Who Wrote The Bluebonnet Learning™ Math Curriculum for Grades K-5?
Bluebonnet Learning™ is the brand name for the State of Texas’ Open Educational Resources (OER) curriculum. Bluebonnet RLA K-5 and Bluebonnet Math K-5, 6-8 and Algebra were approved by the TX State Board of Education in November of 2024 and are supported by the Texas Education Association (TEA). Bluebonnet Math for the elementary grades was not written by the TEA. It was created by Great Minds®. It is the TEKS-aligned version of Eureka Math.
How did Great Minds® go from developing a math curriculum for the State of NY to teach the Common Core State Standard to aligning that same curriculum to the TEKS for the State of Texas ten years later? It’s a question many ask and the answers can be found here.
The $700 Million Contract from New York
In 2012, the State of New York secured a $700 million grant under the federal Department of Education’s Race to the Top initiative. As part of its plan to adopt new Common Core State Standards, New York released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a 100% Common Core-aligned curriculum in grades K–12 Math and ELA. This was a significant undertaking: the state wanted brand-new curriculum materials that would reflect the latest thinking about standards-based education.
Common Core, Inc., a then-young nonprofit in the Washington, D.C. area, won the math portion of this competitive bid. The organization received $14,148,609.00 in contracts, which were used to create a fully open educational resource (OER) math curriculum for New York’s public schools. Once completed in 2014, these materials were published online as EngageNY Math, freely accessible to educators in New York and beyond.
EngageNY Math is Born (and Eureka Math, Too)
EngageNY Math quickly gained attention for its alignment to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The fact that it was an OER—meaning teachers could use, adapt, and share the materials without hefty licensing fees—amplified its reach nationwide. Districts outside New York began adopting EngageNY Math to fill gaps in their own curriculum or replace existing textbooks entirely, thanks to the program’s zero cost and perceived quality.
Educators across the country traded tips on how to implement EngageNY, which frequently featured conceptual math progressions and structured lesson sequences designed to deepen student understanding. By April 2015, UnboundED reported that the curriculum had been downloaded 66 million times. It was so popular that the RAND Corporation decided to study it and release a report.
Yet from a branding perspective, the word “Common Core” (which was part of Common Core, Inc.’s name) gradually became politically charged on both sides of the aisle. Parents and policy-makers sometimes reacted negatively to anything bearing the label “Common Core,” regardless of the curriculum’s intrinsic value.
Common Core, Inc. Rebrands as Great Minds®
Around 2015, in response to the backlash against the phrase “Common Core,” Common Core, Inc. officially rebranded itself as Great Minds®. This strategic name change enabled the nonprofit to focus on the content of its materials rather than the heated debate over the Common Core standards. At the same time, Great Minds® made slight revisions to the original EngageNY Math lessons, reintroducing them under a new label: Eureka Math.
Despite the rebrand, the essence of the curriculum—concept-based, rigorous math instruction—remained the same. Eureka Math was still highly aligned to standards akin to the Common Core (though it was not strictly limited to states following the CCSS). Over the years, Great Minds® refined content, updated lesson flows, and sought to address teacher feedback—particularly in the earlier versions that some found cumbersome.
The Rise of Great Minds’ Eureka Math and EdReports Reviews
Eureka Math soon became one of the most talked-about K–12 math programs in the country. EdReports.org, a nonprofit that evaluates instructional materials for standards alignment, repeatedly reviewed Eureka Math editions. While early versions were occasionally critiqued for usability, the 2021 EdReports analysis gave Eureka Math a double green rating, signifying top scores in both “Focus & Coherence” and “Rigor & Mathematical Practices.” This outcome not only reflected Great Minds®’ ongoing improvements to the curriculum but also highlighted how an OER product could compete with—and sometimes surpass—commercial textbooks in quality.
Great Minds® PBC: A For-Profit Public Benefit Corporation
Over time, Great Minds® evolved into a more complex entity. Today, Eureka Math, creators of Bluebonnet Learning™ and other curriculum products—spanning ELA and science—are marketed through Great Minds® PBC, a for-profit subsidiary of the main nonprofit. The “PBC” stands for Public Benefit Corporation, a legal structure that allows leadership to consider social and public benefits alongside traditional financial goals with impunity from shareholders.
This model often arises in mission-driven organizations that want the flexibility to earn revenue while staying committed to broader educational impact. Consequently, Great Minds® PBC now profits from selling additional print resources, digital tools, professional development packages, and related assessments—while still offering core curriculum components (like the OER base of EngageNY/Eureka Math) for free.
From EngageNY to Bluebonnet Learning in Texas
In 2020, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) partnered with Great Minds® to adapt Eureka Math Grades K-5 specifically for the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards. This customized version became the basis for Bluebonnet Learning™—K-5 Math, an open educational resource that Texas schools can use freely. Texas even offers additional funding if the local school board officially adopts the curriculum and purchases Bluebonnet workbooks. The Texas State Board of Education approved Bluebonnet Learning at its November 22, 2024 meeting after the curriculum successfully emerged from the Instructional Materials Review and Adoption (IMRA) process.
- Professional development options, including in-depth teacher training over multiple years,
- Printed Bluebonnet Learning™ workbooks
- Digital tools that extend or enrich the lessons, and
- Assessment suites that integrate with the curriculum to track mastery.
Great Minds® is an authorized printer of the physical Bluebonnet Learning workbooks, generating revenue from hard-copy materials. Texas reimburses districts that adopt Bluebonnet Learning curricula up to $20 per student for workbooks. Due to purchases being exempt from public reporting due to pandemic emergency declarations that were in place, how much Great Minds® was paid by the State of Texas for the TX version of K-5 Eureka Math and license remains a mystery.
The Revenue Model and Social Mission
While many see Great Minds® as a force for public good, especially for making top-tier math resources openly available, it’s essential to note that the organization’s PBC structure positions it to earn revenue from its OER resources by offering complementary products. Districts nationwide might choose to pay Great Minds® PBC for advanced coaching, custom workshops, or specialized digital features. This dual approach—freely accessible base curriculum plus paid add-ons—reflects a balancing act: driving educational equity through OER and sustaining the mission through paid services.
Conclusion
Great Minds® originated as Common Core, Inc., winning a $14 million contract in 2012 to create the EngageNY Math materials, which were released as OER in 2014 by the State of NY. After rebranding due to the politicized nature of the “Common Core” label, the organization released the EngageNY product under their private label, Eureka Math, which underwent positive EdReports evaluations and has been widely used across the country due to its OER license. Eureka Math’s latest adoption was by the State of Texas in 2024 under the Bluebonnet Learning name.
As Great Minds® PBC continues to operate both as a social enterprise and a revenue-generating business, Bluebonnet Learning™ stands as a prime example of how states like Texas are partnering with content developers to fuse free, standards-aligned resources with optional paid services. This model of OER plus professional support could be a blueprint for future curricular innovations in states seeking both quality, affordability, and rigorous, standards-based instruction.