Kumon Math and Reading Center of North Andover

The staff is very accommodating for scheduling and my daughter seems happy with their services. The pricing is reasonable and the method works for her.

My five stars are for this particular Kumon location and its staff. The «Kumon Method» is a different subject entirely, ok guys?
The cost is $ 100 per subject per child. So both math and reading (and that’s all there is) would be $ 200/​month for either one or two weekly visits to the center. The center is open Monday, Thursday, and Saturday for classwork, but students have Kumon worksheets everyday.
I wish there had been a Unilocal review of what Kumon was before I started it for my kid. I really had no idea.
Kumon is a Japanese method of learning the fundamentals of math and reading. It emphasizes repetition and accuracy and forces students do do the work within time constraints. So this isn’t «new math» and it’s not individualized instruction.
Students come to Kumon and are often placed below grade level and are forced to work through the basics. I think this is a good idea, as it builds confidence, but I can also see how this could be a marketing/​sales stroke of genius. If you start a fourth grader off doing second grade work you’ll keep them longer, no? The students sit in a large open room, under watchful eye of the instructor/​assistants and do worksheets. Very young children doing «Junior Kumon» are in a separate smaller room. Kumon is NOT personalized instruction. Kumon will NOT help your child with their homework. They have a method, they teach their method. I think that’s fine for what it is, but it’s not super clear initially. It is all about memorization of facts and rote memory which is NOT stressed in school these days. I’m old school… I like that for my kid.
THE GOOD: The basics are stressed. A child will receive a foundation in math and reading that will only help them in a public or private school. The organization of the staff in North Andover is mind boggling. They have a system of check in and check out and homework/​classwork tracking that is enviable. I really don’t know how a worksheet never goes astray, but they don’t. The Instructor, S. Donti is fastidious about work being done properly, and demands perfection with a quiet authority. I think she may have written tax code in a past life. But she knows her stuff. No one gets anything past Mrs. Donti and I LOVE that.
THE BAD: The waiting room is small. Sometimes it takes over an hour, sometimes class takes 15 minutes. There is no way to know.
THE UGLY: I think the tables could use a good wipe-​downs in between students; with so many coming and going I think a lot of the germs my kid brought home this year were from Kumon. A little Lysol would go a long way in there.
THE VERDICT: a couple of colds aren’t enough to keep my kid out of this program. The work is solid, the Instructor knowledgeable, and my kid is building confidence I didn’t know possible. I am thrilled with this program and would and do recommend it to friends. It’s not the right fit for every student, but it’s worth a shot…