Mundo Academy

What Mundo Academy does

Mundo Academy is a Pasadena, California-based private education services company founded in 2018 by Marina Grijalva. It provides in-person small group tutoring, academic coaching, and test preparation for K-12 and college-bound students, with particular emphasis on English Language Learners, emergent bilingual students, and learners from underserved communities in the Los Angeles area. The company is an approved vendor under the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Partnership for Student Success and High Dose Tutoring Benches, operating in 50+ LA-area schools and through partnerships with community organizations including College Match LA and Puente Learning Center.

The company's service portfolio is organized by educational level (Elementary K-5, Secondary 6-12) and program type (Language Development for Newcomers, Reclassification Support for Emergent Bilingual Students, Literacy Coaching using the Science of Reading framework, Math Coaching using the Cognitively Guided Instruction methodology, Academic Tutoring, Test Preparation, and Study Skills). Instructional design is grounded in standardized assessment data (ELPAC, iReady, DIBELS) combined with teacher feedback to form small groups and build personalized learning plans; Site Supervisors coordinate programs inside school sites and participate in grade-level meetings. Seasonal Summer Workshops (Jumpstart Reading, Critical Reading and Writing, Study Smarter Not Harder, SAT/ACT Prep) are hosted at the Pasadena office.

Mundo Academy operates as a bootstrapped, founder-led business with a 17+ person team including three Site Supervisors and a mix of Lead and additional tutors. Revenue is generated through professional-services contracts with schools and community organizations; pricing is not publicly disclosed, and onboarding flows through a discovery call and planning meeting with school administrators. The company is privately held, has no disclosed external funding or parent company, and has not pursued mergers, acquisitions, or restructuring. Its customer base is concentrated within the LA K-12 education ecosystem, with limited geographic diversification.

Name

Mundo Academy

Legal name

Mundo Academy

Website

https://mundoacademy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mundo Academy is a Pasadena-based, LAUSD-approved in-person tutoring and academic coaching provider founded in 2018 by Marina Grijalva, serving K-12 and college-bound students across 50+ Los Angeles schools and community partners with data-driven small group instruction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Supplemental Tutoring Services

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Instructional Delivery & Pedagogy (School-Led) (EDAJAFAB)

Keywords

• In-person tutoring services
• K-12 academic coaching
• Test preparation programs
• Literacy coaching services
• English language development

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. School-Based Tutoring Services: Mundo Academy provides in-person small group tutoring and academic support services directly within school settings. The company is an approved vendor under LAUSD's Partnership for Student Success and High Dose Tutoring Benches, partnering with schools throughout Los Angeles.
2. Community Organization Programs: Partnership with community organizations such as College Match LA to deliver customized Study Skills workshops and SAT Prep classes, serving students from low-income families.
3. Summer Workshops: Seasonal workshop programs held at their Pasadena office, including Jumpstart Reading, Critical Reading and Writing, Study Smarter Not Harder, and SAT/ACT Workshops (June-August 2024).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mundo Academy provides in-person, small-group tutoring and academic coaching for K-12 students across Los Angeles, organized into school-site programs (Literacy Coaching, Math Coaching, Language Development for Newcomers, Reclassification Support, Academic Tutoring) and supplementary community/summer offerings. Services are delivered primarily through LAUSD-approved vendor partnerships and community organizations such as College Match LA and Puente Learning Center.

Product overview

Mundo Academy is an in-person tutoring and academic coaching organization offering personalized educational support services. The company provides a portfolio of services organized by educational level (Elementary K-5, Secondary 6-12) and service type (Literacy Coaching, Math Coaching, Language Development for Newcomers, Reclassification Support, Academic Tutoring, Test Preparation, and Study Skills). Elementary services include Language Development for Newcomers, Reclassification Support for Emergent Bilingual Students, Literacy Coaching (K-2 and 3-5), and Math Coaching. Secondary services mirror these with age-appropriate variations plus Academic Tutoring. The company also offers seasonal Summer Workshops including Jumpstart Reading, Critical Reading and Writing, Study Smarter Not Harder, and SAT/ACT Prep. All programs emphasize small group instruction, data-driven approaches using assessment tools like iReady and DIBELS, and collaboration with school administrators. Mundo Academy operates as an approved vendor under LAUSD's Partnership for Student Success and High Dose Tutoring Benches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Language Development for Newcomers (K-5) Tailored English instruction and social-emotional support delivered in small groups for elementary newcomer students, using ELPAC scores and internal assessments to drive placement, with phonics integrated into thematic units.
• Reclassification Support for Emergent Bilingual Students (K-5) Targeted reading and writing intervention for emergent bilingual students in grades K-5 who are bilingual in spoken English but need additional literacy support, using tailored lessons and culturally relevant materials to build reading comprehension toward ELPAC reclassification.
• Literacy Coaching (K-2) Small-group K-2 reading instruction grounded in the Science of Reading, with grouping based on DIBELS scores and teacher recommendations, covering phonics, decoding, and fluency with regular progress checks.
• Literacy Coaching (3-5) Targeted reading intervention for grades 3-5 using iReady data and teacher recommendations, providing focused instruction in phonics, fluency, and comprehension to drive reading mastery.
• Math Coaching (K-5) Student-centered elementary math coaching using the CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) methodology, with students grouped by iReady skill data and engaged in model lessons, guided practice, and problem solving.
• Language Development for Newcomers (6-12) Small-group English instruction and social-emotional support for middle and high school newcomer students, utilizing ELPAC scores and internal assessments to prepare students for ELPAC-format assessments.
• Reclassification Support for Emergent Bilingual Students (6-12) Program for secondary (P)LTELs needing additional reading and writing support, with tailored lessons focused on reading comprehension skills and ELD Standards mastery toward ELPAC reclassification.
• Literacy Coaching (6-8) Middle school reading mastery program for grades 6-8 using iReady data and teacher recommendations, with targeted instruction in phonics, fluency, comprehension, and Smarter Balanced exam readiness.
• Academic Tutoring (6-8) Personalized academic tutoring across core subjects (Math, Science, Foreign Language, Reading, Writing, and History) for middle school students, with ongoing informal assessments to guide instruction.
• Jumpstart Reading Workshops Summer reading workshop series held at Mundo Academy's Pasadena office, building critical reading comprehension skills including text citation, predictions, summaries, and question-asking for elementary and middle school students.
• Critical Reading and Writing Workshops College readiness summer workshop teaching students to analyze academic papers, scholarly journal entries, and historical documents, with advanced annotation and essay writing exercises.
• Study Smarter Not Harder Workshops Summer study skills course at Mundo Academy's Pasadena office, teaching effective notetaking, healthy study habits, time management, and responsibility using psychoanalytic techniques and pedagogical awareness.
• SAT/ACT Workshops Summer test preparation workshops at Mundo Academy's Pasadena office covering both SAT and ACT exams, including practice tests, strategies, and techniques for the math and English sections.
• Study Skills Workshops (Community Partnerships) Academic coaching workshops delivered through community organization partnerships, covering time management, note-taking, organizational skills, procrastination strategies, and critical reading skills.
• Test Preparation (Community Partnerships) Exam preparation program taught through community organization partnerships, focused on time management, math and grammar content, vocabulary, drawing on over a decade of exam preparation expertise.
• SAT Prep Classes SAT preparation sessions focused on Reading and Writing, and Math, delivered in partnership with community organizations such as Puente Learning Center and Barrio Action, including free offerings for students from underserved neighborhoods.

