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 to Launch These 15+ New Products Later This Year

Friday March 27, 2026 2:03 pm PDT by
March has been an incredibly busy month for Apple, with the company unveiling more than 10 new products and accessories. We said hello to the MacBook Neo at the start of the month, and we bid farewell to the Mac Pro at the end of it. Nevertheless, there is still a lot more to come this year. Beyond the usual annual updates to iPhones and Apple Watches, Apple's all-new smart home hub is...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Mac Pro Feature Teal

Apple Confirms Mac Pro Is Dead, No Future Models Planned

Thursday March 26, 2026 2:04 pm PDT by
Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and has removed the machine from its website, reports 9to5Mac. Apple said it does not plan to design a new version of the Mac Pro, and no new model will be coming in the future. The Mac Pro was last updated in 2023, which was when Apple added an M2 Ultra Apple silicon chip, but the chassis has not been refreshed since 2019. Apple redesigned the Mac Pro to...

Top Rated Comments

blut haus Avatar
126 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)
126 months ago
$3,110.90 per student.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
126 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
126 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
126 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)
126 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)