Updates from kfisher During the week of June 7, Matt and I had a series of very productive meetings with several schools and organizations in Illinois and Colorado that and hold great potential for offering Power2Achieve in both states.
On his way to Colorado, at the invitation of Jim Olmstead and the Foundation for Character Development (FFCD), Matt stopped off in Chicago and I met him there. During the 28 hours in town we met with Board of Directors of The Abraham Lincoln Center for Character Development to discuss the latest IEE progress and the opportunities to continue to work together in the future. We had an excellent meeting with the SEL project coordinator in The DuPage Regional Office of Education to learn more about this project and how P2A could enhance the work. In a bit of “back to the roots,” Matt presented an update to the several folks who attended the 83rd lunch-time meeting of the DuPage Character Development Coalition (including a few “business folks”). Good discussion and very favorable response characterized each session. A dash to the airport (via Kinko’s) and a good flight got us to Denver before bedtime.
The two days in Denver included meetings with officials at a couple of potential schools and a morning-long presentation to 7 schools that FFCD had arranged. Again, very positive response to the newly refined concepts and revised program. We squeezed in a sightseeing visit to Boulder and the foothills along with a great dinner at Jax Fishhouse on the Pearl Street Mall. Friday morning involved attending (along with 40 others) the FFCD sponsored Forum on Colorado Education in the 21st Century with great discussions and presentations from representatives from a KIPP school, a state school of character winner, Arthur Schwartz from the Templeton Foundation and Sprint. Many great networking contacts were make before we hustled off to the airport.
All in all, the time was informative and encouraging for me. It’s always an inspiration to spend quality time and learn from Matt. I am very excited to see the progress that has been made in the past year and to spread to program to schools in Illinois and Colorado!
