Back to School 2020!

This school year brings unprecedented challenges for students as they grapple with increasingly difficult work in all their classess, in the context of COVID-19. Few subjects build on concepts and skills learned in years prior as much as math does. With the way COVID-19 impacted the end of last school year, many children simply aren’t ready to pick up where they left off.

The start of this school year comes with a crucial adjustment period as students settle into their academic routines. Unfortunately, this year, we’re seeing the realization that they’re a bit rusty in certain subjects—especially math. Kids who spent late spring and summer engaging in fewer, or less effective than typical, math activities likely need extra time and help to build their math muscles back up. For many, this can result in poor performance going into this academic year. Left unchecked, these setbacks do add up.

Fortunately, the beginning of the school year and the early fall months present a valuable opportunity for students to start working toward this year’s math goals before they feel the full brunt of academic pressures and deadlines. This is an ideal time for parents to understand where their kids stand in math. For children, incorporating additional math work sooner rather than later helps them strengthen math muscles and recall important concepts from the prior year.

Mathnasium, for example, provides students with customized programs that, with two or three hours per week of study, can shake off the fog of summer and prepare kids for the challenges that lie ahead. Mathnasium students have shown significant increases in performance on standards-based tests in 20 sessions or fewer, the equivalent of a few months’ work.

Starting a program of structured study at Mathnasium of Papillion can make all the difference between starting off well or having a difficult year. Pinpointing problem areas before math struggles get out of hand can help set the tone for students to develop a more positive relationship with math and embrace opportunities for learning that lie ahead.