There are more than 750 Mathnasium Learning Center franchise locations across the United States, yet the Mathnasium of Roslyn is continually honored as one of the best.
Owner Alan Flyer opened the Roslyn Heights location in January 2011 and has been named at Mathnasium’s annual International Franchise Convention as one of the Top 10 Single-Center Owners for six years.
“It’s nice every year to come home and put an award on the desk and know we’re doing good work,” Flyer said. “As one of many nationally, it’s a sign we’re doing what we’re supposed to do.”
Flyer said he works with students ranging from first grade through high school to either catch up on missed skills or to get ahead of the pack. Mathnasium uses in-house materials for its lessons, giving students a newfound confidence and understanding of the techniques.
“We are very proud of Mathnasium of Roslyn and the dedication its staff has demonstrated over the past year to achieve this honor,” Mathnasium co-founder Peter Markovitz said. “The Roslyn Heights Mathnasium team always puts students first, which is the key to any Center’s rising to become one of our top performers. We believe that any child can become good in math, and Mathnasium of Roslyn strives every day to make this possible for every student.”
The first thing Flyer does, he said, is give each student an oral and written assessment.
“We want to figure out what students know and, more importantly, what they don’t know,” Flyer said. “I don’t work with a student strictly based on their grade level or their age or what school they attend. I base it on where they are, what they know.”
Flyer said he begins with basic mathematical problems and works his way up to the harder questions before giving students a similarly formatted written assessment to test what they know, what they could use more instruction on and what concepts are completely new.
“My goal with that assessment process is to see what kids are comfortable doing and then find some of the things that are weaknesses or brand new things they haven’t learned yet,” Flyer said. “This way, I know what to work on with them. Every student has a very individualized learning plan, so every student is working on materials picked specifically for their needs.”
Flyer said the center has approximately 150 students enrolled during the school year and about 70 during the summer, though spring is the most popular time for the center.
Flyer has been deeply invested in the center at 217A Mineola Ave. in Roslyn Heights for the past seven years, but he has been toying with the idea of opening a second location in Port Washington.
“I think it’s a good area to build on what we do and expand our reach a little bit,” Flyer said. “We do get students from Port Washington, and I know it’s a little bit of a drive to get to Roslyn Heights. I’d love to be able to work more with kids in Port Washington. I’ve had parents who have said it would be great if we could be a little closer to them.”
