The Moody Foundation has awarded $1.8 million to the statewide education research network, according to an Oct. 10 announcement from the University of Texas College of Education.
LONESTARP3 has an administrative hub in the College of Education where researchers, teachers, and policy advocates from across Texas collaborate to conduct education research in the classroom and evaluate the effectiveness of education policies. LONESTARP3 Director Carolyn Randell said the program launched in September 2023 with an initial grant from the Gates Foundation.
“The Moody grant funds our ability to work with schools to conduct research based on common challenges and make the decisions they need to act on the results.” said Randell.
LONESTARP3 has created four research “pathways” based on some of the most common issues in Texas public schools. academic and career advising, dual credit programs, workforce-ready instruction, and post-secondary pursuits.
Although Moody Foundation grants only fund the research and classroom implementation portions of the program, policy organizations such as Educate Texas and Philanthropy Advocates use LONESTARP3 research to inform their advocacy efforts. We offer Ryan Franklin, managing director of policy advocacy at Philanthropy Advocates, said he will communicate the findings to legislators at the district and state level.
“Once we have clear research findings, we can solve problems and leverage our unique strengths to collaborate across sectors to figure it out,” Franklin said.
Educator support and retention is one of the many issues the RP3 study could inform the next Texas Legislature, but Franklin said it is unclear where the RP3 will have the most impact. He said it was too early to tell.
The program, housed within the University of Texas College of Education, connects researchers from public and private universities in the state, Randell said.
“It’s been a lot of hard work by so many people, and it’s not just a jewel in UT’s crown,” Randell said. “We play an important leadership and facilitation role, really elevating and engaging research expertise from institutions across the state.”