Quantifiable outcome

• Two years of positive partnership feedback from schools including Assistant Principal at Cohasset Street Elementary and Interventionist at Hamlin Elementary
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Barrio ActionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Partnership with Barrio Action to offer a FREE SAT preparation course for students in 10th and 11th grades living in El Sereno and Lincoln Heights areas.
• LAUFAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Partnership with LAUFA (soccer academy) to bring SAT Preparation Study Sessions to their community members.
• Flintridge Sacred HeartminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2019Partnership with Flintridge Sacred Heart to provide Study Skills Workshops based on research-backed methods of reading to learn, organization, time management, and scheduling.
• College Match LAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege Match LA is a nonprofit dedicated to helping talented students from low-income families gain admission to and graduate from top universities. Mundo Academy serves as their dedicated tutoring partner, creating and delivering customized Study Skills workshops and SAT Prep classes to prepare students for college admission.
• Puente Learning CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPuente Learning Center has served Boyle Heights and surrounding communities in East and South Los Angeles for over 30 years, impacting more than 100,000 students. Mundo Academy has partnered with Puente for two years, providing professional tutoring services that integrate with their existing programs.
• LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMundo Academy is an approved vendor under LAUSD's Partnership for Student Success and High Dose Tutoring Benches, allowing the company to provide tutoring services across dozens of LAUSD schools including Sylvan Park Elementary, Van Nuys Elementary, Sepulveda Middle School, and many others.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Paper: Online tutoring platform that partners directly with school districts to deliver on-demand academic support to K-12 students, with strong traction in underserved and Title I schools. Comparable target customer (school districts) and underserved-student focus, though delivered digitally rather than in-person.
• Catapult Learning: National provider of in-school tutoring, intervention, and professional learning services to K-12 districts, including high-need and underserved populations. Directly comparable to Mundo Academy's school-site, district-contract delivery model.
• Tutor.com: Online on-demand tutoring service that contracts directly with school districts and libraries to serve K-12 and college students. Comparable school-district GTM and underserved-student mission, with a digital delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Sylvan Learning: National K-12 tutoring franchise offering personalized instruction, test prep, and academic support. Overlaps with Mundo Academy's small-group tutoring and test preparation services across a similar K-12 customer base.
• Mathnasium: Large franchise focused on K-8 math tutoring using structured methodology and assessment-driven instruction. Comparable to Mundo Academy's CGI-based Math Coaching program in pedagogy and assessment-driven grouping.
• Varsity Tutors: Large-scale online and in-person tutoring platform offering K-12 academic support, test prep, and school-district partnerships. Overlaps with Mundo Academy in school-district tutoring and SAT/ACT prep, but operates at a much broader national scale.
• Huntington Learning Center: Established franchise-based K-12 tutoring and test preparation provider. Comparable service portfolio across tutoring, SAT/ACT prep, and academic coaching, though delivered via retail centers rather than in-school contracts.
• Kumon North America: Global supplemental learning franchise providing K-12 math and reading instruction through structured worksheets. Comparable in K-12 core subject focus and franchised center-based delivery, though self-paced rather than small-group.

Emerging players

• PrepScholar: Online test preparation platform for SAT, ACT, and other standardized exams. Overlaps with Mundo Academy's SAT/ACT prep workshops and college-readiness offering, but delivered via self-paced digital programs.
• CollegeSpring: Nonprofit providing SAT prep, college counseling, and tutoring to low-income and first-generation high school students. Directly comparable mission and college-readiness service overlap with Mundo Academy's College Match LA programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MundoAcademy
• Instagraminstagram.com/MundoAcademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mundoacademy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mundo Academy