Charles A. Dana Center
The Charles A. Dana Center is a non-profit research center at UT Austin that develops math, science, and literacy curricula and professional learning for K-12 districts, state education agencies, and higher-education institutions across 27+ U.S. states, serving over 350,000 students.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Charles A. Dana Center does
The Charles A. Dana Center is a non-profit research and education center within the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 1987 at UC Berkeley and relocated to UT Austin in 1991 under founder Uri Treisman. It develops research-based mathematics, science, and literacy curricula and professional learning resources for the K-12 and higher education sectors, employing more than 70 professionals and operating with a mission to ensure equitable access to high-quality mathematics, science, and literacy education.
The Center's portfolio spans multiple product lines and programs. Core offerings include Literacy First (K-2 early literacy tutoring, operating since 1994), Inside Mathematics (a professional resource site with videos, problems, and Common Core materials), MathCuts (60-90 second standards-aligned video clips reaching over 1,000,000 people), OpenSciEd (open-source middle school science curriculum developed through a multi-institution consortium including BSCS, Northwestern, Boston College, CU Boulder, and Digital Promise), Dana Center Mathematics Pathways courses (delivered digitally through Lumen Learning's OHM at $25 per student), the Launch Years Initiative (now in 27 states scaling math pathways from high school through postsecondary), and the CoMPASS three-year national collaborative (2025-2028). The Center also publishes research reports such as 'Charting the Course: The State of Mathematics Pathways' and operates the Corequisite Research Design Collaborative.
The Center is grant-funded rather than commercially revenue-driven. Funding sources include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, ECMC Foundation, Strong Start to Finish (Education Commission of the States), Ascendium Education Group, and Microsoft, alongside state agency contracts. Most resources are freely distributed; the only disclosed paid channel is $25 per student through Lumen Learning. The go-to-market is institutional and policy-oriented: direct engagement with state departments of education (New Mexico, Louisiana, Georgia, Washington), regional district coalitions (CTXMAT with 13 districts serving 285,000+ students), higher-education institutions (community colleges and four-year systems), and federal partners (DoDEA). Dana Center/Agile Mind programs reach 350,000 secondary students and 6,000 teachers across 1,200+ districts in 28 states.
Charles A. Dana Center firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Charles A. Dana Center
- Legal name
- The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin
- Website
- https://utdanacenter.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- The Charles A. Dana Center is a non-profit research center at UT Austin that develops math, science, and literacy curricula and professional learning for K-12 districts, state education agencies, and higher-education institutions across 27+ U.S. states, serving over 350,000 students.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Charles A. Dana Center industry classification
Industry- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- K–12 Digital Curriculum & Interactive Lessons (EDAGAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Math & STEM Learning Technology (incl. Coding/Robotics Platforms) (EDAJAMAG), Reading & Literacy Centers (Phonics, Comprehension, Writing) (EDANAHAD)
Keywords
Where Charles A. Dana Center is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Charles A. Dana Center business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: The Dana Center receives substantial grant funding from major foundations including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ascendium Education Group, Strong Start to Finish (Education Commission of the States), and ECMC Foundation. Grants support specific initiatives like virtual professional learning, corequisite toolkit development, and the CoMPASS initiative.
- Foundation Support: Support from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation for regional mathematics alignment initiatives like the Central Texas Math Alignment Taskforce (CTXMAT).
- Corporate Partnership Funding: Microsoft provided grant support for the collaborative initiative addressing math and computer science teaching shortages in Texas, involving the Dana Center, UTeach, and WeTeach_CS.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Webinars for K-12 Educators |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Lumen OHM Digital Platform Access |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Charles A. Dana Center product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin is a non-profit research and education center that develops research-based mathematics, science, and literacy curricula, tools, and professional learning services for K-12 districts, state education agencies, and higher education institutions. Its offerings include the Literacy First early literacy intervention program, Inside Mathematics and MathCuts online resources, OpenSciEd middle school science materials, Dana Center Mathematics Pathways courses, and statewide initiatives such as Launch Years and CoMPASS.
