North Lamar ISD has recently been awarded a very competitive Math Innovation Zone grant from the Texas Education Agency. Over a three-year span, the district will receive $425,000 to enhance math education for kindergarten through eighth-grade students with an emphasis in creating a high-quality blended learning model focused on student-centered classrooms.
In order to implement the grant for the needs of the district, North Lamar has been meeting with a series of focus groups last week. Facilitated by a consultant, students, parents, teachers, administrators and community members met remotely to share beliefs, visions, learner profiles and learning experiences. The purpose was to build awareness of 21st century demands that could better prepare North Lamar students for the future. The groups concluded by completing an online survey which is now open to the public.
Community members interested in defining a vision for education at North Lamar may participate in the online survey now through Wednesday, February 10 at . The feedback from the focus group meetings and the community online survey will provide direction for the program’s design team.
The MIZ grant will be implemented in waves labeled Year 0 – Year 3. Year 0 began in October when North Lamar was awarded the grant.
“This is a planning year, and we are meeting with consultants to design a plan that is unique to NLISD,” North Lamar MIZ Project Manager Jodie Ingram said. “Based on our campus grade spans, we have determined the following feeder pattern rollout: Year 1 (2021-22) the grant will begin in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Year 2 (2022-23) we will add second, third, and seventh. The final year of the grant (2023-24) will bring in kindergarten, first, and eighth. So, in the 2023-24 school year, all of North Lamar’s K-8 students will be participating in Personalized Learning in the math classroom through the model of Blended Learning.”
“We are so excited for the opportunities that the Blended Learning model provides to reach each student where they are academically,” Ingram said.
