March 2025 Update Highlights at a Glance:
- New month, new county contact
- Curriculum design taking shape
- Another blockchain education advocate
- Traction in Tallahassee
Addressing OCPS Leadership
On March 11th, I made the long drive out to address the Orange County Public Schools board members at their monthly meeting. For those who are unaware of the geography of Florida, Orange County is the home of Orlando, a major metropolitan area in the Sunshine State.
I had previously sent an email to the board sharing the Blockchain in Florida one pager and notifying them in advance of my attendance, and Member Vanos wrote me back stating that she was looking forward to learning more about ABE.
Not only was the board intrigued by what we have been doing during my 3 minute presentation, but I was immediately approached by Rosa Grant, the Executive Director of College-Career and Technical Education at the end of the public comment period. We will be meeting next month in April and I’ll be sure to share an update on this meeting and opportunity to work with Orange next month.
Creating Curriculum Content
Although we are still very early in our curriculum content creation, one of the first multi-unit lessons we hope to generate revolves around the new standards I discussed last month. After our discussion with State Senator Danny Burgess back in December, the team at ABE realized that leaning into financial literacy and digital assets is a more open opportunity for all students and teachers (or anyone with an interest).
To help cobble together the first slide deck, my wife Erin, an NBCT-certified educator and blockchain user herself, has used her creative and content related skills to begin creating various lessons that can be taught across 2-3 days or in a seminar format for interested parties. In the coming months, ABE will likely have several of these lessons available on its forthcoming website, and I hope to personally deliver them in a seminar setting on Saturdays in the counties that have already expressed an interest in working with us.
A New Advocate Emerges
Thanks to our conversations in Pasco County, specifically with Bobbi Starling, she suggested that a fellow advocate, Daniel Farra, get in touch with me.
We met up earlier in the month to get to know one another and I learned that he is an investor in the space who also runs his own business Bamboo Block . He is also the COO of Family First and one of their major programs, All Pro Dad, has roots in multiple states and thousands of schools.
As a father, he is teaching his own children about blockchain and its importance to our future, which is why he has been advocating for its inclusion in our schools in Pasco County and beyond.
Later in month, I had him join the end of our of our strategy meetings to introduce him to the rest of the ABE team, and we are excited to see what this collaboration will bring in the coming months.
Traction in Tallahassee
After receiving two encouraging emails directly from Representative Rita Harris on the Education & Workforce Committee in the House of Representatives, her legislative aide, James Williams, arranged for a virtual meeting. This was the second meeting that I had with a House member, and the first on the education committee.
We had an exciting coversation in which I reviewed the Blockchain in Florida one pager, sharing the data about our industry and how it could be a boon for not only students throughout the Sunshine State, but all of its citizens more broadly. She admired the potential impact on our workforce and the way Web3 provides an alternative pathway to a lucrative career for many would-be developers and entreprenuers.
Tallahasse continues to be busy due to the current legislative session, but I am incredibly grateful to Representative Harris not only for the encouraging correspondence but her willingness to take the time out of her schedule to learn more about the Ardent Blockchain Education Initiative.
Thanks again for taking the time to read our monthly update and engage in our progress. Next month should certainly be packed with exciting updates, as I plan to visit Tallahassee and hopefully arrange as many meetings as possible while I am there!
