Chasing Continuous Improvement
We are running ApSeed like a business. Striving to improve in all areas. Here are some examples:
The touchpad, Seedling, has some significant upgrades. Our next wave of 3,000 Seedlings have been designed with three modifications. One, we added a “baby games” app for parents to use for activities with their child. Two, the Numbers app now helps the child learn numbers up to fifty (was twenty). And, third, we replaced the really boring Android start-up screen with a self-promoting and very cool ApSeed intro. Check out this link for a 25 second demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUbotaoXX2k
Note that we have ordered 3,000 Seedlings. We are anticipating more activity in our current school districts – Rowan, Davie, Fort Mill and Chester County. Plus, several other districts have expressed interest, so we are stocking up to be ready.
We have two new board members. Dr. Ozzie Reynolds, retired ophthalmologist, lives in Salisbury and will provide wisdom and work for us. Philip Price, Raleigh, was CFO of the Dept. of Public Instruction until retiring. Philip and I worked closely together when I was on the NC State Board of Education. He will help us with big picture thinking and networking.
Finally, our data gathering for results is improving. We had very positive results from the Summer Academy. I’ll share the details later. The Rowan-Salisbury School leaders are also collecting Kindergarten data over the next two months and will provide findings. Internally, we have a three-year horizon on results, but we’ll gladly take interim results. Stay tuned.
