I don't know if high school kids need macbook airs, but I also don't see how that answers the question of where "grade school" was in the original comment
At least the old design (have not seen tear down of new design) seemed purpose built for schools It was relatively rugged with key components easily swapped. It was powerful enough to do many tasks far easier than an under powered Chromebook. A pool of Macbook Airs is relatively common. Most schools in my (relatively poor) area that issue students laptops tend to offer inexpensive Chromebooks.