I love summer. The weather is nice, the pool is inviting . . . and my children are at home. This is a terrific time to make great progress in their Kumon studies. Maintaining the Kumon habit through the summer helps to add structure to the day, and when your student returns to school in the fall, his mind will be sharp. Usually many of his classmates have taken the summer off and it takes a while to get restarted; often children spend the first six weeks of school in review just to get the children used to thinking again.

If you've been thinking of adding a second subject for your child, summer is the perfect time to start it. They have lots of free time and can get used to the second subject without fitting school in as well. When school starts in the fall, they will be used to the two subject routine. Be sure to see one of our reception people if you are interested in having your child test in a second subject.

Don't! Well, at least please reconsider. The children lose their edge and their Kumon "habit" during even a one month break. Historically I have found that a one month break tends to cost two months in progress. It is far better simply to reduce the workload than to stop entirely. But if you really must take a break, please let us know as soon as possible. If you would like, we are happy to prepare work for your child to take with them during your vacation. The workload can be adjusted at your request. 

Some reminders concerning Kumon North America's policies: a break of longer than two consecutive months requires another registration and materials fee ($100) and another deposit ($125 per subject). Also, if a student receives work during a month, tuition must be paid for the whole month.   

Many of our assistants will be graduating from high school and leaving us soon and Mrs. Jan thought I should point out how fantastic these people are. Among those who are graduating this year are future students of Yale, Rice, Stanford, Texas A&M and UT. We have also had our employees leave us to attend Penn State, MIT, Notre Dame and UT Honors Business School, among others. Generally, our employees are among the top students of our neighboring high schools. Several are college students: Tim Vo, our Assistant Manager, is a junior majoring in electrical engineering at UH; Kesia Nguyen is also at UH pursuing a premed curriculum, and Jonathan Shyu is majoring in business. At least two of our employees that I know of have been valedictorian of their high school (one from JV and one from CyFair). Many are former or current Kumon students. And, of course, four are former/current teachers (Mrs. Jan, Mrs. Patel, Mrs. Dugas, Mrs. Patterson).

 

I have been asked by many of you about employment of your children. The Federal Child Labor Laws require that an employee must be at least 14. However, I rarely hire someone that young unless they have completed Level J or higher in the Math Program. Those students are not hired unless they commit to Program Completion. I am not currently hiring but will probably be hiring as soon as this August to fill upcoming vacancies.

Our awards ceremony was held Saturday, April 18, in unfortunately soggy conditions. That did not dampen the spirits of the over 300 in attendance, however! I was so proud as our recent Program Completers, Diana Tran and Drishti Wadhwa, spoke about what Kumon had meant to them. We then enjoyed an inspirational film featuring program completers; click here to see the video, and here to see a selection of a variety of different Kumon inspirational videos.

 

Over 220 awards were passed out, and almost 200 of our students received awards for studying at least six months above grade level. Awards were also given for reaching G by 5, completing Level J in Math, being enrolled with us for four years or more (Gabriel Ko and Angela Attia have been enrolled seven years!), and Program completion.

 

Don't miss our next Awards Ceremony! It will be held at the Berry Center next April.