July Highlights at a Glance
- Meeting Senator Osgood
- Reconnecting with Representative Sapp’s Office
- Our Initial In-Person PD Seminar
- Gratitude for Hillsborough Schools
Meeting Senator Osgood
Senator Rosalind OsgoodAfter missing Senator Osgood during my visit to Tallahassee earlier in the spring, I reconnected with her legislative aide Tom Cocchia via email in June. He graciously coordinated a phone call with the Senator before she left for vacation, and we had a stellar 15-minute conversation. She asked me to start from the beginning, so I explained our philanthropic mission, how everything is company funded/comes at no cost to school districts or Florida taxpayers, and told her of our recent successes in Sarasota County.
As it turned out, Senator Osgood was a former school board member herself in her home county of Broward, which is one of the largest school districts in the Sunshine State. She was quite interested in what we have accomplished and suggested putting us in touch directly with a few principals at some of the high schools in Broward. Our plan is to reconnect in August when she returns from her vacation so that we can continue our mission in her home county.
Reconnecting with Rep. Sapp’s Office
Representative Judson SappOne of the ten-minute meetings during my spring visit to Tallahassee was with Olivia Firlejczyk, Representative Sapp’s legislative aide. Although Rep. Sapp could not meet with me virtually, Olivia and I reconnected so that I could update her on all that had transpired with ABE over the last few months, including our first PD seminar with Sarasota and the completion of our flagship module. Considering Rep. Sapp oversees multiple counties in District 20, I thought we could introduce ABE to Putnam and Clay counties in particular. We had a pleasant meeting, and she promised to keep ABE in mind when communicating with educational leadership in both school districts, so hopefully those relationships will be built in the coming months.
Our Initial In-Person PD Seminar
The Road to Bitcoin & Beyond at Gaither High SchoolThanks to our May meeting with Kelly Brennan, the 9-12 Social Studies Supervisor, she was able to coordinate a voluntary professional development seminar for high school teachers on July 21st. One of those options was a 3-hour block for Financial Literacy teachers who wanted to learn more about blockchain technology and digital assets. We had five attendees from across Hillsborough County, most of whom knew nothing about either topic but were intensely curious to learn more.
During our 3-hour block, I taught our original seminar, The Road to Bitcoin & Beyond: A Brief History of Digital Assets, for the first two hours, which gave us enough time to engage in activities, have conversations, and receive feedback on the presentation. In the final hour, we quickly ran through an overview presentation of our flagship module that has 3 complete turnkey lessons that allow any educator with no prior knowledge or experience to help his or her students evaluate the use of digital currencies (SS.912.FL.6.14). This is a cornerstone benchmark in the mandated financial literacy curriculum, which is why we thought it best to begin here with lessons we could provide teachers. All of the attendees were receptive to the materials and said they would be happy to pilot these lessons in their classrooms this school year.
Addressing the HCPS School Board and SuperintendentTo close out the month of July, I went to speak before the Hillsborough County School Board and Superintendent Van Ayres to express ABE’s gratitude for HCPS’ willingness to work with us. Additionally, I shared our excitement over the fact that we were invited to Professional Study Day for Social Studies on Monday, August 3rd. Each year during pre-planning, teachers from the various subject areas in high school gather at a single location to brush up on their skills or learn new material in preparation for the coming school year. Thanks to Kelly, ABE will now have four one-hour sessions so that interested educators can sign up and learn more about blockchain and digital assets.
Our plan going into next Monday’s PSD is to showcase our first seminar in an overview format, but for the remaining three sessions, actually deliver the flagship module lessons as intended. This will be an incredible opportunity for ABE to garner feedback on the lesson plans and materials as teachers play the role of students in this context. This will help us cement any final changes before we turn the lessons over to educators who want to pilot them in their own classrooms later in the semester.
As always, stay tuned for our next update. We will have more great news to share, including the results of our time spent at the Social Studies PSD in HCPS!
