Why more children in Sudbury, Ont. are being enrolled into after-school math programs

More and more parents in Sudbury, Ont., are enrolling their children into after-school math tutoring, as an extra curricular activity. 

It's led to the emergence of several private schools that offer math in the northeast over the years, including Eye Level Learning, Tutor Doctor and Kumon. 

When Dana Lazar noticed her five-year-old son's appetite for math was growing, she decided to research the options available and eventually enrolled him into Kumon.

"From school, we didn't have a lot of feedback. His school reports showed that he was good with numbers," Lazar said. 

Lazar said she was impressed with her son when he told her that he wanted to learn more about math, outside of school hours. 

As long as the passion is there ... as long as the interest is there, for sure, we want to pursue this.— Dana Lazar, parent of student enrolled in Kumon

"He's having fun, he's enjoying what he does in school but I don't think that there is, at least at this age, that kind of commitment and focusing for 30 minutes with 10 pages of additions," she said. 

Lazar said while other children may go to extra curricular activities like hockey or baseball, her son has chosen math.

"As long as the passion is there ... as long as the interest is there, for sure, we want to pursue this." 

To tap into the growing demand for math tutoring in Sudbury, Krishnan Venkataraman recently opened up a Kumon location in the city's south end. 

'It wasn't doing enough'

Venkataraman said he decided to enter the tutoring business after his son was diagnosed with special needs. 

"I didn't think he was being challenged sufficiently in the school system," he said. "He had an individualized education program but it wasn't doing enough." 

Similarly to Lazar, he began looking for a Kumon centre in Sudbury but said he couldn't find one.

"So in 2011, I opened the first Kumon centre in Sudbury," he said. 

In 2018, he decided to sell that location but recently decided to open up another. 

He said what really separates Kumon apart from other math tutoring services is its ability to individualize learning. 

Venkataraman estimates there are at least 200 children enrolled at the moment in Kumon, in Sudbury. On average, he said it costs between $140 and $160 per month. 

He said while some people might find the service expensive, it's not unlike other extra curricular activities, such as sports, that children are often enrolled in. 

Enrichment vs. support

The business, Venkataraman said, sees a range of children, some who might be there because they need some extra help and others who have become keenly interested in math. 

"In my experience, I would say it's almost a 60-40 split. The 60 being the children coming in for review or support and help. And the 40, coming in for enrichment," he said. 

"It says to me that there are gaps in the education system, which we will probably need to work on to fill so that we have more students coming in for enrichment than for review or support." 

Venkataraman said there is likely enough demand in Sudbury to warrant at least one more location. He said he doesn't foresee demand diminishing anytime soon.