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In advanced math, science, and language arts courses, students find lifelong friends, mentors, and role models as they reach new heights together. explore our course offerings for grades 1–12..

ABOUT AOPS ACADEMY

Rigorous Curriculum and an Unforgettable Experience

Since 1993, Art of Problem Solving has prepared hundreds of thousands of motivated students in grades 2–12 for college and career success. Through our innovative approach, students build a problem-solving foundation, an unparalleled skill set that helps them overcome obstacles in school and in life.

Our Bellevue Location

We’re right in your neighborhood! Our campus location is at 1750 112th Ave NE, Suite B-100, Bellevue, WA 98004.

A Problem-Solving Curriculum

Our curriculum is rigorous — it's built to be. If students never feel challenged, they’re not getting to the boundaries of what’s possible. By solving new and complex problems, AoPS students are inspired to expand to their fullest academic potential.

If you’re looking for a challenging, interactive environment where your student will build the skill stack to succeed in school and beyond, you'll find it at AoPS Academy Bellevue!

Our family regularly talks about AoPS. We try to think about how our life would be different without you all. What if my daughter hadn't learned to love math? What if she never experienced being pushed to her limits? Overcoming failure? She wouldn't be who she is. And she is AWESOME! A very proud mom here. We are so fortunate that we found AoPS Academy. I credit AoPS for much of her confidence.

AoPS Academy parent to 16-year-old engineering major at UW and future cancer researcher

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Our Founders

Richard Rusczyk

Art of Problem Solving was founded by Richard Rusczyk in 2003 to create interactive educational opportunities for avid math students. Richard is the author or a co-author of 7 AoPS textbooks and a past Director of the USA Mathematical Talent Search. He was a participant in National MATHCOUNTS, a three-time participant in the Math Olympiad Summer Program, and a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner (1989). He received the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions Paul Erdös Award in 2014. He graduated from Princeton University in 1993, and worked as a bond trader for D.E. Shaw & Company for four years. AoPS marks Richard's return to his vocation - educating motivated students.

Glen Dawson

In 2014, Glen founded a learning center in Morrisville, North Carolina, that two years later became the first AoPS Academy campus. Glen served as the National Director of AoPS Academy until his retirement in 2019. He has experience as a college math professor, statistician, and expert SAS programmer. He has been a professional math tutor for many years, and specializes in training academically-advanced and high-performing math students. Glen is a graduate of Duke University and holds a graduate degree in statistics from Boston University.

David Patrick

Dave joined AoPS in 2004. He is the author or a co-author of 4 AoPS textbooks. Dave earned the sole perfect score on the American High School Mathematics Examination (AHSME) in 1988 and was a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner that year. He attended the Research Science Institute (RSI) in 1987, and the Math Olympiad Summer Program in 1988, where he first met fellow student Richard Rusczyk. He also finished in the top 10 on the Putnam exam in 1991. Dave graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1992 with a BS in Mathematics/Computer Science and an MS in Mathematics. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in 1997. He was an acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington from 1997 to 2001. Dave is originally from Western New York and is an alumnus of the SUNY Buffalo Gifted Math Program.

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Julie Kemeklis Campus Director

Julie is the Campus Director for AoPS Academy Princeton. She earned undergraduate degrees in business and Spanish, and an MA in Spanish literature from the University of Georgia- where she also studied French. Julie has taught language courses at Georgia State University in Atlanta and Pace University in New York. Later, she taught English at Berlitz's Rockefeller Center location before starting her own business teaching English as a second language to the employees of global companies with offices in New York. Julie managed the Berlitz Princeton Language Center before joining AoPS Academy Princeton. She is also a freelance writer, having published content online and in print. When not at AoPS or spending time with family, Julie can be found reading historical fiction, writing, on a tennis court, or somewhere out in nature. She especially values sharing her love of books, words, languages and literature with young learners.

Christian Orr-Woods Associate Director

Christian is an Associate Director for AoPS Academy Princeton. He has loved mathematics since his high school geometry class, where geometric proofs helped him realize that math is about reasoning, not just calculation. He earned his bachelor's degrees in math and computer science from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree in applied mathematics from UC San Diego. Since then he has held various positions that involved working on educational software, teaching and assisting with college-level math and education courses, and doing educational research. Christian has always been motivated by a passion for sharing the beauty of mathematics with other people, and he is happy to be able to pursue that goal at AoPS Academy. In his free time, Christian enjoys rock climbing, board games, and crosswords and other puzzles.

