Private math classes thriving in Ontario

TORONTO — Four years ago, Arsheen Abbas signed her son up for private afterschool math lessons because she felt the Grade 4 subject curriculum was not rigorous enough.

The Oakville, Ont., mother enrolled her son in Spirit of Math — one of several private tutoring companies operating in Ontario — in hopes of bolstering his learning at an early stage.

“They are not teaching math the same way that we used to be taught,” Abbas said of the lessons her son was receiving in school. “One of our concerns, which we’ve heard from many parents, is that once ( students) get to high school, all of a sudden they are flabbergasted by the amount of math or kind of math they need to do.”

Abbas’ son, who is now in Grade 8 and still attends Spirit of Math classes, is among a growing number of students in Ontario using private after- school tutoring businesses to boost their math education.

The rise in enrolment at such programs coincides with a decline in math scores on standardized tests amongst elementary students in the province.

Tutoring companies like Kumon and Oxford Learning say they help students develop independent learning skills, and Spirit of Math says it coaches already high- achieving students to greater academic heights. But some critics say the forprofit programs are out of reach for less affluent families, while others caution they may not be the right fit for every child.

Ontario’s Ministry of Education wasn’t able to provide data on how many students attend private tutoring programs, but Kumon, Oxford and Spirit of Math reported significant increases in enrolment over the past five years. As of October, over 28,000 students were enrolled in Kumon math programs in Ontario alone, the company said.

Parents often come to after- school learning programs saying their child has a bad teacher or doesn’t get along with their teachers, said Jason LeLiever, director of an Oxford Learning franchise in north Toronto.