Teacher in Action 31:46 K12 Buying Season 2026: How to Think Beyond the Device 37:23 Here's What Most Schools Are Missing RESOURCES: https://www.jamf.com/blog/social-engi... https://www.jamf.com/blog/macbook-neo... https://www.jamf.com/solutions/jamf-f... https://www.jamf.com/education/ Who This Is For: ► Education IT leads and district IT directors managing Apple device fleets in K12 schools ► IT administrators evaluating Jamf for K12 ahead of the 2026 buying season ► Existing Jamf customers in education who want to understand what they already have access to #educationtechnology #k12education #edtech #edtechtools #jamf #identitymanagement #mobiledevicemanagement #devicemanagement #schoolsecurity #digitallearning