Amy Scheiner Associate Director

Amy's passion for writing and reading led her to become a teacher of middle school, high school, and college students. She holds a BA in English from Boston University and an MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Stony Brook University. In addition to teaching, Amy is a travel writer, essayist, and creative writer. She has taught Creative Writing at Stony Brook University and currently teaches English Composition at the Community College of Philadelphia. Above all, she enjoys challenging her students and watching them find their own literary voice in the process. When not teaching or writing, Amy can be found traveling to Central and South America to practice her Spanish, swimming in any body of water she can find, or playing with her orange tabby cat, Bernie.

Bertilla Sieben Associate Director

Bertilla is an Associate Director for AoPS Academy Princeton. A graduate of Princeton University, she earned a bachelor's degree in French while also completing substantial mathematics coursework. Before joining the AoPS Academy team in 2018, she was a student teacher of math and French at Princeton Middle School, and has also worked as a teaching assistant and grader for AoPS Online. Bertilla spent her own middle and high school years in Hungary, where she attended a school with a special math curriculum and enjoyed taking part in math competitions, including USAMTS, AMC, and AIME. When she isn't exploring challenging math problems with young learners, Bertilla enjoys marathon training, playing the piano, and hosting board game nights.

Office Staff

Bhagya Guhagarkar Administrative Manager

Bhagya is the Administrative Manager for AoPS Academy Princeton. She earned an undergraduate degree in architecture from Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology in Nagpur and a postgraduate qualification from the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad. She has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in an architectural college in India for 2 years. Bhagya also worked at a design firm where she did spatial problem solving for interior spaces and for amusement parks. Additionally, she has experience teaching elementary level students at the YMCA after school program. Her passion for geometry and logic puzzles comes from her parents - mom, a math instructor, and dad, an engineer. She was introduced to AoPS through the Beast Academy books that her daughter used, and continued to be impressed by the content as she progressed to higher levels. Bhagya loves painting and travelling with her family (especially to national parks). Her artwork has been exhibited in local galleries.

Sujeetha Garimalla Front Desk Lead

Sujeetha is the Front Desk Lead for AoPS Academy Princeton. She earned her undergraduate degree in pharmacy from Nalanda College of Pharmacy, Andhra Pradesh, India. She loves to solve puzzles and play math games with her son. Sujeetha finds joy in spending time with family and friends. In her free time, she can most often be found in her kitchen experimenting with new recipes, knitting sweaters and scarves or listening to music.

Makala Amos-Whitfield Front Desk Associate

Makala is a Front Desk Associate for AoPS Academy Princeton. The educational philosophies at AoPS Academy perfectly align with Makala's prior experience working as a front desk and supporting staff member at different jobs, and she is thrilled to support children and their families as they pursue accelerated learning. Her love for teaching, assisting people, and art prompted her to study for a degree in art education at The College of New Jersey. As a rising Junior in college, she has had multiple opportunities to student teach and during the summer work as a camp counselor among a variety of age groups. Outside of working at AoPS Academy, Makala also enjoys painting, drawing, yoga, listening to music, watching basketball, traveling, and spending time with family.

Aryan Doegar Front Desk Associate

Aryan is a passionate game designer with an intense focus on game-based learning. He has designed several tabletop games for K-12 schools, colleges, and STEM summer camps. The innovative and creative approach to learning at AoPS Academy matches perfectly with Aryan’s passion for using games to enhance student learning and improve student performance and engagement in the classroom. Aryan is also deeply fascinated by behavioral economic concepts like game theory and macroeconomic concepts that balance welfare with economic progress. Outside of school, Aryan loves playing intellectually stimulating games such as chess and sudoku.

Oluwakemi Olaleye Front Desk Associate

Kemi is a Front Desk Associate for AoPS Academy. She is currently studying communications at Mercer County Community College and is interested in earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental sociology. She spent two years at Syracuse University as an environmental engineering student, furthering her background in STEM education. Kemi has learned leadership experience through doing peer leadership and leading retreats in high school, in addition to her experience as a student. When she’s not studying, Kemi enjoys reading, playing video games, listening to music, and spending time with her friends and family. She is very interested in topics concerning climate change and environmental justice.

