Published December 1, 2022
When the state of Nebraska needed robust,
hands-on preK-12 coding and robotics solutions
for their students, they turned to Pitsco
Education. And Pitsco delivered in a big way!
Nebraska’s Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council (ESUCC), which was put
in place in 2008 to coordinate the activities of
the 17 educational service units (ESUs) across
the state, works closely with the ESUs, the
school districts, and the Nebraska Department
of Education to ensure top-notch education
for students and support for teachers.
In August 2022, ESUCC became aware of
$850,000 in Governor’s Emergency Education
Relief (GEER) funds that needed to be relegated
by September 2022. Thanks to a relationship
with Pitsco, ESUCC Purchasing Director Craig
Peterson knew exactly who Nebraska needed
to work with to utilize these funds.
THE RELATIONSHIP
In January of 2022, Pitsco Education Advisor
Preston Frazier took on Nebraska as part of his
territory. He made a conscious effort to reach out
to his contacts and begin building relationships,
asking about their needs, any conferences
he could attend, and so forth. Through these
relationships, he learned about an educational
technology conference being held in Lincoln,
Nebraska, in July. Frazier attended this conference,
displaying various coding and robotics solutions
Pitsco offers. Peterson, to whom Frazier had
previously reached out, was also at that
conference, and they were able to connect on a
more personal level.
When Peterson learned of the opportunity
to use the GEER funds for Nebraska schools,
he immediately reached out to Frazier to get
the ball rolling.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Peterson put Frazier in touch with Scott
Isaacson, the technology director for ESUCC,
who would be spearheading this opportunity.
Isaacson knew that the Nebraska governor’s
office had a state-wide initiative to implement
coding and robotics
solutions into all 354 public
and private school districts
throughout the state. After
meeting with Frazier, he
knew that Pitsco had what
they needed.
“The relationship [with
Pitsco] ahead of time was
important,” said Isaacson. “There’s a
level of trust that’s there.” Additionally,
ESUCC looked at Pitsco’s solutions, and,
according to Isaacson, “Pitsco had really
everything that we were looking for. . . . So, it
was a real easy choice to make, I would say.”
Isaacson also noted that Pitsco’s curriculum,
materials, and support for teachers also set
Pitsco apart from other education service
providers. “There are . . . online courses
teachers can take, curriculum guides, and a
real thorough set of materials to go with [the
solutions], beyond just the basics of the kit
itself. That was important to a lot of people.”
THE SOLUTION
After the decision was made to use Pitsco
coding and robotics solutions, ESUCC and
a Pitsco team that included almost every
department got to work creating a Pitsco
coding and robotics mini catalog filled with
preK-12 solutions for schools to choose from.
From Bee-Bot®, Blue-Bot®, KUBO, and Code Cube™ kits for early learners to TETRIX®,
Arduino, and drone solutions for middle school
and high school students, the catalog included
something for every grade level, every learner.
In just a few weeks, the catalog was sent to
schools – and the response was immediate.
“We had an overwhelming response,” said
Isaacson. The number of requests was close to
400, with the total amount topping $4 million.
Although ESUCC discovered they actually
had closer to $1.5 million to work with, the
requests still had to be whittled down to fit
the budget. It took ESUCC staff three days
to wade through all the requests and apply
a formula to come up with a dollar amount
available to each school and compare that to
their requests.
THE EXCITEMENT
With the hard work
done, the fun part
began. ESUCC worked
with Frazier and Pitsco to
get orders in, and coding and
robotics solutions have begun
shipping to Nebraska schools.
“I’m anxious to find some places to go
and visit and see how [these solutions] are being
put into use,” said Isaacson. “I’m impressed
with how [Pitsco does] business and the
thoroughness. . . . I think you’re doing a good
job, and you take good care of your customers.
So, thank you for that. Thank you for being there
when we needed you on short notice.”
Frazier also is eager to see Pitsco solutions
in the hands of Nebraska teachers and
students. “I’m excited for all these schools
to receive these items,” he said. “I’m looking
forward to going out to Nebraska a little
bit more this year, when all of this stuff is
delivered, to see everyone having fun with it.
That’s what I’m most looking forward to.”