Free K12Nation.net home-to-school communication web tool targets the classroom teacher

Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, Nov, 1999

Kl2Nation.net (Washington, D.C., www.k12nation.net) is entering a market crowded with players wanting to reach the family consumer via the schools. They believe their free, home-to-school communications web site can compete by attracting individual classroom teachers. Unlike services that require a school or district adoption, K12Nation.net is designed to be used by individual classrooms. Don Childress, coo, hopes that these early adopters will give the service leverage when larger entities are prepared to select one service.

Beyond the bureaucratic delay of a school- or district-wide decision, Childress points to concerns about equity delaying implementation of web-based services. Individual teachers, says Childress, know what kind of access their students' families have to the Internet and can best decide if it's an appropriate tool.

Centered on a calendaring feature, the site allows teachers to communicate with parents and students for homework, tests, fieldtrips or other events. The site, currently in beta testing, will be adding numerous features. They will likely work with new calendaring protocols to help integrate the site with an existing administrative system and, if there is demand, with a phone system for those who don't have Internet access. A self-populating address book for each class also allows student-to-student and parent-to-parent communications. The site also has web aggregation services.

Chat features will also be central to content offerings. An initial project allows high school students and counselors to talk with representatives of various colleges. With a limited marketing budget, K12Nation.net has relied heavily on the popularity of this feature to make people aware of the site. The company mailed 3,800 postcards to high school counselors, and one college is even sending out a direct mail piece to promote their time on the site. There is no fee for colleges or universities to participate.

E-commerce, sponsorship and advertising will provide revenue for the free service. Details remain in the planning stage. The service is not intended to support the school day and is not likely to be used frequently during school hours. Even so, they turn advertising off during the school day for children under eleven. They will also offer a paid, advertising-free alternative for $5 per registered user/per year. The E-commerce will include a fundraising component for the schools.

Funding is currently from friends and family with additional assistance from the web development company Adrenaline and the law firm of Shaw Pittman. Adrenaline purchased a small share of the company for $28,000 and provides technical and design services. The company is talking to angels and venture capital firms for additional funding.