Studies show that the more mathematics courses a student takes, and the more rigorous those courses are, the more likely that student is to succeed in college. Many AISD high school students, however, fail to meet even the minimum state passing standard in mathematics-making mastery of the content of subsequent, more rigorous, courses difficult at best. This is especially true for students in the critical freshman year.

The Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin will partner with AISD to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics at the high school level. The initiative will place special emphasis on the highest areas of need in the district, including 9th-grade Algebra I and support for students with limited English proficiency.

Over four years, the Dana Center will provide intense professional development to support improved mathematics instruction for each year of the high school curriculum. In addition, it will help to design a new 4th-year mathematics course and will provide leadership development to support existing and emerging school and district mathematics leaders.