“In a world where opinion cachets popularity, half-truths are seemingly getting duller and more obtuse by the millisecond, finding themselves in need of constant redress. After all, who will pay for news if it’s not new? Opinions must be had, sides taken, albeit far-fetched and often straddling the middle; having something to say about its, whats, haves, and have-nots is the onliest way to promote one’s popularity. Parasocial relationships are widely accepted nowadays so it’s quite all right to turn angles ever so slightly and etch something or another into a rock-solid story, then share it. For money. It’s how we microdose folks til they get so high that they keep coming back for more. They will willingly pay for it over and over again.”
Taken from a piece written by me, designed for a Professional Development workshop I facilitated entitled “Literacy Learning for the 21st Century” for Educators and Paraprofessionals in 2015.
It’s an interesting theory. Having billions of folks across the globe take to the internet in any given instance with any and every story they can think of, including but not limited to, a new and advanced automated regime to continuously benefit margins. The utility could be seen as clever. Or destructive. Either way, it’s interesting to me. Always has been. Dualing as one of the key reasons why I identify as a forever student, or should I say, an educator. In my more recent years, I have come to enjoy exploring half-truths and their negative marginal effects. Despite how gloomy it can be, daunting even, it’s the thing that keeps me coming back for more. A story worth remixing for content’s purpose. Each time I do so with the intent to educate in an evolutionary yet essential way so that our children receive it, take it in, and apply it to their lives. I’ve sacrificed and paid for it. And all I have is proof of concept to show for it. That in and of itself is enough for me to put aside the begging and practice extreme gratitude today of all days, for Giving Tuesday.
Yesterday, I had a virtual meeting with Chris Kuhn Chris works for AWS. Specifically, on the Startups Team. It’s the team that gets to mull over quick-start AWS capabilities and connect the platform’s best practices and strategies for those just starting out; those who are bootstrapping and possibly headed toward Series A. Chris is a cool guy. Our conversation started with talking about the upcoming holiday and how he only gets one day off Thursday. He was unbothered about it, or at least that was the impression I got. He admittedly was looking forward to time with family. Grateful. Halfway through our conversation, I realized a moment, one where I mentioned to Chris that my “now” was because I was growing more and more resistant to the idea that I must devise perfectly curated marketing campaigns, most all of them being makeshift transparent and authentic to our “brand” around the clock, and execute them in such a way they reach the masses.
“Functional illiteracy is more than a crisis, it’s projectile terror. Especially for our children.”
That moment led to me telling him that my love for teaching paled in comparison to my love for music. Music is and has always been larger than life for meso when I realized I said it out loud to him, something shifted. Instead of losing focus on our conversation, I immediately chalked it up to being one step closer to the dream of releasing our newest and most advanced literacy development system under The iReadE Academy and how things were moving along as planned, despite being an old head in the game. Our latest release is, in fact, the best design in all of the almost sixteen years I’ve been at it, and for that, I have a reason to be proud of how I’ve come.
What I hadn’t expanded on during the conversation Chris and I had was how my team of two has spent years, days, and nights reiterating the UI/UX, reeling over the curriculum I began designing back in 2013 in response to a community-based participatory research project I’d conducted the year prior. With the support of my then-community partners, Arte Público Press, an imprint of The University of Houston and The Houston Public Library, I was able to give away more than 10,000 books to families all over Houston in exchange for their feedback on reading habits, culturally responsive programming, and access. For context, Imagiread is a for-profit entity. Being able to conduct research that includes and centers the values of the community is what consistently fuels The Imagiread Difference, begetting our continual big question “How can we solve a problem if the folks we are solving it for don’t see it as a problem?” Since then, we’ve steadily collected feedback from a variety of audiences, in every grade, with hopes of fidelity to get here. Through it all, we have pitched and pitched, rearranged, restrategized, and applied for funding over and over again, showing up to just about every notable entrepreneurial camp there is all the while. Apple’s Cohort 17 is at the top of the list, followed by a stint with MIT, along with Sky’s The Limit, Build In Tulsa, and BLMM. Our partnership with NIFTY/NASA from 2022-2023 gave us eyes and ears that we hadn’t had before, adding to Imagiread’s public accolades from the former Mayor of the City of Houston, Sylvester Turner, and the Harris County Department of Education. From where we stand today, we have managed to synthesize our partnerships and programming into a fully functioning curriculum that engages Imagireaders ages 5-13 with comprehensive micro lessons that foster organizational change thought models and the know-how to navigate them for innovation and sustainability while nurturing S.T.R.E.A.M. identity and 21st Century careers. Still, there I was explaining to Chris that Imagiread, after 15 years, was and has always been bootstrapped.
