Implementation
Approach, Timeline, and Stories of Blended Learning in Action
Raising Blended Learners (RBL) was an eight-year demonstration initiative showcasing strategies for using blended and personalized learning to improve student achievement across diverse student demographics and geographic regions in the state, particularly among schools and districts with persistent opportunity gaps.
Our ultimate goal was for blended learning to be systematically utilized throughout Texas and serve as a replicable model for all educators.
About the Initiative
Raising Blended Learners consisted of two cohorts, representing a mix of small and large, urban and rural, as well as public schools and public charter schools. Each applied blended learning strategies to remedy a specific problem of practice in their schools. Together, these cohorts served as collaborative learning communities and proof points for the effective implementation of blended learning.
Cohort I (2015-2019)
The first cohort, a $2.5 million grant opportunity with extensive technical assistance, launched in 2015. It supported 5 pilot and 15 demonstration districts, reaching more than 50 schools, 600 teachers, and 35,000 students.
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Cohort I |
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Austin Achieve |
KIPP Texas-Houston |
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Birdville ISD |
Leander ISD |
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Cisco ISD |
Mineola ISD |
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Clear Creek ISD |
Pasadena ISD |
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Crockett-County CCSD |
Point Isabel ISD |
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De Soto ISD |
Round Rock ISD |
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El Paso ISD |
Spring Branch ISD |
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Georgetown ISD |
Temple ISD |
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Hays CISD |
Tulia ISD |
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Houston ISD-Austin HS |
Ysleta ISD |
Cohort II (2020-2024)
The second cohort, Raising Blended Learners II, was a $15 million initiative providing grants and technical assistance to 20 districts. Districts spent the 2020-21 school year planning their blended learning programs and began implementation in the 2021-22 school year. Upon conclusion of the second cohort, the Raising Blended Learners statewide initiative impacted 40 districts, 73 schools, more than 1,200 teachers, and more than 75,000 students across the state of Texas.
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Cohort II |
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Arlington ISD |
Hutto ISD |
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CAST Schools |
Lamar CISD |
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Dallas ISD |
Lewisville ISD |
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DeKalb ISD |
Roscoe Collegiate ISD |
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Denton ISD |
Socorro ISD |
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East Central ISD |
Stephenville ISD |
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Ector County ISD |
Terrell ISD |
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Floresville ISD |
Tomball ISD |
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Garland ISD |
Venus ISD |
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Harlingen CISD |
Weslaco ISD |
“I live by the word ‘believe.’ It’s believing that all means all. Believing that blended learning is possible at every campus. In every classroom. Because it benefits all kids.”
“Imagine being a parent, and your child is sitting there and saying, ‘Let me tell you what I've done. Let me tell you how far I've come since the beginning of the school year, and let me tell you where I'm going.’”
Approach
During each four-year cycle of the initiative, a team consisting of district and campus leaders collaborated to create a project plan addressing a specific problem of practice within their district or at a specific campus. Using data to identify student learning needs, each team developed a pilot tailored to those unique needs. Each pilot site began implementation at a select grade level, with most focusing on reading or math instruction.
Most teams started their pilots on one or two campuses, involving a small core group of teachers. Over the four years of the initiative, they gradually scaled the program across different grade levels, subject areas, and campuses.
Teachers received training and support through professional learning communities (PLCs) that focused on the phased implementation of blended learning models. The RBL Implementation Continuum details common classroom progression across each of the pillars. As pilot teachers began to learn, reflect, refine, and achieve success, they opened their classrooms for observations and shared their experiences with peers within the districts. They also participated in showcase visits that welcomed educators from across the state.
Districts that demonstrated strong vertical alignment in their planning and implementation, along with the integration of blended and personalized learning into their district-wide teaching and learning plans, typically showed the highest fidelity to implementation and the best outcomes for students.
Technical support provided
During the duration of the initiative, every district team received monthly strategic consulting support. In all cases, this included meetings between technical advisors and district leaders, and in many cases, it also included campus leadership teams.
