Nestled in north-central Texas is Cisco Independent School District, a rural school system implementing high-quality blended learning.  Cisco’s blended learning journey started with the recognition that, although its schools were regularly achieving top scores in the state, its advanced students were being held back.

In 2015, district leaders discovered the Raising Blended Learners initiative and participated in workshops that helped them develop a plan for improving instruction. In the spring of 2016, the initiative awarded Cisco a grant, providing them with three years of technical assistance and up to $500,000 in funds. Support from the grant, in combination with the capacity and skills of Cisco educators, has led to impressive progress in implementing a district-wide blended learning model.

District leaders developed student experience design pillars, which serve as broad guidelines for teachers, encouraging instruction that aligns with four main components: data-driven instruction, student agency/engagement, personalized learning experience, and rigor/competency progression. So long as their instructional practices aligned with these four pillars, pilot teachers had autonomy to determine which approaches worked best in their classrooms.

While the pilot year was not without its challenges, the initial phase of work proved so successful that blended learning is scaling far beyond Cisco’s initial classes. Pilot teachers in the first year relied on data, each other, and supports from district leaders and the Raising Blended Learners initiative to improve their practices. The program has expanded in grades and subject areas, and now includes all math and science teachers in grades 3-8.

Read the full article about blended learning by Daniel Owens at The Learning Accelerator.