2025 Impact Report

By Mariah Rawding
February 2025

The MIT pK-12 Initiative has released its first annual impact report, detailing a year that brought climate curriculum, calculus tutoring, and AI training to learners and educators in more than 20 countries.

Launched in 2025, the Initiative was created to bring MIT's expertise in research, pedagogical innovation, policy direction, and technology development to some of the most persistent challenges in pre-K through 12th grade (pK-12) education. In 2025, more than 272 million children worldwide were out of school, and in 2024 only one in three American fourth graders read at grade level. The work of the initiative aims to close gaps like these across the world.

Claudia Urrea headshot
Whether through MIT tutors helping students grasp calculus [...] or educators across seven countries building confidence with AI, we have seen again and again that the most powerful learning happens when we come together and foster connection.
Claudia Urrea
Head of the MIT pK-12 Initiative

"Whether through MIT tutors helping students grasp calculus, library professionals designing STEAM experiences nationwide, or educators across seven countries building confidence with AI, we have seen again and again that the most powerful learning happens when we come together and foster connection," says Claudia Urrea, head of the MIT pK-12 Initiative.

The report details a number of key programs under the Initiative including:

  • Day of Climate, the Initiative's free climate curriculum program, which reached over 116,000 unique website visitors and was downloaded more than 720 times by educators across 20-plus countries.
  • MIT for America: Calculus Project, a calculus tutoring effort, grew from a nine-student pilot in New York City to 38 MIT tutors partnering with 15 schools across 11 states, including Montana, Indiana, and Kentucky
  • Global study with WISE Qatar Foundation found that hands-on professional development significantly boosted teacher confidence in using AI, based on data from educators in seven countries


The report also highlights a new early childhood education model taking shape in Medellín, Colombia, developed with Institución Universitaria Pascual Bravo, and the MIT Public Library Innovation Exchange (PLIX), which now supports library professionals in all 50 states and more than 1,000 institutions worldwide.

As the Initiative heads into its second year, Urrea says the focus will be on deepening, not just expanding, its work, all while staying rooted in the communities it serves.

Read the 2025 pK-12 Initiative Impact Report.