Mathnasium Keeps Students Ahead of the Curve

About 50 students are studying various math concepts in a room decorated with drawings of pie charts, fractions and inspirational phrases. Some are receiving one-on-one tutoring while others are playing chess as a reward for their hard work.  

This is a typical scenario at South Pasadena's —a year-round learning center meant to improve math skills from algebra to calculus. It's one of 235 successful centers throughout the country. 

"Mathnasium instructors teach what teachers don't," said tenth-grader Blair Newman. 

Newman says she first came to the program to prep a few weeks prior to finals last year.

Did it help? "I passed—a lot of people didn't pass geometry," she confirmed. 

Success in Franchising 

Owner Mark Yutan opened his first Mathnasium location in Pasadena in 2007 and a second one in South Pas in 2009. A third location in slated to open before the end of the year. 

Although he originally planned on becoming an independent business owner, Yutan instead bought a franchise, which he says proved to be less of a risk in a down economy. 

"We had originally planned on spending 2 to 3 years developing our own curriculum and systems to teach kids math," he explained. "As we were doing our research, I came across Mathnasium and found that we shared the same teaching philosophy, and they already had the systems in place."

Plus, South Pasadena's strong emphasis on education didn't hurt. 

"Parents have done a lot of the work for us by instilling in their own children a sense of personal responsibility, value for education and a drive to be excellent," he said. "Because of this, kids actually seek us out and have begged their parents to enroll them in our program."

Building a Brand

Yutan says its important to focus on the needs of the customer and that Mathnasium isn't just for students who aren't doing well. 

"In the past, folks would typically look at tutoring strictly for remediation," he said. "But more and more so these days, families are looking for programs to keep them ahead of the curve." 

"Our students and their learning is the top priority for our business, and fortune has looked favorably upon us," he says of his success. 

Mathnasium is participating in the West Coast Franchise Expo at the L.A. Convention Center Friday through Sunday. For more information, click here.