Kumon Math and Reading Center of Colleyville

I sent my daughter to Trish’s Kumon center for about 4 years. She started the summer after the 3^rd grade a little behind in math — subtraction was shaky. Trish fixed that and we continued. At the end of 4 years she was 2 years ahead of grade level and was allowed to take Honors Algebra I in the 7^th grade. She had time for 2 years of Calculus in high school, took the AP exam and tested out of Calculus in college. She is a smart girl, but she would not have accomplished this without Kumon. The practice Kumon delivered gave her a rock solid foundation in Math. It also supercharged her confidence. She went from «I’m no good in Math.» to «ace of the base». Confidence breeds a willingness to try hard. Her Calculus teacher told me she was not the best student he ever had, but she was the most hard-​working. She was willing to go bother him every day with what she did not understand because she knew she could master the material. She had proved it over and over to herself at Kumon. Although she complained bitterly about doing the Kumon homework, she even acknowledged at the time that it gave her advantages over her contemporaries in speed, accuracy, and «number sense». Today she says that when she has children, they will go to Kumon. I will say that Kumon demands courage and consistency from the parent. You must insist that the student do the homework daily and pay attention to the time it takes. You have to have the courage to stand up for your child’s best interest even though they complain. It is worth the effort. Schools have curricula that have so many elements of instruction that they do not have adequate time to practice with the major concepts. Kumon allows that practice. It goes at the student’s pace. It does not force them ahead until they have mastered the material.
That was the program. Now about Trish. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met. She is unfailingly encouraging to the children while being honest with them. They really like her. An equally important factor is that she is an excellent math teacher. She has a Master’s in Math from Northwestern U in Chicago: a real Math degree, not «Math education». She taught Math at a Jesuit prep school in Chicago. She has run a Kumon Center (or two) for 20 years.
Best of luck with your child’s Math education.

I have been bringing my children here for a couple of years now. All I can say is, if you want your kids to learn good study habits, and get ahead of the crowd in school, this is perfect for you. The facility is very nice, and the teachers area all very experienced and helpful, especially the owner, Trish. Kids learn by doing. If you give you kids the time to practice through Kumon, they will really absorb what they’re learning, and never forget.

Kumon, thus far, has been moderately helpful. The jury is still out on my first grader who still struggles with preschool, pre-​reading skills. My older child is definitely getting some very basic skills he missed along the way. The owner of the Colleyville and Southlake Kumon is not a pleasant person. She’s rude, and devoid of people skills. Her ego prevents any honest exchanges, and her communication style (lack of) is is avoidance, then defense. The bathrooms are often without lightbulbs, toilet paper, or even a trashcan (ladies and teen girls need a trash can in the restroom, right?), and the building/​space, like the owner, is cold and uninviting. They don’t take credit cards, or any form of payment other than a check (hello 1995), and cash (IRS alert). The Kumon system itself is not particularly difficult to understand, but the lack of interest in communicating the system, and the hostility offered when a parent has a question add up to most parents not knowing exactly what is going on. A child’s strengths are not at all taken into consideration. This is a program to reveal weakness, and then to attack that weakness by flooding with repetition. They use worksheets. Period. If you are looking for a holistic, warm, caring approach to tutoring, or a strengths based program… walk away. If your child needs reinforcement or repetition to learn things that she or he loathes, or avoids, then step right up. My kids actually hate it now. At first they enjoyed the newness of it all, but that kind of special wore off quickly. Think 1976 public school styled learning. Kids sitting in uncomfortable chairs filling out worksheets, and being timed. Luckily it’s only an hour and a half once per week, then follow up homework that takes much less time. I’m convinced that under better ownership, this Kumon would be a much better place. It costs 250.00 per subject per child. You have two subjects offered. Math, and reading. Actually, it’s less reading and more language arts. There is a difference, but they don’t seem to worry about the details. Obviously this is not how you want your children to be taught in school, but this is a tutoring service. You know how we have been hearing for the last 25 years or so, that American children are behind in math? If you saw how math was taught in schools today, you would know that we will continue to be behind for a very long time. Kumon might be the answer on this one.