Alvaro Pelaez Front Desk Associate

Alex is a Front Desk Associate for AoPS Academy. He recently graduated from Mercer County Community College with an associate's degree in information technology. He has always loved working with children, having volunteered at his church's summer camps. He has plenty of experience supporting staff members from previous positions, and he is thrilled to support children and their families as they pursue the rigorous courses that AoPS has to offer. Beyond the professional realm, Alex's interests include reading, playing video games, building model kits, and exploring culinary adventures.

Ronald Scheuermann Front Desk Associate

Ron is a Front Desk Associate for AoPS Academy Princeton. He is thrilled to work with and support students and families in an environment where he feels he would have fit in well as a child. He enjoys being outdoors in nature, and is currently also working as a landscaper while taking classes in pursuit of his accounting degree. When not working or studying, Ron can be found reading science fiction novels, building model airplane kits, and playing board games with friends.

Aadi Vadhavkar Front Desk Associate

Aadi is a Front Desk Associate for AoPS Academy Princeton. He is ecstatic to assist students and their families in pursuing accelerated learning. The education principles at AoPS Academy perfectly suit his experience as the robot manager of his robotics team, which is coming off of a world competition qualifying season. Outside of school and extracurricular activities he enjoys playing basketball and tennis, as well as listening to music and podcasts.

Dhruv Balaji Math Teaching Assistant

Dhruv Balaji is a recent graduate of Princeton Day School, and an incoming freshman at Case Western Reserve University’s BS/MD program. He has always loved working with children, whether it be teaching robotics to elementary school students on the autism spectrum, mentoring younger musicians in the band, or playing with his little brothers. He enjoys working in the lab and has been involved in neuroscience research throughout high school, and he has also been an active leader within student government, the Science Olympiad Team, and the Robotics Team. Outside of these activities, he loves to play tennis, watch TV shows and anime, and go to the gym. Dhruv aims to form bonds with his students and help them not only understand, but appreciate and enjoy the challenging concepts they are met with.

Eli Herbst Math Teaching Assistant

Eli has been interested in mathematics from an early age and loves sharing that passion with students. Before joining our team in 2020 as a math teaching assistant during the summer sessions, he had independently tutored students of all ages in mathematics. Eli is currently studying mathematics and linguistics at the University of Maryland, where he is seeking his bachelor's degree in mathematics. In his spare time, Eli enjoys solving puzzles and playing board games, sports, and video games.

Emily Huang Math Teaching Assistant

Emily is an undergraduate student at Stanford University, where she has taken math and computer science courses. When she was younger, she was a student in AoPS Online and participated in math contests (such as AMC). Emily enjoys helping other students learn math concepts and practice their problem-solving skills. One of her favorite parts of assisting is trying to explain complex topics in simple ways. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, going on walks, and eating good food.

Abigail Moore Math Teaching Assistant

Abigail is a driven and accomplished junior at Kutztown University, where she is currently pursuing a degree in secondary education with a specialization in mathematics. In recognition of her academic excellence, she was inducted into the esteemed Kutztown chapter of Kappa Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society in May 2023. Abigail is highly regarded as a tutor in the Math Tutoring Lab on campus, where she is known for her expertise in complex mathematical concepts. When not dedicating herself to her academic pursuits or tutoring her peers, Abigail can often be found playing the tenor saxophone as a member of the Kutztown University Marching Unit. Though her academic and extracurricular commitments keep her busy during the school year, Abigail makes time to relax and unwind during the summer months. She enjoys spending time gaming and playing with her two beloved dogs, Mocha and Pumpkin, in the comfort of her backyard in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Imola Sieben Math Teaching Assistant

Imola Sieben is an accomplished student at BASIS Flagstaff High School. With a passion for helping others, she has gained experience through tutoring and supporting peers. Imola excels in academics, having completed 10 challenging AP courses. Outside the classroom, she enjoys extracurricular activities like playing chess and swimming, where she has achieved notable success at the State level. Imola loves to challenge herself. For example, she attended math summer camps in Hungary, where she enjoyed solving complex problems with peers. As she joins AoPS, she looks forward to connecting with students, inspiring their love of learning, and fostering their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Instructors

Alan Chernoff Senior Instructor

Alan teaches science, math and language arts courses at AoPS Academy Princeton. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and master’s degree in economics from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Additionally, Alan is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in economics. Alan has taught various courses at Rutgers, TCNJ, and Princeton University, including statistics, American economic history, and The Philosophical and Economic Roots of Inequality. When he's not teaching, he likes collecting trading cards and building Lego sets.

