The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) is thrilled to announce the Phase II grantees of our Innovative School Systems Grant (ISSG). In partnership with the Walton Family Foundation, the first phase of this grant provided funding for 11 school districts to refine and pilot bold ideas for lasting systemic change. Over the past nine months, CRPE has had the pleasure of working closely with this cohort of true innovators through coaching, site visits, and deep collaboration. The three grantees participating in Phase II of the grant will receive an additional $1M each to continue solidifying the bold innovations underway in their districts.
Aldine Independent School District | Aldine, Texas
Aldine ISD set out to develop learner-specific, accelerated academic instruction and enrichment programs at three elementary schools and to prepare for scaling best practices for district-wide implementation. In Phase II, they will implement their Acceleration Days program in eight elementary schools. Acceleration Days embed social and emotional learning practices, project-based learning, and student-directed playlists into a more flexible school day.
Bullitt County Public Schools | Shepherdsville, Kentucky
BCPS is cultivating a district-wide professional learning culture rooted in student agency, problem-solving, and mastery learning, in alignment with its graduate profile. This year, it trained a cohort of 100+ teachers in core competencies and innovative teaching practices, coached teachers to create new mastery performance indicators, and ran lab classrooms to pilot project-based learning techniques. In Phase II, BCPS will expand these core pillars of project-based learning, competency-based assessment, and teacher professional development to 25 campuses.
Mesquite Independent School District | Mesquite, Texas
In Phase I, Mesquite ISD developed an innovative approach to tailoring student learning with AYO, a name rooted in a Yoruban word meaning “great joy.” Using dynamic student data, this interactive AI learning platform generates a comprehensive profile of students’ passions, aptitudes, and growth while recommending activities, opportunities, and other academic resources for students at five campuses. In Phase II, Mesquite ISD will continue to refine the social and emotional learning component and parent communications functions and expand AYO’s capabilities to include new lesson planning and academic support strategies at 13 campuses.
We will report regularly on the progress of the Phase II grantees through blogs and reports. If you’re interested in systemic change and district innovation, check out the ISSG homepage.
CRPE wishes to extend heartfelt thanks to our Phase I grantees—we are so proud of the work we’ve done together over the past nine months and look forward to continued collaboration, conversation, and co-creation of lasting solutions.
