Our Mission, Vision, and Values

As the owner of Mathnasium of Pike Creek, every decision I make is led by the mission, vision, and values that define us. In a previous post, I explained in depth why I chose to open a Mathnasium, divulging the personal reasons I chose to redirect my career toward building confidence in young people. The output of that personal passion is not just something that I want to sit unshared and theoretical in my head while running this business. Instead, I want that passion and purpose to be the business itself. Mathnasium, as a franchisor, provides the premier curriculum and brand, but I deliver the soul to Mathnasium of Pike Creek. It is my job to define it, build a team that embodies it, and set a path toward it. Ultimately, what you are about to read is the compass that guides all decisions at Mathnasium of Pike Creek. 

Mission

To help as many Delaware children as possible become confident in not only their math abilities, problem-solving, and critical thinking, but also in themselves. We aim to provide a safe, fun, supportive, and positive environment where students and staff members thrive and grow.

The mission has a few key points to note beyond face value. Firstly, we emphasize confidence before we emphasize math. On our front window, you will see our slogan: “Building Confidence Through Math.” This slogan says a lot about how we treat the students at Mathnasium. We aren’t there to blindly help them get better at math. We are there to help them improve as learners and critical thinkers, to ultimately become confident in their own ability to achieve any goal. 

Next, we mention the importance of problem-solving and critical thinking. Math in a vacuum, when analyzed purely from the standpoint of a school subject, can arguably be considered “not that important.” I hear it all the time. I don’t agree with this stance, but acknowledge that it might hold some merit. However, when you incorporate the importance of math in the context of the cognitive development of a child’s brain–how math to a young mind is like fertilizer to a plant–you start to recognize that learning math is extremely important. When you add in the idea that having young people learn math is about developing the skill of solving problems, you realize this practice is more of a life skill than a school subject. 

The second piece of the mission unpacks some of what will be covered later when we discuss our core values. What I want you to recognize now is that we focus on the growth of students and staff. I was initially drawn to this business model because I knew I would be employing many people of different backgrounds and different desires, many of whom would be early in their careers. I wanted a business where I could create a positive sense of community, not just for customers but for the entirety of the business, and that is built into the mission. Without happy employees, our students suffer. Beyond that important business factor, I simply care about the people here and want their experience to be beneficial to them.

Vision

Building confidence and encouraging the growth of all.

Attached to the mission, our vision is what we want the future to look like. Confidence and growth for everyone involved is our North Star. 

Values

Our core values are critically important. They are on the back of our employee nametags and hung on the wall of our center. They are the lens through which we hire our team. They are the guiding principles when difficult decisions are made. They are the soul of Mathnasium of Pike Creek. 

Value 1: Safety 

We always prioritize and ensure the physical and emotional safety of students and staff. We practice empathy and ensure that everyone in the center feels heard, understood, and supported.

Safety is important to any business, but we make it a point to be our most respected value. Notably, we don’t consider safety to just be the physical well-being of the students. The physical well-being is, of course, important–all instructors are background checked and trained, and we have strict policies and surveillance in place. 

That said, safety includes psychological well-being too. There are plenty of students whose safe space is Mathnasium, and for those students, we take it very seriously. Some students may be advanced, but are under immense pressure to perform. Other students may be struggling, feeling stupid and embarrassed at school. Many are somewhere in the middle. Regardless of the feelings toward math, our number one value revolves around the commitment to provide a safe and healthy environment for our students. 

Value 2: Personal Growth (In Math And Beyond)

We encourage continuous learning for all students and staff. We embrace mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow, fostering a culture of positivity and curiosity. In turn, we build math mastery within our students and help our staff achieve their personal goals.

Unfortunately, many kids–myself included at one point–learn early that perfection and achievement are the expectations and that to do well in school means to avoid mistakes. This idea translates into real life once they become young adults. We aim to show children that the best way to grow is by embracing mistakes and always seeing supposed failures as opportunities to grow. We do this through math, but the skills translate beyond. 

Likewise, our instructors are encouraged to embody this mindset by making mistakes of their own and embracing the growth that comes with them. No child is the same as another, and as such, we need to constantly try new methods to help them. The only way to make sure we are successful is to evolve ourselves. We stay within the proven structure that Mathnasium provides, but ultimately we embrace the idea that long-term success–for students and instructors alike–is best achieved through continually improving, something you cannot do without making mistakes along the way.

Value 3: Fun

We make sure that students and staff enjoy being here. We strive to make the experience of our students and staff as fun, positive, and rewarding as possible. 

Fun is important for successful learning. Students who don’t have fun, or at the very least don’t engage, do not succeed. We enable fun and engagement through variety in the math content, individualized learning plans, and rewards! 

Rewards are a key element of the curriculum. When a student finishes a page, they earn a star. When they do enough pages, they get to spin the spinwheel for more stars. When they earn enough stars, they can cash those in for toys, candy, gift cards, and more. This method not only works, it teaches children that with hard work comes reward, something that all adults know to be true as a pillar of a successful career.

Value 4: Leadership 

We enable every staff member to be a leader. We encourage problem-solving, decision-making, independence, and teamwork at all levels. We recognize that leadership comes in many forms. Our goal is to cultivate leadership skills and autonomy in both students and staff.

Potential instructors are put through rigorous testing and screening prior to hire. They are assessed for math proficiency on a math test that only has a 20% pass rate. They then must go through a mock-tutoring session with me to see how well they work with kids. Meanwhile, they are screened for their fit to the five core values as well as their general demeanor and professionalism. Even for our younger instructors, make no mistake: these are the cream of the crop.

Once they are hired, they are trained and trained and trained. Then they are trained some more. They know exactly what their expectations are and exactly how to implement the Mathnasium curriculum, a proven system that improves children’s attitude and proficiency by more than 90% across the board. 

As a result of this methodical process, Mathnasium instructors are trusted to be leaders on the instructional floor. They are not just high school kids thrown at a table, or college math majors who are great at math but don’t know how to work with kids, or retired folks who just want to hang out a bit. They are all highly trained professionals who know what they are doing and why they are doing it.

From a leadership perspective, that means that we encourage our instructors to take initiative. In the context of the instructional floor, all of them are trained to be able to not just work within it but manage it. The result is that they are all capable of making decisions to enable the students to thrive every single day. 

Spilling over, leadership includes the students. We encourage them to take ownership of their learning and to become leaders as well. We ask them for feedback and see them often connect with an instructor or two as a role model. Our goal is not just helping kids with math but building confidence. Leadership by all involved is a critical component of this mission. 

Value 5: Openness

We are honest and transparent with each other, with parents and students, with ourselves, and with the community at large.

Openness means many things. For one, it means that we are available and communicative across the board. That means that we pick up the phone. We answer your emails. We speak kindly but directly to parents. If Mathnasium isn’t the right fit for a child, we will be the first to say it. If a child is three grade levels behind, we will tell it like it is and explain how to remediate it and how long we expect it to take. If a parent calls and asks about the price, we share it. If a teacher wants to tour the center and grill us on our methods, we invite them in with open arms. 

Mathnasium is the premier math learning system in the world. We are the best in the business because we solely specialize in math and uniquely focus on results, process, and a positive student experience. We are proud of what we do and are not only willing to share it with the community but are actively excited to share it. We have an open door–come on in!