In this week's Tracker we introduce a K-12 Construction Tracker, review market penetration for AI-focused suppliers, look at school drone programs, and review ELL titles. More below.
1. This week we introduce Burbio’s K-12 Construction Tracker, a new tool that follows school construction projects from early discussion through completion. Built from Burbio’s integrated data sources, the Construction Tracker delivers categorized, district-level visibility into project phase, scope, and activity, from infrastructure upgrades to new school construction.
A defining feature of the Construction Tracker is surfacing early-stage discussions from board meetings and facility master plans. This phase is especially valuable for suppliers, as it occurs before districts finalize plans, budgets, or RFPs. Below is a sample of discussion-phase projects drawn from hundreds currently identified in the Tracker:
- Asheville City Schools, NC, just published its facility assessment identifying over $60 million of upgrades over the next five years, including lifecycle replacement needs in HVAC systems, electrical distribution, plumbing systems, and technology infrastructure.
- Lynbrook Union Free School District, NY, is considering acquiring a vacant residential property to construct a fitness center and has completed its environmental review.
- Hinsdale Township High School District 86, IL, recommended a design firm for a $15M heat plant conversion (summer 2027) and is evaluating four additional projects across locker rooms, gyms, and outdoor spaces.
- Robbinsdale Public School District, MN, is advancing plans to create a single high school while consolidating and upgrading other schools, and is gathering community feedback ahead of a November 2026 bond vote.
- Biggs Unified School District, CA, is retaining an engineering firm to conduct a geological review of a proposed new high school gymnasium and classroom site.
Click here to schedule a short demo of the Construction Tracker, plus see how Burbio's other foundational datasets can power your K-12 business.
2. Burbio maintains a checkbook database covering 20M+ PreK–12 students. This week we update our view of districts paying AI-focused vendors. Below is the share of districts paying five suppliers at least once in 2024, 2025, and either year. Market penetration for the entire basket of suppliers grew from 14.1% to 24.1% year over year:
It is important to note freemium tiers, low-cost trials, and staff purchases can mask true usage; these figures are directional.
3. Burbio’s Signals Tracker analyzes millions of pages of school board discussions to deliver insights on district intent. Drones are a fast-growing STEM subcategory; this week we summarize how districts are using them:
- CTE and workforce readiness: Districts are deploying drones to prepare students for real-world careers, often aligned to industry credentials. Example programs include:
- Aviation & Aerospace: Courses like Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and commercial drone flight
- Agriculture: Precision ag programs using drones for mapping, surveying, and crop monitoring
- Public Safety: Law enforcement partnerships, including coursework and real-world applications like search-and-rescue support
- Broader student engagement: Beyond career tracks, districts use drones to drive engagement, technical skills, and new student experiences:
- STEM & engineering curriculum: Hands-on learning in building drones, coding flight paths, and systems design
- JROTC programs: Leadership-focused training in drone piloting, manufacturing, and military applications
- Clubs & extracurriculars: Drone clubs, summer academies, and emerging competitions like drone soccer
4. Burbio has expanded our datasets with district-level contact data (name, title, email, phone) to support outreach. ESL titles are highly fragmented, with descriptors like ELL, multilingual, and English Learner paired with terms like director, manager, supervisor, and coordinator. We group titles into buckets in the chart below:
