We expect students to get better scores in math and love doing it.

Sharpen arithmetic skills. This includes a strong emphasis on mental math and agility. Thinking on your feet and thinking creatively is a part of successful math. Often older students struggle in math and math-related courses because they need a refresher on the fundamentals. That's where we come in. Foster collaboration and teamwork. Academics involves teamwork and mathematics is no different. Partner, group, and class-oriented learning are all utilized in order to show students that there are different ways to learn.  Practice, practice, practice. There's no way around it. But we're here to show that practicing and studying does not have to be boring. Studying can involve games!

Pique interest in math and sciences! Students turn away from subjects that they can't understand. By sharpening skills and invoking collaborative methods, we expect students will see why math is both useful and interesting.    Provide useful study techniques. Sometimes it's difficult to know exactly how to study. We're here to show effective ways that have broader effects on students' scholastic achievement.   Broad implications. Improving fundamental math skills means greater confidence in academics. Once a student finds success within reach, the sky is the limit.

Why worry about mental math and math fundamentals? Having worked with many students today,  I can tell you that today's students are exceedingly reliant on their calculators. They ask, why do I need to do much of anything in my head? In the Instagram age, it sure is easy to quickly open up your phone or powerful graphing calculator and punch numbers and copy what the computer spits out. This logic is faulty for many reasons, most importantly sometimes not being able to get the right answer. If students have no "number sense" or ability to judge the validity of an answer, then you start to have issues. Then standardized tests come around and suddenly not just accuracy but speed counts. I loved and excelled in competitive times tables tests from a young age and believe their is a direct correlation between that and my passion for math in sciences.  But for students who are reliant on calculators or have generally less-than-ideal mental math and math fundamental skills, as AP and college comes around, these students are often left with only one option: refrain from pursuing a degree in math or science. I'm ready to change that. It's not an idea that you've seen much press about because guess what? It's not difficult!! I've seen students who can understand the fundamental theorem of calculus but hardly understand fundamental concepts in arithmetic. This is a beautifully simple yet elegant course to improve and bolster the arithmetic foundation of our middle- and high-school students. The results are too profound to pass up.