From the early days of its founding, Apple has been devoted to helping students and educators by offering. Founded in 1976, by the end of that decade, the company was already donating hundreds of computers to schools, with donation numbers well into the thousands by the early 1980s.
In 1983, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs launched the company’s Kids Can’t Wait program that aimed to donate an Apple II computer, a monitor, a disk drive, and Apple software to every public elementary and high school in California that had at least 100 students.
The program was a short-lived, but it created lasting relationships between Apple and many schools — and entire school districts — and cemented the company’s commitment to supporting students and educators alike, a commitment that continues today.
Who qualifies for Apple’s education discount?
Students from kindergarten through 12th grade, and any teacher at a K-12 school, are eligible for Apple discounts under the Apple Education Pricing program.
Today, decades after Apple first lent support to teachers and students, that help continues, and largely in the form of reduced pricing.
Students can prove their eligibility for savings online at checkout by uploading scans of documents like a student ID or tuition bill. These items can also be shown in person at an Apple Store.
Teachers can prove their eligibility for Apple discounts with a school ID as well, or with a recent pay stub or letter of employment from a school. Homeschool teachers who have completed certification programs are also eligible for savings.
Products available to educators, students
Apple offers its discounts for teachers and students on a wide range of products. These include iPads, MacBooks, iMacs, and accessories, such as Apple pencils, keyboards, mice, and more.
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Apple Watches and iPhones are usually not subject to educator or student discounts, nor are Apple TVs.
Along with discounted physical Apple products for teachers and students, some Apple services are also available at reduced prices. These include Apple Music, which is also available at a discount to students in colleges or universities.
Likely to prevent people from “straw buying” discounted computers or other expensive products for other people, Apple limits the number of products a student or teacher can buy at a discounted rate per year.
The limit is one discounted computer — a desktop or laptop both count — and two iPads. Two discounted accessories can also be purchased per year, and these limits apply whether a person is shopping online or at an Apple Store.
The Apple Education Community’s learning hub
The Apple Education Community is a completely free online platform that consists of a professional learning hub and a forum, both of which are designed for educators.
The learning hub includes myriad tutorials covering topics such as using Apple hardware (like MacBooks and iPads), classroom lesson ideas, and how-to programs that teach educators how to use Apple programs like Pages, iMovie, and GarageBand.
The Apple Education Community Forum is a collaborative space where teachers can connect with one another as well as with experts from Apple, getting help with anything from lesson planning ideas to Apple support with hardware they don’t know how to use sufficiently well.
The Forum allows educators to post questions, share ideas, seek or swap resources, and generally discuss teaching and learning with Apple products and platforms, all in the name of improving education, on Apple user, product, or platform at a time.
