Our Team at Mathnasium of Prosper

Jen Sanchez

Jen has lived in Prosper for over 20 years and raised two daughters in Prosper ISD from K to 12. She has a BA in psychology, a MBA in marketing and tutored math in high school and college. She previously owned a professional organizing company, coached two youth sports teams for 11 seasons and since 2008, has volunteered & fundraised in Prosper schools and served as a Board Member for the Prosper Education Foundation. She was named Prosper's Person of the Year 2013 by Prosper MagazineTM and she was one of 15 Texans to receive the Texas Education Agency's Heroes for Children award from the State Board of Education in 2015. She is known to local kids as the Box Tops Lady and Math Mom and she was recognized as one of Prosper's Hometown Heroes in 2021 & 2023. At Mathnasium's annual international convention, Mathnasium of Prosper received the 2017 Mathnasium Eight Success Factors/Parent Relationships award, and the 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021 Mathnasium Voice of the Customer/Top Net Promoter Score award, the 2022 Most Accurate Assessing Center award and the 2023 Most Loved Center/Net Promoter Score Award. Locally, our center received the 2018 Prosper High School Community Award and was named Prosper's Business of the Year in 2020. Twice, readers have voted Mathansium of Prosper to be the Best of Living Magazine in 2022 & 2024. Why does Jen love Mathnasium? "It started with meeting our founder, Larry Martinek. I immediately connected with him when he said, 'Children don't hate math. What they hate is being confused, intimidated, and embarrassed by math.' I have always loved math, but my relationship with it wasn't always positive. By 5th grade, it was determined I was two years ahead of my classmates, so I told to sit alone in the corner of the classroom with my own math book, separated from the other students. Later, I walked with a small group from the middle school to the high school for math classes and then back to our middle school to finish the day. We were special, but not included with kids our own age. I was very aware that most people saw me as different. That doesn't do a lot for a young teen's confidence, which affected my attitude and approach to other areas in my life. It took years to realize that everyone is different (and that's ok!), needs encouragement when they fail, should be taught to recognize opportunities, deserves praise & rewards along the way and should be recognized when each succeeds. That shouldn't be embarrassing. That should be celebrated! I understand the value of 'teachable moments' and the inevitable rush of pride when challenges are identified, hard work is applied and goals are achieved. As Larry says, 'With understanding comes passion, and with passion comes growth - a treasure is unlocked.' Mathnasium of Prosper will do exactly that for your children. My team and I focus on the needs of the child in front of us. Many times, a student feels like the only one in the room (or in the family) who doesn't 'get it,' and is discouraged from asking questions. Have you ever heard a child say, 'That's not how my teacher did it. I can't do it your way or I'll get it wrong!' Often they can't relate to help at home because they don't want to listen to the way their parents learned math and it sounds nothing like what happened in the classroom. The result: frustration, conflict, confusion & confidence problems. Then comes lack of motivation and productivity, issues with self-esteem and troubled relationships. Homework becomes stressful, test-taking is painful, grades suffer and nobody is happy. There is also the child who cannot get enough material, doesn't feel challenged, searches for options, gets into trouble simply out of curiosity, has untapped energy and then utters every parent's favorite phrase, 'I'm bored!' We can handle them, too! We address all of this at Mathnasium of Prosper through our assessment process, use of the Mathnasium MethodTM and curriculum. I am confident that every child in our center will leave informed, encouraged, motivated & renewed. Imagine what a student can do in all areas of life with that kind of confidence. As Larry says, 'Knowing the correct answer solves one question. Knowing WHY an answer is correct solves an INFINITE number of questions!'"