Classroom Focused, Mission Driven

The Math Learning Center (MLC) is a nonprofit organization serving the education community. Our mission is to inspire and enable all individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. We offer innovative and standards-based curriculum, resources, and professional development. Our products and services are used by educators throughout the United States and in many international locations.

Our History
From our inception, we have been committed to addressing the needs of classroom teachers and their students.

MLC grew out of a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve the teaching of mathematics. The founders spent several years traveling to schools to observe classrooms and visit with teachers and students. Over time they developed a philosophy that emphasizes building a deeper understanding before engaging more abstract concepts. Motivated to continue creating new methods of math instruction, they established MLC as a nonprofit corporation in 1976.

A few years later a convincing body of research emerged suggesting visual approaches to teaching and learning have universal validity. MLC experimented with a variety of applications to math education and with additional funding from NSF refined the results into an integrated system of models that build across the grade levels.

Educators responded enthusiastically to this innovation and by the mid-1980s it became clear that teachers needed classroom materials to facilitate implementation. Since then the organization has expanded to include a full range of products and support services.