After multiple meetings with the community, Georgetown ISD debuted the district’s Learner Profile in 2015 that highlights the qualities and characteristics a graduate of the school district should possess.

The profile came as a result of a curriculum audit, or an assessment of all curriculum instruction in the district, which the district has been working on for more than a year, Superintendent Fred Brent said. He said the school district turned to the community to gather input on what to include in the curriculum that would teach desirable skills.

The Learner Profile highlighted qualities such as critical thinking, perseverance, self-knowledge and personal responsibility.

“The community told us, ‘Teach the standards the way they need to be taught, and align them in a way that will build these qualities and characteristics for our kids so that they are able to survive and thrive in the future,’” Brent said.

To build these qualities into the district’s curriculum plan, Brent said, district officials started looking at more innovative ways of teaching. One of those methods is the blended learning model, or a combination of online learning with face-to-face instruction by a teacher, where students also have some control on how and what they learn. 

In September, the district was one of 75 selected as a semifinalist for a $2.5 million grant to help districts and campuses with the implementation of blended learning programs. Ten finalists will be chosen in January to receive two months of blended learning training, and five winning teams will be announced in April. Those teams will receive up to $500,000 and help with implementing blended learning programs over a three-year period.

Even if GISD is not selected as a finalist, the district is planning to move forward with implementing some blended learning curriculum in its classrooms, Brent said.