Helping students score off the ice

They gained a reputation locally for scoring goals on the ice. Now, Dan and Michael Karp are helping fellow Five Towners score in a much different arena, and assisting them in reaching their goal. Dan, a 27 year old Woodmere native and hockey extraordinaire, who’s #4 jersey was retired by HAFTR (’03 HS), has recently opened Mathnasium in the Five Towns, a learning center specializing in tutoring math ,grades K – 12 including SAT and test preparation.

Dan, together with his brother Michael, 23, who also is a hockey enthusiast and formerly with an executive recruiting firm specializing in IT placement, opened the learning center in March. Dan, who studied international business and nutrition, initially came on board with Mathnasium as a consultant, focused on helping to reorganize international operations . Currently Dan wears two hats, as owner of the Cedarhurst Mathnasium center and as the international performance and franchise business consultant to 60 centers in the northeast and 12 countries. “Math is universal,” noted Dan who has traveled extensively on behalf of the company. “I’ve had meetings with centers in Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Columbia.”

The two brothers who describe themselves as having completely different skill sets that complement each other, are excited to be working together, and in their community, and stress how the Mathnasium approach is different and apart from other tutoring centers. “ Opening in the Five Towns is an opportunity to work with my brother Michael, who is a math genius. We (Mathnasium) are not a band-aid, we are a long term fix,” said Dan.

The Karp brothers describe the satisfaction they reap from the kids’ “ahha! moments.” “We find that kids don’t hate math, they hate being confused by math. We make math make sense. Our learning plans are customized to suit individual needs. “ Dan and Michael stress that Mathnasium offers the gamut, “ Remediation to maintenance to enrichment. Our amotto is ‘catch up, keep up and get ahead’.”

According to Michael there are ” two different aspects at a macro level, doing math, and reading math, the latter being the first level of attack especially with the SAT. Once you understand where you need to start, the rest begins to unfold.”

Learning at Mathnasium takes place one on one in a group setting, according to Dan Karp. “We let the student attack the problem on their own, it’s not a typical tutoring session. We want to see and witness their thought process. It’s more tactile, more visual. The more we understand the students, the better we can help them.”

With 330 centers operating in the United States and twelve countries including Israel, Mathnasium’s approach is much akin to a gym. ‘There are no miracles,” stated Michael. “What you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it.”

“We look forward to welcoming back students that were away for the summer, students that joined us over the summer, and new students this year,” said Dan. Both brothers describe the sense of accomplishment when a student says “the world makes so much more sense to me now.” The feeling of confidence that kids get from excelling in school carries over into other areas in life, they both noted.

Dan and Michael look forward to greeting parents and their children at the center’s upcoming Open House this Sunday, September 9 from 2 to 5:30 p.m.