District to receive up to $300,000 and technical support provided by the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation

Hutto ISD is among the 20 school districts selected as blended learning demonstration sites in the second cohort of Raising Blended Learners. Hutto ISD will receive up to $300,000 in grant funding plus additional in-kind technical assistance to implement a personalized learning program within their district.

The 2020 cohort of blended learning demonstration sites reflects the vast diversity within Texas’ public schools including suburban, rural, and urban districts with student populations ranging from 550 to more than 150,000 students.

"We are so thankful for Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation and all they do for public education," said Hutto ISD Superintendent Dr. Celina Estrada Thomas. "The opportunity to leverage technology for learning could not have come at a better time for Hippo Nation!"

Blended learning merges best practices of in-person classroom teaching with online technology so educators are able to utilize data to personalize instruction while students are able to gain more ownership over their learning.

Raising Blended Learners was originally scheduled to launch work with its second cohort during the 2020-21 school year. However, due to the challenging times caused by COVID-19, the program will begin implementation during the 2021-22 school year.

“The Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation recognizes this announcement comes at a challenging time for education across the state,” said Jennifer Jendrzey, vice president of strategy and evaluation of the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation. “In light of the trauma and chaos surrounding COVID-19, we know that ‘business as usual’ will not be possible for many districts as they head into the 2020-21 school year and therefore, made the difficult decision to delay the launch of Raising Blended Learners by one full calendar year.”

During the interim, the Foundation will support the second cohort of Raising Blended Learners demonstration sites with readiness support to help the districts revisit and revise, if necessary, their blended learning plans.

“Even with a delay, Raise Your Hand is committed to helping districts maintain the momentum generated through the past year of the application and planning process, and supporting them in addressing the new teaching and learning reality of COVID-19,” Jendrzey said.