Going Nowhere Fast – Update #42 – Jan 24, 2020

   To help out my friend, Michael Summers,  we have allowed Nesda to set our project aside for 3 weeks to deal with a unexpected opportunity they received. They have one more week to complete that project and then we will get back on track.  According to Michael, they are close to finishing that project. The past two weeks has felt like an eternity, despite not being a major threat to our final deadline.

  I’m just not good at waiting.

         In the interim, I have been building a database of New Orleans charter schools. When finished, it will contain each charter school’s “tombstone data” including the principal’s name, phone number, e-mail, number of grades, annual grade scores for the past two years and other relevant data that I have harvested from  all of their available websites. It is brain-freezing work, but it is necessary for us to know our potential customer, so it is not an option to just start cold-calling.

     Past Rotary International President, Wilf Wilkinson, has been researching the Rotary clubs which could be involved. He has been stymied because most of the people he is seeking are away at a Rotary conference for at least a week. He is probably more patient than I am and will likely withstand the waiting better than me.

     Andrew has completed editing of the five most demanding first lessons. This is where all the nuances are going to show up and need his attention. He will probably be able to move more quickly once he has a pattern and more tools, but as he works the lessons also get longer.  My current estimate, based on very little data, is that he will require 12 weeks to edit the 60 lessons of level 1. That will probably provide a launch date some time in mid to late April 2020.  This would be earlier than we originally predicted.

     I have continued to be in touch with the team working on the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read Inquiry. They are cooperative, but overwhelmed (Small team, little funding and a large undertaking).  They would like some time to finish their public meetings (March 10 in Ottawa) and begin interviewing school districts and universities which have education faculties.  They expect to release a final report in the fall of 2020.

     I will keep in touch with one particular member of their team so that I do not become a hindrance. I do wish to be a welcome guest, not a unwanted interfering pest.  More honey, less vinegar.  As part of my search, I am going to research across Canada and the US to see if anyone else has ever made reading a basic human right, not just a privilege.

       We have yet to disclose to the inquiry that we will soon be launching a solution to assist them. Todd Smith, Minister of Children, Social and Community Services is aware  of our work because we asked him to assist us with grants when we started.  On Monday, I updated David Joyce, his executive assistant, regarding the inquiry and our possible role in it.  This inquiry has a lot of potential for our future plans, but it is not yet clear in which way we should be involved.

       No road is ever straight and flat. We will just deal with events one step at a time. We are in good shape and will soon be making more progress on all fronts.  Thanks for your patience and your help.

Michael