One of the questions I’m already receiving from teachers about the S-Cubed AI Coach on Studio.com is:

“Can I use school funds to purchase it?”

The answer is yes — absolutely.

I strongly encourage teachers to use school, department, professional development, or other approved instructional funds whenever those funds are available to you.

But purchasing through a school can sometimes involve a few extra questions from bookkeepers, administrators, or purchasing departments. One teacher recently went through this process, and Studio was kind enough to answer the purchasing questions directly.

I’m putting all of that information in one place so you can simply send this article to your administrator or purchasing department if they have questions.

First: Who Is the Vendor?

This is an important distinction.

When you purchase access to the S-Cubed AI Coach, you are purchasing through Studio.com, not directly from me personally.

It is similar to purchasing one of my resources through Teachers Pay Teachers. I created the content, but the company processing the transaction is the vendor.

For Studio purchases, the legal business/vendor name is:

Openmind Learning, Inc.

Studio’s billing address is:

5850 W 3rd St, Ste E #1503
Los Angeles, CA 90036

What About a W-9?

This is one of the most common questions I receive when teachers are using school funds.

Because the purchase is being made through Studio rather than directly from Dale Duncan or S-Cubed, my personal W-9 is not the appropriate W-9 for this purchase.

Studio has told me that they have not historically provided W-9s for these purchases.

If your school specifically requires a W-9 or needs additional vendor documentation, your purchasing department can contact Studio directly using the contact information at the bottom of this article.

That is different from a situation in which a school is hiring me personally — for example, to present professional development, conduct a choir, lead a workshop, or provide another service directly. In those situations, the school may be contracting with me personally and the paperwork would be different.

For the S-Cubed AI Coach, however, Studio/Openmind Learning, Inc. is the company handling the transaction.

Can My School Use a Purchase Order?

Yes.

Studio has confirmed that schools may use their normal purchase-order approval process.

There is one important thing to understand:

The final Studio purchase must still be made by credit card.

In other words, your school may create or approve a purchase order internally, but Studio currently requires the actual order to be placed using a card.

Studio does not currently offer traditional invoicing where the school receives an invoice first and mails payment later.

So a typical process might look something like this:

Ask your administrator or purchasing department for approval to purchase the S-Cubed AI Coach.
Complete any purchase-order paperwork your district requires.
Provide the vendor information in this article.
Have the authorized school employee or department complete the Studio purchase using the school's purchasing card or another approved credit card.
Save the Studio receipt for your school's records and reimbursement or expense process.

Every district handles purchasing a little differently, so your school's internal process may vary.

What About Tax-Exempt Purchases?

Studio has told me that taxes are automatically calculated based upon the purchaser's billing address.

The purchaser receives a receipt after the transaction and can submit that receipt through the school's normal expense or purchasing process.

If your school has specific questions about tax-exempt purchasing, I recommend having your purchasing department contact Studio directly before completing the transaction.

Is There a Studio Vendor Packet?

At this time, Studio does not have a standard school vendor packet or purchasing-document package that I can distribute to teachers.

That is one of the reasons I created this page.

You can send this article directly to your:

Principal
Fine arts administrator
Bookkeeper
School secretary
District purchasing department
Professional development coordinator

It contains the basic vendor information Studio has provided to me.

What If My Purchasing Department Needs More Information?

Studio has given me a direct contact for school purchasing questions.

Cathy at Studio
Cathy@studio.com

Your administrator or purchasing department is welcome to contact Cathy directly if they need additional information or documentation.

A Quick Purchasing Summary

Here is the information your school may need:

Product: S-Cubed AI Coach
Platform: Studio.com
Vendor/legal business name: Openmind Learning, Inc.
Billing address: 5850 W 3rd St, Ste E #1503, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Purchase orders: Allowed as part of the school's purchasing process
Payment: Final order must be completed by credit card
Traditional invoicing: Not currently available
Receipt: Provided after purchase
Standard vendor packet: Not currently available
School purchasing questions: Cathy@studio.com

Please Use School Funds When You Can

Teachers spend far too much of their own money supporting their classrooms.

If your school or district provides funding for curriculum, instructional technology, professional development, music education resources, or teacher support, I encourage you to ask whether those funds can be used for the S-Cubed AI Coach.

The entire reason I created this tool is to give teachers more support while they are using S-Cubed — whether you are beginning Lesson 1 for the first time, trying to solve a classroom-management problem, refreshing something you've taught before, or simply wishing you had someone available to answer an S-Cubed question when you need it.

And if someone in your purchasing department has a question that this page doesn't answer, please have them contact Studio directly at Cathy@studio.com.

I hope this makes the purchasing process a little easier — and keeps more of those teacher dollars in your own pocket.

Ready to Explore the S-Cubed AI Coach? It's available early!

Visit my S-Cubed AI Coach storefront on Studio.com:
https://studio.com/daleduncanscubedcoach

Want to Learn More and See the App Operate Live?

Join me for a live Zoom event on October 6 at 7:00 PM Eastern.

You can mark yourself as Going or Interested on the Facebook event page so you’ll receive reminders:

https://www.facebook.com/share/19nkmyhuSG/

Want to See What Happens Before You Purchase?

I made a short, approximately five-minute video that walks you through the S-Cubed AI Coach onboarding process step-by-step before you actually purchase.

You can see what the app asks you, how the onboarding works, and how it begins building a more personalized coaching experience for you.

Watch the onboarding video here:
https://youtu.be/k2HlPMXqsc0?is=bFd_3c6YsIg4dFQu

If you’ve built an audience around your expertise, you may be sitting on an app idea without realizing it. Studio gave me a way to turn years of teaching knowledge, resources, and philosophy into an interactive AI Coach—and creators in many different fields could do the same. If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I could put what I know into something people could use anytime,” take a look at Studio through my affiliate link here:

https://studio.com/join/daleduncanscubedcoach

Dale Duncan
Creator of the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners
S-Cubed AI Coach Creator

Are You a Creator Too?

If you are a teacher, TPT seller, content creator, coach, or other creator who has ever thought about building your own AI-powered coaching app, you can learn more about creating one through Studio here: