In 2025, the Lemann Center executed a pivotal strategic transition, expanding its programmatic capacity and operational scope to drive systemic impact across public education networks.

At the center of this strategy, the Lideranças pela Educação (Leaders for Education) program consolidated its position as Lemann Center’s flagship initiative. Designed to strengthen political commitment and institutional capacity among public administration, education, and school leaders, the program emphasizes the critical role local governments play in driving sustainable educational transformation.

The program delivered direct support to 40 municipalities in 2025, comprising 30 major urban centers (state capitals and municipalities with over 450,000 residents) alongside 10 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul directly or indirectly affected by the floods. Over the course of the year, mobilization efforts across secondary networks further amplified the program’s footprint, engaging over 700 public education leaders nationwide.

Central to this model was direct advisory engagement with mayors, empowering them as primary champions for education in their municipalities. Grounded in data analysis, localized inequality metrics, and multi-stakeholder consensus, the program deployed actionable instruments, including diagnostic assessments, municipal strategic plans, and the School Management Framework (Marco de Gestão Escolar) to streamline school governance and raise student learning outcomes across education networks.

Three in-person executive meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, and Sobral (Ceará), two of which were held in collaboration with the National Front of Mayors (FNP) and the National Council of Capital City Education Secretaries (Consems), gathered 125 mayors and education secretaries. These forums elevated inter-municipal coordination, facilitated best-practice exchange, and forged strategic dialogue with federal entities, including the Ministry of Education (MEC).

Globally, the Lemann Center consolidated its strategic advisory model across six Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) and four nations in Africa and Asia (South Africa, Kenya, India, and Pakistan), strengthening local governance ecosystems to drive foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes.

In 2025, the initiative facilitated international learning exchanges among 120 senior leaders across the Global South, building on multi-country coalitions and developing institutional capacity to execute transformative public education policies tailored to their regional realities.