Lauren Anania

Lauren teaches language arts at AoPS Academy. She has worked in education for the past thirteen years as a teacher in New Jersey, Spain, and Costa Rica, focusing in areas such as Spanish, elementary school, English as a Second Language, and Special Education. Lauren earned her bachelor's degree in Spanish and her master's degree in elementary education from Rutgers University. She recently completed a master's degree in English as a Foreign Language from Fairleigh Dickinson. She loves learning and using literature, especially children’s books, to promote creativity, perspective and discussion. In her free time she enjoys yoga, running, painting, re-reading some of her favorite books, and spending time with loved ones.

Matthew Antony

Matt was once a student of AoPS, and he is thrilled to be returning now to Art of Problem Solving as a math teacher at the Princeton Campus. An avid player of computer games his whole life, Matt quickly became immersed in programming and went on to earn his BS in computer science from NJIT. He also discovered his passion for teaching there, and after spending much of his degree as a teaching assistant. Matt is now a professor of computer science at NJIT. He also loves drumlines and teaches the highly-competitive drumline at one of his alma mater drum corps. In his spare time, Matt can be found listening to experimental electronic music, reading stories online, and trying to break his speed-typing record of 170 WPM.

Amit Bhattad

Amit teaches mathematics at AoPS Academy Princeton. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from University of Pune, and has over eighteen years of software experience. He first became exposed to the AoPS curriculum when he enrolled his daughters in the program, and found that he enjoyed the wide variety and challenging nature of the problems he encountered. Amit's favorite part of teaching is guiding students towards an understanding of the “why” behind new mathematical procedures, and working through problems with a significant reasoning component together. He has a keen interest in sports and loves playing badminton, racquetball and soccer. Besides sports, Amit also enjoys solving tough logical brainteasers, exploring new places, and spending time in nature.

Carlos Bovell

Carlos has been a public high school teacher for over twenty years. While earning his math degree at the College of New Jersey, he liked meeting during professors’ office hours to discuss intractable problems, which led them to ponder other unanswerable questions: What is mathematics? Can mathematical objects be known? Some faculty suggested that he pursue philosophy alongside math, a suggestion culminating in Toronto where he successfully defended a master’s thesis: “Rhetoric More Geometrico in Proclus’ Elements of Theology and Boethius’ De Hebdomadibus.” Carlos also completed an MS degree in mathematical computer science at Rutgers University-Camden. Among his publications are a book entitled, Ideas at the Intersection of Mathematics, Philosophy and Theology, and an article entitled, “The Mathematician Is Not Really the Pure Theoretician but Only the Ingenious Technician.”

Ken Branson

Ken is a retired journalist and public relations professional with a passion for teaching others to write and communicate well. As a media relations manager he spent 14 years with Rutgers University helping marine scientists, psychologists, neuroscientists and linguists explain themselves and their work to the public. His placements have included ABC News, Fox News, NPR, NJN News, The New York Times, and the Washington Post. Ken is also a substitute teacher with experience teaching students in grades K-12 and covering subjects as diverse as history and wood shop. Ken continues his passion for writing in retirement – fiction, essays and memoirs. When not writing, he enjoys hiking and kayaking.

Brian Claus

Brian earned his BA in astrophysics at Harvard University where he discovered a passion for teaching math and science. Before moving to New Jersey he worked in Massachusetts as a physics teacher and Planetarium Program Director. He loves listening to students tackle a new problem and then helping them share and refine their ideas. When not teaching he can be found learning a new board game, stargazing, or talking about anything Star Wars.

Arlene Cohen

Arlene holds a BA in cognitive science from Wellesley College. She has taught middle-school math in central New Jersey for over twenty years at Princeton Day School and The Pennington School. Motivated by her passion for introducing students to the creative side of problem solving, Arlene has also helped bring the Destination Imagination program to local schools. Outside the classroom, she is an award-winning needlework designer whose patterns are purchased by stitchers around the world.

