MetaPet Schools Pilot Readiness Verdict v2
Score: 7.2/10. This v2 memo replaces the earlier school pilot verdict. Before verification: not ready. After verification: ready for a constrained pilot, nearly ready as a product-category offer.
The recommendation moved because the school proposition is now legible, the governance story is concrete, the parent/carer posture is materially stronger, the route boundary looks serious, and the pilot operations material now supports real review. The recommendation is still constrained because four operational proof checks remain open, and those checks matter before any broader rollout.
What is now good enough
The school proposition is legible to leadership and teachers.
The governance pack is concrete enough for pilot-stage ICT and privacy review.
Parent/carer-facing materials are clearer, calmer, and more trustworthy.
The route boundary now presents as a real school deployment boundary rather than a loose claim.
The pilot operations pack is usable and no longer decorative.
What still prevents full readiness
A clean, repeatable production-mode smoke test for non-technical reviewers is still missing.
A true cold-start teacher usability pass is still missing: one teacher, no founder in the room, 15 minutes, can they set it up and explain it.
The in-app doc viewer and school docs still need to be confirmed as the default review path, not a side path beside downloads.
A school-facing copy audit is still required to remove any quiet return of lore, identity shaping, DNA mysticism, or consumer pet language from first-seen surfaces.
Principal decision
Approve only a tightly constrained pilot.
Start with 1 school, 1 class, and 1 teacher.
Use pre-approved family communication before live classroom use.
Use explicit opt-in or the school's approved participation process.
Set a stop/go review at the end of the first fortnight.
Do not approve multi-class or multi-school expansion yet.
Immediate action plan
Define and run a production-mode smoke ritual that a non-technical reviewer can repeat and record as pass/fail.
Run a cold-start teacher setup pass with a teacher who has never seen the product and capture time, confusion points, and explanation quality.
Confirm that principals and reviewers can stay inside the in-app doc path for first-pass review without needing to hunt for separate files.
Complete a first-impression copy audit across principal, teacher, and family entry surfaces and remove any wording that weakens the school posture.
Stop/go rule after the first fortnight
Continue only if the route boundary holds, the teacher setup remains low-friction, family participation is clear, and no unresolved privacy, safeguarding, or workload issue appears.
Hold or stop if any of the four open proof checks fail or if school reviewers cannot distinguish this deployment from the broader product.