When the call with Chris ended, I realized why the overshared moment shifted me. It was because Chris acknowledged my staying power. He commended it and told me that he was able to support this part of the dream and it might even be paid for by AWS. Oh, the delight. The happiness. The mere thought of being able to focus on my music full-time while teaching part of part-time was a rush. It was what I needed to hear as I worked to put the final touches on our Q1 2025 communications to “sell” the new iReadE Academy to parents of struggling and reluctant readers and get our enrollment numbers up. Our goal just six months ago was to reach one million children, and now it’s to reach 3 million Imagireaders with Whole Child-focused literacy development programming that guarantees to LEVEL UP their TRU iQ. We are roughly 15,000 children in and proud to say that despite the growing need for expansion capital, we are well on our way to expanding globally.
Me with the incredible girls who attended Imagiread’s very first workshop entitled “The Scientific Writing Method” at Middle School in Houston, Texas circa 2012.
As I refocus our intent to release the final version of the iReadE Academy, with all of our brand new characters, courtesy of the incredible student design teams at UCO’s School of Design, led by the D.O.P.E. as all get out McKenna Sanderson, I am compelled to genuinely thank others who have acknowledged, and contributed to, our staying power over the years.
In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, I feel compelled to publicly thank them for knowing that this is bigger than our individual missions, rather it’s the culminated true story of what it means to forge ahead for the sake of community. Our children will always be worth it.
The first being Eiry Rees Thomas, a fierce dedicated global educator and the mastermind behind The Flitlits Publishing. Eiry has been a tremendous colleague, friend, and confidant over the years. Her natural beacon of light has been a saving grace on the days when I felt as if I couldn’t go on. I’ve watched and rooted on as Eiry transitioned The Flitlits from an award-winning iOS App to a comprehensive reading schematic. During such time, I have constantly cheered for her as she reimagined the storyboard and transformed the schematic from its original splendor, illustrated by the brilliant James Field, and breathed new life into it in such a way that not only does it offer us an intentional opportunity to revisit how we define inclusivity and diversity for children but with a promise to drastically improve the reading skills of millions in the UK and abroad. That has always been her priority. Her fortitude and support have been a huge piece of Imagiread’s puzzle and I’m honored to know and appreciate her wisdom and solidarity.
Another person I must shout out is Chivas Miller. Chivas has been one of Imagiread’s biggest supporters over the past few years. As the Manager of Programming at Lacy Park Community Center, he has been highly instrumental in building and sustaining community-focused partnerships that benefit the community at large in and around North Tulsa. He is the reason Imagiread was fortunate to launch our very first Literacy Lab housed inside the Lacy Park Community Center in January 2023. Through the frustrations of being permitted 15 months after I applied and not being funded for expansion, Chivas constantly reminded me that divine timing is the best. As both a Coach and a steward, I applaud him for his vision, leadership, and continued dedication to the community.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time to thank the Sky’s The LimitTeam AGAIN, specifically two of the mentors I had the privilege of learning from during the first phase of our application prototype.
Carron was one of those mentors and Niraj Tiwari was the other. Together, they helped me to examine Imagiread’s offerings and see the hidden potential for products and services that could revolutionize the way children learn and engage. My time under both of their mentorship, simultaneously, not only allowed me to release our very first subscription model but also gave me the foresight to align our programming under a renewed hybrid model and relaunch lean. A pivotal point in Imagiread’s journey, I couldn’t have done it without both of them.
Me at one of our sites, facilitating our Art of Storytelling with Black Panther Program. Circa Houston, Texas 2016.
Lastly, I need to thank the thousands of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who have invested in their child(ren) by enrolling them in Imagiread’s programming over the years. I recall how many of them were stressed to the hilt, desperately seeking a solution to their child(ren)’s inability to “comprehend”. The joy of seeing their eyes, one by one, almost leak when they witnessed their child(ren) reading aloud with confidence for the first time and/or getting our bi-weekly progress reports with stellar reviews is yet another reminder the endgame is and will always be a worthy investment. Once again reminding me that Imagiread is because the community is. #UBUNTU. And for that, we are eternally grateful.
**Giving Tuesday is traditionally about donating funds to worthy causes. Today, Imagiread asks that the community share information about our new iReadE Academy with someone they know, specifically those with children who may be struggling and/or reluctant readers. One-click can make a huge impact. Thank you for your consideration in advance.