Three North Carolina Districts Selected for Inaugural Math Partnership Cohort Between The Innovation Project and Modern Classrooms Project
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Rowan-Salisbury, and Lexington City Schools will reach tens of thousands of students with mastery-based, student-centered math instruction beginning this summer — anchored by Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s innovative Camp CMS launch.
Raleigh, NC — June 1, 2026 — The Innovation Project (TIP) and Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) today named the three North Carolina districts joining the inaugural cohort of their $1 million statewide math partnership: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Rowan-Salisbury Schools, and Lexington City Schools. Together, the three districts serve more than 160,000 North Carolina students across urban, renewal, and small-city contexts — and beginning this summer, their math educators will engage in MCP’s Math Mentorship Program, an instructional model and professional learning experience aligned to each district’s existing high-quality math curriculum.
The Cohort 1 announcement marks the next phase of commitment to expanding curriculum-aligned, mastery-based math instruction across North Carolina. Each district will participate in MCP’s two-year Math Mentorship Program, with year one fully funded through philanthropic support and year two matched at 50% — sparking sustained, system-wide instructional transformation to make rigorous math curriculum work for every learner.
“Every North Carolina student deserves rigorous math instruction that builds confidence, deep understanding, and a pathway to future opportunity. This partnership gives teachers the support to meet students where they are while helping every learner master the mathematics they need to thrive.”
Meet the Cohort 1 Districts Transforming Math Instruction in NC
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools — North Carolina’s second-largest school district, serving more than 143,000 students. CMS will implement the Math Mentorship Program across 16 middle schools beginning with an innovative approach to training educators through Camp CMS in July 2026 and continuing through the 2026–27 school year.
Rowan-Salisbury Schools — A nationally-recognized renewal district known for its bold approach to flexibility and innovation. RSS will engage math educators across grades 6–8, including accelerated courses, beginning in summer 2026. The district’s rollout includes customized MCP resources and support for the leadership teams at RSS middle schools.
Lexington City Schools — A small district with an outsized commitment to instructional innovation. Lexington has piloted the model at Lexington Middle School since January 2026 and will expand educator participation in the school year 2026-2027.
Cohort 1 districts use a range of high-quality math curricula and each will receive MCP resources, training, and coaching specifically aligned to their adopted materials. The breadth of curricula across Cohort 1 reflects how the Math Mentorship Program is designed to elevate the high-quality curricula districts have already invested in.
“North Carolina educators have always been at the forefront of what’s possible in the classroom. These three districts are showing the country what it looks like when a great curriculum is paired with great teaching — and what happens when we trust teachers with the right support to meet every student’s needs. We’re proud to partner with Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Rowan-Salisbury, and Lexington City as this work begins.”
A Bold Summer Launch: Camp CMS
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will debut the partnership through Camp CMS — an innovative summer learning experience that pairs acceleration for students with teacher coaching and job-embedded professional learning. Beginning in July, more than 130 math educators across 16 CMS middle schools will engage in MCP’s two-day intensive training before a subset of those educators launch Camp CMS classrooms with direct, on-site support from the Modern Classrooms Project team and CMS Math Specialists.
The Camp CMS model was designed collaboratively by CMS Math leaders and the Modern Classrooms Project team. This launch approach will provide teachers a runway to practice mastery-based instruction with students before the school year begins, refining their craft in real time with daily coaching and support. Camp CMS represents one of the most innovative launches of MCP’s curriculum-aligned model to date, and a leading example of how districts can use summer programming as a runway for year-round instructional transformation.
“Math is foundational, and every Charlotte-Mecklenburg student deserves a classroom where they get the time, the support, and the rigor to truly understand it. Camp CMS support from the Modern Classrooms Project will give our middle school educators a runway to launch this model together — in shared classrooms, with shared coaching, before the first day of school.”
What’s Next for the Partnership
Implementation for Cohort 1 districts launched in early 2026 with Lexington City Schools and will accelerate as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Rowan-Salisbury Schools provide two-day intensive training in Summer of 2026, followed by monthly coaching calls for all educators, on-site classroom observations, math instructional leadership support, and cross-district engagements throughout the 2026–27 school year.
“Rowan-Salisbury will partner with MCP to ensure our middle school math teachers have a model that meets students where they are, builds mastery one skill at a time, and gives teachers the resources to differentiate instruction without burning out. Our educators are ready, and our students are going to feel the difference.”
A second cohort of TIP member districts will launch in 2027, continuing the partnership’s commitment to bring sustained math instructional transformation to North Carolina classrooms at scale. Districts in both cohorts will receive two years of initial support to ensure they can scale up and sustain effective math instruction.
