Business Spotlight: Kumon Math & Reading Center of Brownsburg
Writer / Jamie Hergott
Photography Provided
The Kumon Math & Reading Center of Brownsburg is finishing up its sixth year of offering students appropriately challenging material and has recently completed an expansion that doubled its physical space.
Kelley Crocket, owner and Chief Instructor at this location, is passionate about what she does. Shes a career teacher who, 10 years ago, decided she needed a change and some additional challenges. Starting a Kumon franchise turned out to be the perfect fit, as it combined the challenges of owning a business with the satisfaction of helping students learn in new ways.
Owning a business has new challenges every single day, Crockett says. There are always new headaches, new joys and new things to learn.
Crockett feels strongly about setting the record straight regarding how Kumon serves its students and families. Kumon is both a math and reading program that helps students develop the skills necessary to become self-learners. Its designed to support students across a wide spectrum of abilities.
One of our biggest goals is to help students work at a level that helps them build character traits such as independence, risk-taking and resilience, Crockett adds. We want them to learn to make connections between what they know and new material so they can enjoy learning through self-discovery. We want them to know that being brave is more important than being perfect because making mistakes is an important part of the learning process.
Whether students are struggling in school or studying at an advanced level, Kumon challenges them in ways that meet them right where they are.
Kumon is an international program and uses essentially the same curriculum no matter where in the world its being taught. The key to Kumon is consistency, daily practice and building confidence through small victories. Thats accomplished by building a habit of daily study, even on weekends, learning organization and taking ownership of study as students build a history of success and grow in knowledge.
Crockett describes the curriculum as a mastery-based program. This means students master a skill before moving on to new material. Scores on daily assignments, average completion time and tests are tools for making plans to further mastery of a topic or skill. In Kumon, how a student completes work is just as important as the work itself. If there are mistakes, Crockett helps them revise. If students show the work is too easy, she moves them toward a different challenge.
When we get into topics, we dive in deeply to improve knowledge and understanding so a student can master the concepts, Crockett says. With each success, students gain knowledge, confidence and motivation. They need to have a history of success so they know they can be successful in the future.
Students attend sessions twice a week where they receive coaching on new and current material, spending approximately 25 minutes on each subject. Each assignment is given with a purpose in mind. Crockett recommends parents give Kumon a year to see overall benefits. She finds instructing Kumon to be incredibly rewarding and loves coaching students into success.
My favorite thing is when a student discovers that theyre smarter than they ever thought they could be, Crockett says. Then, and only then, when you believe you can succeed wholeheartedly, are you motivated to try something new. Real growth and learning begin when students are motivated risk-takers, willing to delve into new concepts.
Kumon Math & Reading Center of Brownsburg is located at 1430 North Green Street Bay Suite F in Brownsburg. For more information or a free placement test, call at 317-350-6070 or visit them online at kumon.com/brownsburg.