Professional learning topics included:
Timeline
June 2015 - RBL Grant Announced and Applications Opened
The Foundation invited every public school district and charter school in Texas to apply to attend a fall training workshop, where they would receive expert coaching to develop a blended learning plan.
September-October 2015 - Fall Workshops
Seventy-four teams were selected to attend workshops where they were trained in developing business plans for using blended learning to address specific student learning needs.
February 2016 - Finalist Workshop
The top 10 finalist teams attended a February workshop to receive professional assistance in further refining their blended learning plans.
April 2016 - Cohort I Winners Announced
Five demonstration sites – Birdville ISD, Cisco ISD, KIPP Houston Pasadena ISD, Point Isabel ISD – were selected to receive up to $500,000 and technical assistance over three years to implement blended learning, along with 15 pilots who received technical assistance support for three years.
2016-19 – Cohort I Implementation
Each demonstration and pilot site began implementation within a select grade level and almost all chose to focus their pilots on reading or math instruction. Most began with pilots on 1-2 campuses and a small core group of teachers, administrators, and instruction, curriculum, and technology specialists. Technical assistance was provided through the grant in the form of design thinking workshops, team trainings, budget reviews, and leadership coaching.
2017/2019 - TEA Math Innovation Zones & Blended Learning Grant Funded
The Texas State Legislature passed a bill empowering TEA to develop and fund Math Innovation Zones & Blended Learning Grant cohorts modeled from RBL lessons learned. Leadership from RBL districts testified before the House and Senate Education Committees on the impact of blended learning and invited members to visit their districts. Math Innovation Zones are a four-year process to design, launch, scale, and sustain a high-quality blended learning model in math throughout a K-8 feeder pattern while Blended Learning Grants fund other content areas.
May 2019 - Applications Opened for Cohort II
Encouraged by the results of the first cohort and the lessons learned, the Foundation refined its strategies & support before launching a statewide request for proposal for Raising Blended Learners II. The second cohort was a $15 million initiative providing grants and technical assistance to 20 districts.
January 2020 - Finalist Workshop
Thirty finalist districts attended a workshop to further craft their proposed business plans for implementing blended learning strategies into their teaching and learning framework. These plans included defining roles on the project, allocating resources, structuring professional learning opportunities, adjusting master calendars, and more.
April 2020 - Cohort II Winners Announced
Twenty school districts were selected for a total of $6 million in grant funding plus additional in-kind technical assistance to implement a personalized learning program. Finalists were chosen based on their blended learning business plans and to reflect Texas’ demographic and geographic diversity with the goal of igniting a statewide educational shift.
July 2020 - COVID-19 Blended Learning Resources
As districts considered at-home remote learning, socially-distanced schools, or hybrid models, the Charles Butt Foundation & CA Group released a four-part blog series supporting teachers and district leaders in best practices for integrating technology into their regular instruction by applying principles of blended learning.
2020-21 Academic Year - Planning Year
Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, districts spent the 2020-21 school year planning their blended learning programs and began implementation in the 2021-22 school year.
2021-24 - Cohort II Implementation
Technical advisors provided professional development and coaching while RBL project managers were the consistent point of contact for pilot teachers and campuses. The cohort gathered annually for professional development, reflection, and assessment of strengths and opportunities to support the scaling and sustainability of the work. Opportunities to “fail forward” were intentionally embedded within the work; districts were encouraged to innovate and adapt if initial strategies did not achieve the intended results.
May 2022-25 - TEA Learning Acceleration Support (LASO) Cycles 1-3
TEA’s Math Innovation Zones and Blended Learning Grant Program evolved into a pathway within the Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities (LASO) grant. LASO (Cycle 1) and (Cycle 2) supported 61 blended learning grants collectively. Roughly $580 million was available to districts across the various LASO pathways. The latest LASO (Cycle 3), awarded in 2024, granted a combined $160 million in services and support to districts across Texas. Nineteen of those districts chose to embark upon blended learning grants.
May 2023 - Launch of the Texas Center for Blended Learning
The Charles Butt Foundation brought together a coalition of Education Service Centers under the banner of the Texas Center for Blended Learning to scale and support blended learning best practices through every region in Texas.
