AUSTIN – Commissioner of Education Mike Morath today announced that 15 school districts and open-enrollment charter schools and one Education Service Center have been selected to launch Texas Education Agency (TEA) Math Innovation Zones for the 2019-2020 school year. Math Innovation Zones (MIZ) support school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in a high-quality implementation of blended learning programs in math.

The selected school systems include: Atlanta Independent School District; Brooks Academies of Texas (San Antonio); Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District and Education Service Center Region 16 (Amarillo); Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District; El Paso Independent School District; Inspired Vision Academy (Dallas); Iraan-Sheffield Independent School District; Laredo Independent School District (Cigarroa Middle School Feeder Pattern); Magnolia Independent School District; Marshall Independent School District; Sinton Independent School District; Spring Independent School District; Temple Independent School District; UT Tyler University Academy; and Winters Independent School District.

Blended learning is an innovative instructional model that combines face-to-face instruction with online learning and, when implemented effectively, has led to strong academic gains in Texas schools. MIZ supports school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in a quality implementation of this model by establishing a network of proven service providers, building a district-friendly roadmap for strategic program design and implementation and granting funds to committed districts for planning and execution of the program.

“With blended learning, teachers can diagnose prior student knowledge, create differentiated academic plans for each student and adjust those plans in real-time based on instant feedback,” said Commissioner Morath. “By implementing this approach through a kindergarten through eighth grade feeder pattern, our teachers are able to better prepare our students for Algebra I readiness in the eighth grade.”

All 2019-2020 MIZ Districts received a planning grant to assist in the planning of MIZ in the spring of 2019. All 2019-2020 grantees that fulfill the planning requirements for MIZ will receive an additional grant to implement the program in the fall of 2019.

The 2019-2020 MIZ cohort joins 14 districts and charters that began implementing MIZ program during the 2018-2019 school year: Dallas Independent School District; KIPP Houston; Mineola Independent School District; Spring Branch Independent School District; Tulia Independent School District; Austin Achieve (Austin); Cisco Independent School District; Grand Prairie Independent School District; Laredo Independent School District (Memorial Middle School Feeder Pattern); NYOS Charter School (Austin); Point Isabel Independent School District; Pioneer Technology Arts Academy (Greenville); Southside Independent School District (San Antonio); and Uplift Education (Fort Worth).

To learn more about the implementation of MIZ, listen to our TEA Time podcast episode about the program at https://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/News_and_Multimedia/Audio_and_Video/TEA_Time/An_Introduction_to_Math_Innovation_Zones.

For more information on MIZ, visit the Texas Education Agency webpage at https://tea.texas.gov/Academics/Learning_Support_and_Programs/Math_Innovation_Zones  

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