“With little kids, we’ll do a numerical fluency test, and we play games with them,” she explained. “We make it fun so that they enjoy it.”
The early days
Catherine Labuda and her husband, John, invested in their first Mathnasium center—a math tutoring franchise—when they moved to Texas 15 years ago. The couple, who met in a university math class, quickly knew they wanted to have a broader reach within Cy-Fair and opened two more locations by 2014.
John Labuda said one of the most rewarding parts of the job is watching students grow into their confidence as their grades shift from Ds to As.
“I have parents come up to me and say, ‘Not only have my son’s math grades improved, but all his grades have improved,’ just because of the confidence,” he said.
About the company
Mathnasium has over 1,000 locations across the U.S., with 30 centers in the Greater Houston area. The company prides itself on the “Mathnasium Method,” which uses initial assessments to customize curriculum for each student. Tutors teach second grade math through pre-calculus, which students usually take junior year of high school.
The Labudas said Mathnasium also focuses on creative incentivization, rewarding students with prizes when they take an assessment or work through a certain number of problems.
“Math needs time to marinate,” John Labuda said. “By doing the lesson over several days and weeks, you’re going to master it rather than just learning it for the purpose of studying for a test.”
The Labudas own Mathnasium centers in Cy-Fair, Copperfield and Lakewood, with about 250 students and 30 employees across the three locations. John Labuda said they’ve served almost 3,000 students since their first center opened in 2010.
Reflecting on 15 years in the community, the couple said they’ve been able to grow alongside the students themselves. Some students, who John Labuda calls “lifers,” started going to the Cy-Fair center in elementary school and stayed through high school. A few of them have even applied to be tutors, he said, creating a true full-circle experience.
“We’ve had a lot of instructors who have decided to become math teachers because of the positive experience they’ve had here,” he said.
The future
Catherine Labuda said she hopes to keep demonstrating that anyone can be a “math person.” Basic math sense is crucial in all aspects of life, the couple explained, noting that fewer kids in recent years are able to do simple calculations in their head.
Even as teaching becomes more digital, John Labuda said they will continue to have students write out their work because the physical process aids retention and comprehension. Most importantly, though, they’re going to continue making math playful.
“It’s important to engage with the whole person,” Catherine Labuda said. “Parents want the children to have worksheets to do at home, and that’s not what my message is. They want time with [their parents] and if you play games with them, they’re going to be engaging with all their senses.”
