TWINSBURG, Ohio -- Vince Lombardo, owner and learning director of Mathnasium of Twinsburg, struggled with math as a child.
Now as a parent, he can empathize with both students who have difficulty in math and their parents.
“I tried to memorize everything, and up until about sixth grade, it was great,” he said. “But as you go farther along in math, you cannot just continue to memorize. It’s going to trip you up at some point, and you’ll be lost.
“(At Mathnasium), we try to help children use critical thinking to learn. We teach them how to do problems by understanding the concepts behind them.”
Mathnasium is a math-only learning center for children in grades 1-12, with more than 1,000 locations worldwide. Mathnasium of Twinsburg -- which opened Aug. 24 -- is the fourth location in Northeast Ohio, joining Beachwood, Brecksville and North Canton.
In January, Franchise Business Review ranked Mathnasium as one of the 200 best franchises in the country. Last year, it was rated No. 29 on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500.
Mathnasium is designed not only for children who struggle with math, but also for those who are advanced in math, Lombardo said. Its motto is, “We make math make sense.”
“Mathnasium is a supplemental program that will help children either get caught up and find out where the holes were, or if they’re bored in school because they are advanced, we have advanced math programs for those students, as well,” he said.
“I look at it as like a Montessori program. Each child is different and learns differently, and each child is on their own learning plan.”
Lombardo, who lives in Twinsburg, hopes to attract Solon children as well to the new center, located in Twin Plaza at 9224 Darrow Road. His territory also includes Macedonia, Aurora, Hudson and Bedford.
“We offer both a safe physical location and virtual online learning,” he said. “Kids can either be on their computer at home, so they can get one-on-one instruction, or they can physically come into the center.
“We’re trying to build confidence in kids through math, and that confidence will go into other subject matters, as well.”
Mathnasium was founded by math educator Larry Martinek, who was inspired to find a better way to teach children math more than 40 years ago, according to the Mathnasium website.
The first Mathniasum learning center opened in 2002 in Westwood, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles.
“They’ve been doing franchises for almost 20 years, and all around the world, kids improve their grades and their confidence goes through the roof,” Lombardo said. “They just seem to have a better life.”
In Beachwood area since 2017
Brad Pethel is owner and learning director of Mathnasium of Beachwood, which opened in November 2017 at 28000 Chagrin Blvd. in Woodmere. This location also serves Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Orange and Chagrin Falls.
“We assess each student to find out where they are with their math, and then we meet them there and take them farther by building their confidence in math,” Pethel said. “We fill in gaps, and we also offer enrichment to advanced students.”
Pethel, who has about 100 students enrolled at his center, said about one-third of the students who come there do so for enrichment.
“We’ve also had students come to us because they were struggling,” he said. “But after they were with us for a year, they actually got caught up and got ahead and were moved into their advanced class.”
Sessions are typically one hour, but 90-minute sessions are also available for high school students, and they take place after school on weekdays or on Sunday afternoons. Students take part two or three days per week, either at the center or from home.
“We don’t send the children home any homework for the parents to do with them, because we want everything being done with our live instructors,” Pethel said. “We want to see how students are approaching their math.
“Everything we are doing is live instruction, so the instructors can support the students and build their confidence in knowing how to think about math.”
Mathnasium instructors try to help children learn math by using critical thinking. It's designed not only for children who struggle with math, but also for those who are advanced in math. (Photo courtesy of Mathnasium)
Delayed by pandemic
Lombardo said the opening of the Twinsburg center was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s taken me the last four months to put the center together because of the whole COVID thing,” he said. “I couldn’t get furniture. Everything was on back order.
“I bought the space in November, I signed my lease in March, and I was hoping to be open by June.”
Lombardo said many parents are concerned that their children’s math skills might have slipped due to what’s being called “the COVID slide.”
“There’s up to a year’s worth of math education that is lost right now, because the kids have been out of school since March,” he said. “Normally we call it the summer slide, which happens from June to August because kids really don’t do math work at all during the summer, so it slips away.
“But with the COVID slide, it goes back to March. So all the kids got promoted, they’re all going to the next grade level, but the teachers never got to teach those final few months of school.”
Mathnasium can help bridge that gap for children, Lombardo said.
“The Mathnasium method is a proven way of teaching for the past 40 years,” he said. “We develop a personal learning plan for each child that will show their strengths and their weaknesses, but we build upon those weaknesses because we need to fill in the gaps in their learning.”
Lombardo, who grew up in Mayfield, has an MBA degree in marketing from John Carroll University in University Heights and spent the first 25 years of his career in sales and marketing.
“I looked at business ownership, and this Mathnasium is so incredible,” he said. “I bought (this franchise) because I want to be home for my family, I want to become a pillar of the community, and I plan to settle here, so I want to have a business in the area and help the kids.”
Pethel, who lives in Hudson but grew up in Brecksville, is a former Montessori teacher at the middle school and upper elementary school levels.
“But I also have a background in business and an MBA (from Emory University in Atlanta),” he said. “So coming across Mathnasium was a great way to merge my business background with my love of math and education.
“It can really be life-changing for kids, and that passion is what drew me toward this company. It was much more than just a tutoring business.”
Distance learning offered
Mathnasium is open year round and also offers a new distance learning program called Prime Study Space. Lombardo said it’s designed for “busy parents who need to be home and concentrate on their careers while leaving their children in a safe, secure location to do their schoolwork.”
“Mathnasium is offering parents the opportunity to drop their children off during the day -- from 8 a.m. to noon or 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. -- in a safe environment where they have access to internet, and the kids can do their schoolwork at Mathnasium with adult supervision,” he said. “It’s not math training, and you do not have to be a Mathnasium member.”
Mathnasium of Beachwood is also offering the Prime Study Space. There is a fee for the service.
Both centers are following all of the safety precautions that Gov. Mike DeWine has mandated for schools.
“We are wearing (face) masks, we have plexiglass dividers on the tables, we are wearing gloves when we do manipulatives, like counting coins, and we have sanitizer stations all over,” Lombardo said. “We wipe down after every student with disinfectant.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep things safe and sanitary.”
Mathnasium of Twinsburg is open from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2 to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Hours for Mathnasium of Beachwood are 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Both centers also offer office hours by appointment.
Monthly memberships range from $299 to $349 per month, depending on the student’s grade level.
Start-of-school promotions are available at both locations. Call the centers for details.
To register for Mathnasium of Twinsburg, call 330-474-1400 or email twinsburg@mathnasium.com. For more information, visit mathnasium.com/twinsburg.
To register for Mathnasium of Beachwood, call 216-765-3551 or email beachwood@mathnasium.com. For more information, visit mathnasium.com/beachwood.