Product overview
The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin is an education nonprofit that offers a comprehensive portfolio of programs, curricular resources, and professional learning services across K-12 and higher education. The K-12 portfolio includes award-winning professional development, the Literacy First early literacy program, Inside Mathematics resources, MathCuts video-based professional learning, OpenSciEd science materials, and Dana Center/Agile Mind course programs used by over 350,000 students in 1,200+ districts. The higher education portfolio features MathPaths, the Corequisite Research Design Collaborative, CoMPASS initiative, Mathematics Education for Manufacturing, and related toolkits and resources. These offerings work together to transform education systems so learners have access to excellent mathematics, science, and literacy education.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Literacy First: A program of the Charles A. Dana Center that helps children develop reading skills to realize their full potential.
- Inside Mathematics
- OpenSciEd
- MathCuts
- Launch Years Initiative
- CoMPASS
- Corequisite Research Design Collaborative (CRDC)
Quantifiable outcome
- Students in Dana Center Mathematics Pathways courses are 50% more likely to pass college-level math than students in traditional/developmental math courses
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Charles A. Dana Center
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Charles A. Dana Center technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Charles A. Dana Center partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- Lumen LearningcorePartnership to increase equitable math success by offering Dana Center curriculum through Lumen's Online Homework Manager platform. Lumen will support institutions and faculty adopting Dana Center courses with LMS integration, auto-grading, and technical support at $25 per student. Courses include Foundations of Mathematical Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reasoning with Functions 1 and 2, and Introductory Statistics.
- Brazosport CollegeminorDana Center sponsored Brazosport College webinar on equity-minded practices in writing centers and English corequisites.
- Lone Star College-KingwoodminorDana Center sponsored Lone Star College-Kingwood webinar on culturally inclusive teaching practices in mathematics tutoring and corequisites, facilitated by Professor Stephanie Andrews.
- UTeachcoreUTeach at UT Austin is an innovative university-based teacher preparation program. Together with the Dana Center and WeTeach_CS, addressing math and computer science teaching shortages in Texas, particularly in rural areas. Focus on middle school teacher preparation through regional approach.
- WeTeach_CS (Texas Advanced Computing Center)coreWeTeach_CS from Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) partnered with Dana Center and UTeach on the initiative addressing math and CS teaching shortages. WeTeach_CS Collaboratives have made significant impact on teacher capacity in rural schools, supporting over 500 Texas educators to achieve CS certification since 2015.
- OpenSciEd Developers ConsortiumcoreFounding consortium member along with BSCS Science Learning, Northwestern University, Boston College, University of Colorado Boulder, and Digital Promise. Dana Center supported development and field testing of OpenSciEd middle school science units across ten states including California, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Washington.
- E3 AlliancecoreE3 Alliance serves as trusted regional education backbone organization for Central Texas Math Alignment Taskforce (CTXMAT). Partnered with Dana Center on collective impact initiative with 13 independent school districts, 6 universities, and 2 community colleges serving over 285,000 PK-12 students and 125,000 undergraduate students.
- Education Strategy GroupmajorEducation Strategy Group partnered with Dana Center on Launch Years Initiative to support scaling of mathematics pathways from high school through postsecondary education into the workplace, aligned to students' goals and aspirations.
- Parent Institute for Quality EngagementmajorPartner in Launch Years Initiative contributing to national movement for mathematics pathways alignment between high school and postsecondary education.
- Launch Years Math Organizations Leadership NetworkmajorNetwork including Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles, American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, American Statistical Association, Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics, Benjamin Banneker Association, Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences, Mathematical Association of America, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCSM, and TODOS: Mathematics for ALL.
- Agile Mind Inc.coreAgile Mind publishes Dana Center-authored curriculum for middle and high school mathematics. Dana Center/Agile Mind course programs are enacted in more than 1,200 school districts by 350,000 secondary students and 6,000 teachers in 28 states. Agile Mind developed smartphone accessibility for curriculum, removing barriers for low-income students.
- Strong Start to FinishcoreStrong Start to Finish, an initiative of Education Commission of the States, partnered on Dana Center Mathematics Pathways and corequisite work. Provided grant support for DCMP Corequisite Toolkit development. Aims to significantly increase low-income students, students of color, and returning adults succeeding in college math and English in first year.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Charles A. Dana Center competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- WestEd: WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency that works across K-12 and higher education on systemic improvement, much like the Dana Center. Both serve as federally and foundation-funded intermediaries that develop research-based resources, professional learning, and policy support for state education systems.