Summer 2024 – Launch of Texas Reads Texas Leads
The Moody Foundation, along with the CA Group and the Charles Butt Foundation, launched a grant initiative to showcase strategies for using best practices supported in the science of teaching reading and blended learning pedagogy to improve K-3 reading outcomes.
Blended in Action
These in-depth case studies provide a look into the experiences of leaders, teachers, and students at different points throughout the four-year arc of implementation. Alongside technical insights into how a high-quality blended learning program operates, the participants share their initial struggles, mindset shifts, breakthroughs, early signs of success, and vision for the future.
Each district received professional development, financial support, and tailored coaching. From there, district journeys diverged based on their determination of their unique needs, opportunities, and goals. Just as a blended learning classroom is personalized, so too is a district’s vision and plan. The personalized mindset ensured each district scaled and sustained in a way that advanced their vision.
Harlingen CISD
How a District Transformed Its Approach to Early Literacy
July 21, 2022
Harlingen CISD began its blended learning exploration with the goal of supporting students who need more structured support to reach grade-level proficiency. However, this pursuit evolved into a district-wide approach to teaching and learning that advanced their investment in thoughtful innovation for the benefit of all students.
“When we first saw the framework around Raising Blended Learners … it was, ‘Yes, this is exactly what we are needing,’ It was an answer to a lot of work, a lot of prayers about where we want our kids to be and what the hope is for our students, as they journey through HCISD.” – Dr. Alicia Noyola, Superintendent, Harlingen CISD
Stephenville ISD
A Systems-based Approach to Growing All Students
January 20, 2023
Raising Blended Learners transformed Stephenville ISD's classrooms after their leadership team set out to shift from a district focused on achievement to one focused on growth and rigor to challenge and support every learner.
“I would talk to anybody about this process. I would tell you it is hard. It’s hard to change what you’re doing after you’ve done it for 25 years or more, but it is that missing piece.” –Kelly Eakin, Fourth-Grade English Language Arts Teacher
Tomball ISD
Advancing Foundational Literacy Skills
June 22, 2023
Tomball ISD launched its pilot in five elementary schools at once and scaled to include 10 of the 11 elementary schools in the district. This case study explores how blended learning strategies have advanced foundational literacy skills in early childhood education classrooms across Tomball.
“We’ve developed a systematic process for utilizing the data, developing those goals for students, and then following through with the instruction and following up on whether or not they’re making progress. Progress monitoring is an important cycle that we have to make sure is embedded in all of our classrooms.” – Lauren Thompson, Director of Elementary Reading
Venus ISD
Finding a Path to Success That’s Real for Kids
September 26, 2023
This story showcases the vulnerability of Venus ISD leaders in taking ownership of significant gaps in secondary reading instruction and the thoughtful strategies they put in place to help students find real and lasting success.
"It sounds like a small thing that in your English class, you should be using novels, but in the past, when only 10% of your students are even knocking on the door of an eighth-grade reading level, it’s not something that you think is an appropriate use of your class time. Now that 90% of your students are approaching that level, there’s a lot more text you can use that is reasonable and relevant for your students, and then you can have a rich discussion and real learning happening in the classroom because they’re able to access good-quality literature.” – Warren Hudson, Instructional Technology Coordinator and Raising Blended Learners (RBL) Project Manager
Socorro ISD
Lessons in Leading Change Management in Texas Schools
August 19, 2024
Socorro ISD represents an exemplary pilot program that embedded blended learning into its literacy framework and growth targets as a district. While the core tenets of change management may be familiar, this case study offers an in-depth look at the experiences of practitioners as they scale best teaching and learning practices.
“Teachers are bombarded with initiatives, and we don’t want initiative fatigue here in Socorro ISD. Personalized learning is just best practice for student achievement. Data-driven instruction is just what should be happening in order to make sure instruction is at the level that students need it. Anytime we can make connections for teachers we strive to help them see that it’s not an initiative. It’s just what we do.” – Jina Eksaengsri, School Improvement Officer
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