Apple's ConnectED Program Has Helped Over 32,000 Students - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple's ConnectED Program Has Helped Over 32,000 Students

Apple today announced that its ConnectED program, which saw the company donating $100 million in products to schools and teachers across the country, has impacted the lives of more than 30,000 students.

As of the 2016-2017 school year, there are 32,145 students at underserved public schools who have received iPads from Apple to bolster their education. Teachers have received more than 9,042 Macs and iPads and Apple has helped to install 189 miles of internet cable in schools.

appleconnected
Along with equipment, Apple sends Professional Learning Specialists to schools around the country to help administrators, teachers, and students get the most out of the technology.

The latest school to join Apple's ConnectED program is the Carver Elementary School in Indianola, Mississippi, the 66th ConnectED school. Carver Elementary School has 701 students, all whom now have iPads with educational-focused apps to work with.

Apple joined ConnectED, a $750 million corporate educational initiative announced by President Obama, in 2014 and has since remained committed to providing underserved schools with cutting edge classroom equipment. Other companies involved in the ConnectED initiative include AT&T, Verizon, and Microsoft.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Apple Intelligence Comes Under Fire Feature

Apple Will 'Watch Everything Burn' When AI Bubble Bursts - Ed Zitron

Monday July 27, 2026 7:11 am PDT by
Memory prices have doubled, Macs and iPads have gone up, and iPhones are expected to follow. Ed Zitron – who writes the Where's Your Ed At newsletter, hosts the Better Offline podcast, and has been described by Politico as the AI boom's most "acerbic gadfly" – has spent years arguing the buildout driving those costs will never pay for itself. We asked him what happens to Apple if he's...

Top Rated Comments

blut haus Avatar
130 months ago
hate to be a negative nancy, but when I worked in higher ed the schools we threw money and ipads at ended up calling it a waste of time and money. You can't just throw tech at a problem and expect it will fix itself.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
130 months ago
$3,110.90 per student.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
130 months ago
Indianola, Ive been their, very small town in the middle of cotton fields. Providing Professional Learning Specialists is the key for initiatives like this to work. Good work!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blacktape242 Avatar
130 months ago
underserved public schools? sounds like the tax system isn't working right since they fund the crap public school system. and who suffers? the kids, good for apple to help.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tevion5 Avatar
130 months ago
hate to be a negative nancy, but when I worked in higher ed the schools we threw money and ipads at ended up calling it a waste of time and money. You can't just throw tech at a problem and expect it will fix itself.
Steve Jobs himself said almost the exact same when interviewed about classroom technology in the 90's. No amount of fancy toys will make up for a lack of a strong curriculum and good teachers.

And he was also a white board fundamentalist when it came to his own group sessions.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
130 months ago
"...32,145 students at underserved public schools..."

That's a staggering 0.064% of the ~50,100,000 US K-12 population.

This program is noting more than feel-good window dressing, and a waste of citizen tax dollars. It is also a waste of Apple sales and marketing resources.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)