- Illustrative Mathematics: Illustrative Mathematics develops open, problem-based K-12 math curriculum and professional learning that directly competes with the Dana Center's K-12 math offerings. Both are mission-driven math curriculum organizations serving the same K-12 districts with standards-aligned resources.
- Great Minds: Great Minds develops open K-12 curricula including Eureka Math (now Eureka Squared) and PhD Science, which directly overlap with the Dana Center's MathCuts/Agile Mind math and OpenSciEd science resources. Both organizations serve the same open-curriculum K-12 market.
- Carnegie Learning: Carnegie Learning offers MATHia adaptive math software and previously operated Carnegie Math Pathways, a higher education math pathways reform initiative that is a direct analog of Dana Center Mathematics Pathways. Both organizations develop research-based math curriculum and pathways at K-12 and higher education levels.
- BSCS Science Learning: BSCS Science Learning is a co-founder of the OpenSciEd Developers Consortium alongside the Dana Center. Both develop K-12 science curriculum, conduct educational research, and provide professional learning to science educators at the same districts and state systems.
- MIND Research Institute: MIND Research Institute develops the ST Math visual instructional program for K-12 math, competing in the same districts as the Dana Center's MathCuts and Agile Mind math programs. Both organizations focus on research-based math learning with visual/puzzle-based approaches.
- Open Up Resources: Open Up Resources develops open-license K-12 math and ELA curricula (Open Up Math is based on Illustrative Mathematics) that compete in the same districts as the Dana Center/Agile Mind math programs. Both organizations focus on standards-aligned, research-based open curriculum resources.
- Achieving the Dream: Achieving the Dream is a nonprofit network focused on community college student success, including math pathways and developmental education reform. Both organizations work on higher education math pathways, corequisite remediation, and serving community college systems.
Emerging players
- Khan Academy: Khan Academy offers free K-12 and higher education math/science instructional videos and exercises that complement or substitute for parts of the Dana Center's Inside Mathematics and MathCuts resources. Both deliver free digital math learning at scale, though Khan Academy is consumer-direct while the Center focuses on educator professional learning.
Broad incumbents
- Curriculum Associates: Curriculum Associates produces iReady diagnostic and instruction and Ready classroom curriculum for K-12 math and reading, serving many of the same districts as the Dana Center. As a much larger commercial incumbent, it competes broadly with the Center's math curriculum offerings while also operating at a much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Charles A. Dana Center social profiles
Digital presenceCharles A. Dana Center financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Charles A. Dana Center leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Charles A. Dana Center funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Charles A. Dana Center M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Charles A. Dana Center
What does Charles A. Dana Center do?
The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin is a non-profit research and education center that develops research-based mathematics, science, and literacy curricula, tools, and professional learning services for K-12 districts, state education agencies, and higher education institutions. Its offerings include the Literacy First early literacy intervention program, Inside Mathematics and MathCuts online resources, OpenSciEd middle school science materials, Dana Center Mathematics Pathways courses, and statewide initiatives such as Launch Years and CoMPASS.
Is Charles A. Dana Center a public or private company?
Charles A. Dana Center is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was Charles A. Dana Center founded?
Charles A. Dana Center was founded in 1987.
Where is Charles A. Dana Center based?
Charles A. Dana Center is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Charles A. Dana Center make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are foundation Support and corporate Partnership Funding.
Who are Charles A. Dana Center's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are WestEd, Illustrative Mathematics, Great Minds, Carnegie Learning, BSCS Science Learning, MIND Research Institute, Open Up Resources and Achieving the Dream. Khan Academy is listed as an emerging player. Curriculum Associates is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Charles A. Dana Center have an API?
No public API is recorded for Charles A. Dana Center.
What industry is Charles A. Dana Center in?
Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAEAA, K–12 Digital Curriculum & Interactive Lessons, with a secondary code of EDAJAMAG, Math & STEM Learning Technology (incl. Coding/Robotics Platforms). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.