MathWizard offers supplemental courses in math, science and English as well as SAT preparation.[/caption]
Most outside educational programs target students who are struggling in the classroom. MathWizard in Missouri City, however, focuses on advanced students to help keep them engaged in the classroom.
Tamika Griffin opened MathWizard in 2013 to assist high achieving elementary, middle and high school students in Fort Bend ISD advance their studies outside of the classroom.
“In the regular classroom it is almost impossible for teachers to reach every level of student in terms of meeting the needs of every child,” Griffin said. “We do service kids who are remedial and we do service kids who want to keep up in their school curriculum, but we provide an avenue for kids who are more advanced.”
Students who enroll in the programs at MathWizard are given an assessment to measure their skills before being assigned to a course. Each course lasts an hour and is held once a week.
Griffin said she makes it a point to emphasize to every new student that the programs are not tutoring sessions but rather supplemental educational classes.
“Tutoring sometimes has a negative connotation because it can make students feel bad about themselves, and it feels like they are being made fun of,” she said. “We are here to advance [students], and we are here to help them.”
MathWizard—an Ohio-based education company—teaches Common Core practices. Griffin does, however, tailor the center’s math, science and English curriculum to Texas’ education standards.
Common Core is a U.S.-backed primary education standard that focuses on preparing students to enter college or the workforce. Common Core has been adopted in 43 states in the U.S., not including Texas.
With eight years of teaching experience in Alvin ISD, Alvin Community College and Houston Community College, Griffin said she teaches Common Core techniques to introduce students to a different approach to solving problems in each subject.
“The [Common Core] curriculum is still comparable to the [Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills] in many ways,” she said. “What I found is our curriculum challenges our students in Texas. Our programs are not designed to keep students remedial.”
Although the center offers science and English courses, Griffin said the math program is the center’s most popular program. She said this is because the math program does not emphasize memorization skills, but instead teaches students how to analyze problems and solve them through critical thinking.
As a result of the center’s analytical approach, Griffin saw a 100 percent passing rate for her students taking standardized tests during the 2014-15 school year.
“It is no longer good enough for a kid to learn that two [multiplied] by two is four,” she said. “The kid needs to know that two groups of two equals four, and they need to be able to do it in a word problem.”
