Apple Education

Apple Education is Apple's initiative to provide computing resources to students and educational institutions. Apple also provides discounts on its products to students, teachers, and educational administrators.

History
In 1978, John Couch donated some early Apple II units to a catholic school in California. Housed in a former janitorial closet, the computers soon became a favorite of the students. That same year, Apple Computer was awarded a contract by the (MECC) to supply 500 computers to the state. By 1982, MECC was the largest single seller of Apple computers. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs credited schools with helping to build the business of the Apple II series.

Apple's next large initiative was reaching agreements with 24 leading universities in 1984, including the entire, to get the Macintosh into higher education. In 2002, Apple introduced the eMac, the first computer designed specifically for the educational market. Starting in 2010, Apple has promoted iPads as a lower cost way to get students into computing. In March 2016, Apple launched its Classroom app to allow teachers to manage lessons delivered through iPads.

Leadership
On October 30, 2000, Cheryl Vedoe rejoined Apple in the newly created position of vice president of education marketing and solutions, reporting directly to CEO Steve Jobs. In April 2002, Jobs recruited John Couch to return to Apple as VP of education. Couch remained with Apple until his retirement in January 2019. Since June 2019, the division has been led by Doug Beck, who presently serves as Apple's VP of worldwide education, health, and government.