After completing his doctorate in electronic and computer engineering at Rutgers University and working in the engineering industry for 12 years, Kobad Bugwadia decided it was time for a career change.
In 2009, a desire to return to teaching – a field in which he dabbled during graduate school – prompted Bugwadia to open his first Mathnasium franchise in Campbell. In April, he expanded to 2510 W. El Camino Real in Mountain View.
Mathnasium is a tutoring center where students work in small groups with instructors to gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Each of Mathnasium’s 320 locations in the United States and abroad is independently owned and operated.
“My motivation was to give back to the community, to do something that I enjoy, and have a business that I run and lead the way I like to spend my time,” Bugwadia said.
The success of the Campbell location, which serves more than 120 students, prompted Bugwadia to open the second franchise.
Mathnasium serves a wide variety of clientele. Its customer base primarily comprises students in kindergarten through high school, but adults who want to sharpen their skills are also welcome.
“I think we can serve the needs of individuals as well as families with anything to do with math,” Bugwadia said.
Bugwadia and his team of 11 instructors cater lesson plans to the strengths of each client while also helping students improve on their weaknesses. Students take a general math assessment when they enroll, the results of which form the basis for their programs.
“The approach is really trying to (teach) math in a way that makes sense to kids – and that’s really the bottom line,” he said.
Palo Alto resident Jennifer Jacobs said her son Ian is proof that Mathnasium works. Although Ian, who is entering fourth grade, has only been attending tutoring sessions at Mathnasium for a few weeks, Jacobs said she has already seen a positive change in his attitude toward math.
“They genuinely show different ways of approaching things that (students) previously learned, but in ways that will stick with them and tools they can use,” Jacobs said. “Instead of just here’s ‘A + B = C’ and memorize this, the tutors give them visuals in their mind to work with.”
Jacobs added that while Ian was originally apprehensive about the tutoring, now “he’s smiling about math.”
Feedback like that is why Bogwudia said he entered the tutoring business in the first place.
“What motivates me at the end of every day is to see the impact we have been able to make every single day,” he said. “Even when you work in a big company, by the time your best invention comes out in a product, it could take a few months. Here I see the impact every single day.”
For more information, call 941-6284 or visit www.mathnasium.com/mountainviewlosaltos.
This article originally appeared in the Los Altos Town Crier: https://www.losaltosonline.com/schools/mathnasium-teaches-math-to-struggling-students/article_8f5c99f3-3b68-569e-84e6-3b3ed02f2cd9.html
