We can help end learning poverty

The Age of Learning Foundation is bringing mastery learning opportunities to children in Africa, Central America, South Asia, and the Middle East. 

Children cannot be learning poor if they can master what they learn.

The Challenge

Before COVID19, 250 million children were out of school. 617 million children in school were not learning as they should (World Bank). COVID19 made things worse. Now, few countries are on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4.

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Children in school but not learning

Improving education means giving children a real chance to master what they learn

The Age of Learning Foundation partners with education systems to end learning poverty by helping children become mastery learners. 

What if every child could learn in their own way and at their own pace, supported by an ecosystem of educators and family that helped them stay seamlessly in their “zone” as a productive learner? We use digital solutions to help children discover their curious, confident, capable, and creative selves. 

What We Do

Mastery
Learning

Learner IdentityWe help children discover their identity as curious, confident, capable, and creative learners who master what they learn.

Mastery
Ecosystems

Educators and FamiliesWe help teachers and families create a Personalized Mastery Learning Ecosystem™ to support each child’s learning.

Centers of
Excellence

Schools and SystemsWe help schools and education systems transform themselves into centers of excellence that deliver mastery learning with fidelity.

Effective educational experiences that bring mastery learning to life

Help us deliver Literacy & Numeracy Social Emotional Learning 21st Century Skills Digital Literacy

Foundational SkillsMastery learning helps children build speaking, listening, reading, writing, and math skills.

21st Century SkillsThrough gamification, mastery learning helps children to think critically, solve problems, and be creative.

Social Emotional LearningLearning through play and collaboration in mastery learning help cultivate social-emotional skills.

Digital LiteracyMastery learning uses connected solutions that make technology familiar and help close the digital divide.

If we hope to serve the whole child, then we need solutions and approaches that will educate the whole child.

Mastery learning is about helping a child find their learner identity.

“The solution to the problem is not that difficult to envision. We simply need a way to assess every child’s knowledge in a given subject to determine what they now know and understand, and what they have not grasped. Then place them just prior to the earliest point where they have missed an essential concept, skill, or ability, and take them up from there, filling in the gaps. In essence, creating a personalized learning path, so that each student masters what they need to achieve grade level proficiency and beyond.

Doug Dohring – Board Chair, Age of Learning Foundation

Mastery learning is both scalable and affordable

Children should not miss out on the chance to master what they learn and build foundational skills. Our work is designed to help low- and lower-middle-income countries provide children the education they need.

Hear from our Experts and Advisors

Our Progress and Goals

Since 2020, the Age of Learning Foundation has reached over 13.7 million children. Within the next five years, we aim to reach 50 million children through television and 20 million children at school.

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Education TV Viewers
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Countries
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Children learning in schools

Our Approach

The Age of Learning Foundation is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to fundamentally improve education for children in low- and lower-middle-income countries. We partner with education ministries, local implementers, funding partners, and other stakeholders. We make digital mastery learning solutions, capacity development, and institution building support available to education systems, schools, and classrooms at no cost

Together, we can help end learning poverty.

1. Country PartnershipsWe partner with education ministries to pilot, scale, and mainstream mastery learning programs.

2. Mastery SolutionsWe introduce solutions to help children discover their identity as mastery learners.

3. Teacher DevelopmentWe help teachers develop into effective tutors who can support each child’s mastery learning journey. 

4. Family InvolvementWe engage families in learning so that each child can thrive at the center of a mastery learning ecosystem.

5. Philanthropic PartnersWe partner with grantmakers, corporate partners, family offices, and generous individuals to bring mastery learning to all children.

6. Learning OutcomesTogether, we can help ensure that all children master what they learn in their own way and at their own pace.

Bringing children
mastery learning

Our work is designed to help children in Africa, Central America, South Asia, and the Middle East discover and cultivate their love of learning.

Where we Operate

The Age of Learning Foundation works across Africa, Central America, South Asia, and the Middle East. 

We are currently active in six countries and are sowing seeds to progressively grow our reach and impact.

Our Partners

Sustainable Development Goals

By addressing learning poverty through mastery learning interventions that address both child-specific needs and systems change challenges, the Age of Learning Foundation contributes to progress across a selection of Sustainable Development Goals.

Serving low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Supporting wellbeing through social-emotional learning.

Delivering early childhood and primary education.

Empowering girls through the use of learning technologies.

Advocating for solar electrification in rural schools.

Advocating for solar electrification in rural schools.

Promoting public-private partnerships for education.

Increasing teacher productivity through technology.

Enhancing technology research in education systems.

Encouraging donor assistance to least developed countries.

Developing effective education institutions at all levels.

Promoting public-private partnerships for education.

Discover more about the Sustainable Development Goals >

70 percent of children worldwide are facing learning poverty. They are reaching the age of 10 without being able to read simple sentences, complete basic math, establish strong learner identities, or build social relationships. 

We can improve their opportunities together.

The Zone of Proximal Development

You have heard of athletes getting into the “zone.” Learning is just like that. There is a zone where children can experience “learning flow.” Lev Vygotsky, the Russian child psychologist, called it the Zone of Proximal Development. It is that remarkable space where learning is neither too difficult nor too easy. It is just right to help children build a true love of learning and acquire the tools and skills they need for mastery.

One-to-one mastery learning for all

Benjamin Bloom, the American education psychologist, discovered that children who receive one-to-one mastery learning perform much better than peers in conventional classrooms. Bloom therefore challenged the world to identify methods of group instruction that could be as effective as one-to-one tutoring. The Age of Learning Foundation is answering Bloom’s call in our partner countries.

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Mwasi Wilmore
CEO at Ubongo

Kwame Akyeampong
Professor at Open University

George Werner
Former Liberian Education Minister

Dzingai Mutumbuka
Former Zimbabwean Education Minister

David Jenkins
CFO at The Climate Reality Project

Brendon Moyo
Independent Consultant

Blake Spahn
Vice Chancellor at Dwight School

Annina Mattson
International Consultant at United Arab Emirates

Alexandra Weldon
Head of Global Philanthropy at Mohari Hospitality

Carmen Mayela
Chairwoman at CCK