We are excited to announce updates to the Operations Manual [1] and associated materials and resources in M2—many of which were previewed in July at our BIG Convention in Dallas!
Release highlights include…
NEW: Training Courses on Mathnasium University!
To provide you with further guidance and support as you fine-tune and execute your business systems, the following training courses are now available on Mathnasium University [2]. The Training Syllabus [3] has also been updated to reflect these changes. Beef up your Mathnasium operational know-how by taking these training courses!
Marketing
- Lead Conversion: M.A.T.H. Model
Learning Center Business Systems
- Progress Reporting
Education
- Teaching Constructs – Counting
- Teaching Constructs – Wholes and Parts
- Teaching Constructs – Proportional Thinking
Note: Upon login, you and your Instructors may not be able to view all of these courses for a few days due to system updates to the training path/portal currently in progress.
NEW: Progress Reporting Program and Expanded Great Parent Relationships Success Factor
The wait is over: Progress reporting functionality is now live on M2 along with associated resources and support documentation! Use these new tools and materials to build and facilitate stronger parent relationships through consistent communication with parents about their child’s progress at Mathnasium. Managing customer expectations/concerns and establishing win-win-win (parent-student-Center) relationships over the customer life cycle just became easier!
Check out the new Progress Report Manager tab; from there, you’ll be able to send progress reporting emails in batch to all parents monthly. To get started, follow the walkthrough steps here [4] (also available in the M2 Guide [5]).
We’ve also expanded the Great Parent Relationships success factor with six new microsystems, arming you with more guidelines to help you maintain open lines of communication with parents and foster long term customer relationships critical for success:
- Express Interest and Care
- Conference with Parents
- Report Learning Plan Progress
- Screen for Barriers to Student Progress
- Respond to Progress Concerns
- Retain Customers
Also Available:
- New resource: Parent Communication Guidelines
- Mathnasium University Training Course: Progress Reporting
Get ready to make the most of this exciting new program by reading the Operations Manual [1], taking the training course [2], and updating those Learning Plans!
NEW: Right Instruction Microsystem
The new Teach the Content: Use Mathnasium Teaching Constructs and Instructional Language microsystem expands our recommendations for providing students with the Right Instruction necessary for success.
Inside, you’ll find:
- A comprehensive overview of the Mathnasium Teaching Constructs, a key area of focus for continuing Instructor training and development
- Breakdown of instructional icons and how they’re supported by key instructional language
- Overview of general curriculum pages and how Instructors can use what is found within our curriculum to help guide Instructor/student interactions
For extended guidelines, complete the new Teaching Constructs training courses on Mathnasium University [2]: Counting, Wholes and Parts, and Proportional Thinking. Incorporate these courses into your Instructors’ ongoing training as well for their professional development.
Lead Conversion Updates:
The Marketing Department enhanced Lead Conversion microsystems outlined in the Operations Manual [1]:
Engage New Leads: Present the Program: Over the Phone, In Person
- Update and expand Engage New Leads: Present the Program microsystem with tailored guidelines for connecting and interacting with customers in-person and via phone
Follow up with Leads: Follow up with Mass Emailing
- Reflect guidelines for Constant Contact, our new, user-friendly mass email service
Complete the Lead Conversion: M.A.T.H. Model training course on Mathnasium University [2]. Additionally, updates have been made to the M2 Guide to reflect up-to-date steps for leveraging Constant Contact. Fun fact: Since the program’s launch in August, the Marketing Department has added over 20 mass email templates for your use in Constant Contact!
Right Materials Updates:
Updates have been made to the following Education microsystems:
Assign and Replace Binder Materials:
- Outline the process for engaging in informal (daily) and formal (monthly) binder review procedure to support regular progress monitoring/reporting
Administer an Assessment:
- Include further references to Algebra Readiness, High School Fundamental Skills, and Multiplication Fact Fluency Assessments released this year
- Update Computation Assessment language to help you determine when it’s necessary for the student to go back to Numerical Fluency or Multiplication Fact Fluency
- Provide guidance on shifting gears mid-Assessment given an incorrect choice for student’s initial Assessment
Choose an Assessment:
- Include further references to Algebra Readiness, High School Fundamental Skills, and Multiplication Fact Fluency Assessments released this year
- Update Computation Assessment language to help you determine when it’s necessary for the student to go back to Numerical Fluency or Multiplication Fact Fluency
- Reference Administer an Assessment microsystem for guidance on handling incorrect initial Assessment choice
Stay tuned for the next Mathnasium Live—we’ll provide you with tips on making the most of our new Progress Reporting Program! And of course, keep watching Mathnasium Matters for more updates on Mathnasium Live and these new releases.
