Frequently Asked Questions

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We are delighted that you have an interest. We start by scheduling an assessment to see how best we can serve your family.

Assessments typically last two hours. We start with a tour of our beautiful facilities then engage your children to see what they like about math and then do some informal math exploration. We administer a written test to see which of our classes and/or private tutoring might best serve them and show parents and children the materials that we use. The assessment allows us to generate a detailed written report with suggestions of how we can work together. We hope that the assessments are fun and educational for the students and that parents leave feeling confident that we can serve your family's needs.

Not only can they, but we ask that they do. We like our assessments to be fully transparent so that parents can see what we see in the student work and so that some of what we share they can, as they wish, reinforce with their children after the session.

Absolutely! Check out our tutoring page.

Our founder and lead teacher also works for Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) and we use their curricula (plus additional content we have developed). We highly recommend AoPS, whether in-person academies (including the local Morrisville, NC one) or their virtual or online school.

Our classes have scope and sequence that generally are supersets of state standards. Upon joining, families receive documentation about mappings of the standards and classes.

Most of our classes meet once a week for two hours and we follow a 36-week academic schedule. In fall 2025 we launched our first language arts class; that meets for one hour for ten weeks.

We use the canvas course management system. We post content of each class on canvas so that students can review lessons or, in case of absence, can see what they have missed.

We use Instructure's learning management system (LMS) called "canvas". An LMS allows us to organize our course content. Parents or students can access it from a computer or phone to review content we have taught, see what homework is assigned, and submit homework. We also use canvas to communicate messages about the school or of topics of interest, such as math opportunities, writing competitions, or ideas that parents can use with their children. 

There are many educational enrichment programs available and we are happy that you are considering ours. We want what's best for students and don't hesitate to recommend competitive programs as appropriate. Some of what we feel makes us special include that we use fun and proven curricula with a "low floor" (easy to start) and "high ceiling" (challenging problems that can be explored for deeper understanding). We try to engender a closeness of belonging; here are some examples:

• We happily engage families with additional help, recommend resources, and work with them to make sure that their children thrive in our classes and tutoring.
• Our teachers and tutors enjoy both their subject area and sharing their knowledge.
• At around the start of classes each August we have a dinner party kickoff to the school year.
• In mid-December we have a white elephant gift exchange holiday party.
• Upon suggestion of a parent, starting in summer 2024 we organize playdates (get togethers for older students) at area parks over the summers, providing fruit and/or other snacks. 

We want students who want to be there. Many of them are surprised when a 2-hour class is over and often remark at how much fun they had and how quickly the time has gone by. We use our assessments to try to ensure that there is a good fit, but, in spite of the process, if things don't work out for any reason, including change of availability, we offer a prorated refund allowing for some nonrefundable costs of supplies.

You can see and read about our teachers and teaching assistants on our teacher page. All of our math teachers have advanced degrees in math or related fields. All of our language arts teachers have Ph.D.s in English.

All of our math tutors are carefully chosen both for their deep understanding of math and for their ability to teach. Most are college or upper class high school students, but we also have a few other categories of tutors including senior college professors moving toward retirement who want to teach children and retirees from mathematical careers.

We work with teaching assistants to tutor and help grade classwork. If you or somebody you know has expertise in math (or language arts), has a track record of excellent teaching or tutoring, and wants to work with us, please contact us!

All of our classes meet in Chapel Hill, NC. Most of them meet at the Sancar Cultural Center at  1609 E. Franklin Street near Whole Foods Market and the Chapel Hill Public Library. We do offer tutoring in-person and virtually.

We offer very reasonable tuition rates which are payable in three installments, one upon registration, another by December, and the final by March. We have our own scholarship program for families in need which enrolled parents can optionally contribute toward.

In addition, Education Student Accounts (ESA+) scholarship funds help North Carolina families pay for  education and services for children with disabilities. Mathematics Institute of the Triangle is an enrolled provider for the ESA+ scholarship and is  approved to accept ESA+ scholarship funds. For more information on the ESA+ scholarship, visit: https://k12.ncseaa.edu.