As always, please direct all questions and feedback to support@mathnasium.com [6].
6 Comments To "Now Live: October 2016 Operations Release!"
#1 Comment By Jennifer Krull On October 13, 2016 @ 6:11 pm
I’m excited about the PRs! I’m reading the instructions now. We aren’t seeing any Activate LP button on the LP Manager. Is anyone else having this problem? I’ve selected an enrolled student.
#2 Comment By Jennifer Krull On October 13, 2016 @ 6:24 pm
I noticed that the Progress report only fills in the secondary Guardian’s name on the Progress Report, even if there is no e-mail for them on file. For example, our student’s Dad is the Account owner. As a contact, we have his e-mail. Mom is also listed as a contact, but we have no e-mail for her. On the PR, when the field for “Guardian Name” filled in, it only showed the mom’s name.
Can this be fixed?
Thanks,
Jennifer
#3 Comment By Mathnasium Matters On October 14, 2016 @ 1:50 pm
Hi Jennifer!
Thanks for your enthusiasm regarding the new Progress Reporting program! In response to your questions…
The “Activate LP” button: In the LP Manager, you’ll need to select the particular student’s Learning Plan from the drop-down menu, and then the button will appear. Please note that as part of this rollout, all existing Learning Plans are set to “Active” status by default. So you’ll need to go through each of your Learning Plans and verify which are current. Only active Learning Plan(s) will be included on the progress report for each student. For further details, reference the M2 Guide (Existing Customer Tasks > Progress Reporting).
Guardian names: The previewing functionality is designed to include only one Guardian name (selected at random) as part of the report preview. Be assured that live emails will be sent out with the correct Guardian names. For the record, the program is designed to send one progress report email to all Guardians assigned to each student. For example, if there are two parents listed as “Guardians” for two children (siblings) enrolled, each parent will receive two emails (one for each of their children) so long as both parents/guardians provide a valid email address.
Prior to sending out Progress Report emails, please verify on the Progress Report preview screen that the information on the header and footer, along with all recent attendance and active Learning Plan data, are correct.
We realize that it will take everyone some time to get acquainted with this new system and we’re here to help! Please reference the M2 guide or reach out to [6] if you have any further questions. Thanks!
#4 Comment By Maggie Hu On October 19, 2016 @ 10:32 am
Love the new progress reporting system! Definitely a very nice improvement! Used once already. You’ve made it very intuitive. thanks!
#5 Comment By Vy Nguyen On October 20, 2016 @ 8:04 am
If I understand all the features in the bulk progress reporting, there is no more reporting on student’s focus level, attitude, study habits and the difficulty level of their homework. I can add these info in the comments, but that means I have to manually enter them for all students.
In addition, there is no option to attach an additional file (e.g., session progress). I like how easy it’s made to send progress report to all students, however, we need to give each parent more information about how the student is performing overall and during each session. For me, this feature is important, especially when you have quite a number of students lacking focus and does not make any progress in their learning plan.
#6 Comment By Mathnasium Matters On October 20, 2016 @ 3:04 pm
Hi Vy,
Thank you for your feedback! Since program launch, we’ve received a lot of great insights and suggestions regarding the Progress Reporting release.
Please be aware that Progress Reporting is a bulk process designed to provide parents with a clear snapshot of their child’s recent progress and attendance. While it is important to report on other aspects/categories of student performance such as those you mentioned (i.e. focus level, attitude, etc.), those details are usually communicated most effectively with parents through in-person and phone conversations. This will allow you to provide further context on each child’s progress in these areas (or lack thereof).
Progress Reports are meant to help you set clear expectations and update parents on their child’s progress on a monthly basis. Additionally, they help you establish and maintain an open-door communication policy so you can meet with parents individually to address certain barriers to student progress in more detail. The Comments section on the Progress Report is a good place to address particular aspects of student performance. However, we strongly encourage you to follow up with parents individually (i.e. via phone or face to face) if you feel certain aspects of a student’s performance need to be shared/discussed in greater detail.
Currently, the option to attach additional files to Progress Reporting emails is not available.
We have added this suggestion to our list of future program enhancements and will evaluate this down the road with our Technology team.
If you have any further questions or feedback about the program, please contact your FBC or [6].
Thanks again!