Tina Dalaya

Tina majored in elementary education and special education at American University in Washington D.C. and went on to earn her master's in education policy from The University of Pennsylvania. After researching inequities in education in Philadelphia, she recently moved back to the Princeton area, where she grew up, to continue her work in education. When she is not working, her time is spent listening to music, finding new recipes to test out, or spending quality time with family, friends, and all of her family pets!

Lisa is thrilled to be teaching language arts at AoPS Academy Princeton. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the classroom, having worked with students of all ages and levels from elementary school through high school. Lisa holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Rider College and a master's in English literature from Rosemont College where she focused her studies on Leo Tolstoy's short stories and environmental icon narrative poet Robinson Jeffers. She transitioned to teaching after retiring from a career in the scientific, marketing, and financial sectors of the pharmaceutical industry. Lisa is passionate about many things- among them travel, friendship, reading, kindness, tolerance, open-mindedness, and a concrete belief in the inherent greatness of children.

Kim Feldman

Kim teaches math at AoPS Academy Princeton. She studied philosophy and computer science at The College of New Jersey and first began teaching in Chengdu, China in 2017. After discovering her passion for teaching, she has been helping students learn advanced math in the US at various after school programs ever since. When not teaching, she spends most of her time on creative endeavors such as computer programming, baking, crocheting and cold process soap making.

Michael Freedman

Inspired and motivated by challenges, mathematics and AoPS have always been a natural home for Michael. It was in his Calculus II class while studying at the University of Florida that he realized for certain that mathematics was not just a challenge, but also his passion and goal career. Michael has extensive experience tutoring and assisting with high school and college-level courses, and he loves to share his passion with his students so that they may enjoy the beauty of mathematics as much as he does. He benefitted from the AoPS curriculum himself growing up, and is excited for his journey to have come full circle now that he is an instructor at AoPS Academy Princeton! In his spare time, Michael enjoys cycling, running, solving puzzles, and studying trivia.

Mitchell Fuhr

Mitch teaches mathematics at AoPS Academy Princeton. He graduated from New York University with a BA in economics and a minor in math. After nearly two decades working at international banks in New York City, Mitch transitioned to teaching. He has been at Piscataway High School almost ever since, where he teaches geometry and discrete math. Outside the classroom, Mitch loves math games and puzzles, community service, and traveling. He has visited 27 states and is the Kiwanis Advisor for Piscataway High’s Key Club. Mitch has also been published four times in Dell Logic Puzzles and loves to challenge others at grid-based games like Othello, Connect Four, and Chess.

Sarah teaches mathematics at AoPS Academy in Princeton. She holds both an MA in mathematics from Bryn Mawr College and an MA in secondary math education from Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition, she is currently pursuing a PhD in math at Drexel University. Sarah has taught math in various capacities, with pupils ranging from middle school students to college students and even adults. She loves that teaching not only helps her students grasp mathematical concepts, but also deepens her own understanding of the material. Outside of math, Sarah enjoys knitting scarves and blankets, going for walks, and playing games with her family.

Dr. Irena Gobernik

Irena graduated from Russia’s Novosibirsk State University and then went on to earn her PhD in applied mathematics at the Russian Academy of Science’s Center for Computational Sciences in Moscow. She has always been fascinated by the beauty of pure mathematics and encourages her students to seek the most elegant solutions to the problems that they explore together in class. Having won various math Olympiads in high school, Irena now enjoys helping her students solve problems by thinking outside the box. In her spare time, she plays the guitar, sings, and spends time at her workbench making small human-like figures out of wood.

Elena Gribelyuk

Elena teaches math at AoPS Academy Princeton. She earned her BA in mathematics and computer science from Columbia University and is currently pursuing a PhD in theoretical computer science at Princeton University. As a past AoPS student herself, she has always loved problem-solving and has participated in mathematics competitions including the AMC and AIME. Elena worked as a Precalculus instructor at the King Summer Institute and also assisted in the teaching of various math and computer science courses at Columbia University. She is passionate about mathematics education and is eager to share her excitement and appreciation for the beauty of mathematics with her students. In her free time, Elena loves playing piano, baking, and running.

Tim Hart-Ruiz

Tim has always loved books and that is what drew him into a life of teaching. He pursued education because he wanted to share that love of books and reading with others. It also gave him the opportunity to help other people and do work filled with meaning. He has worked in education for the past 18 years as a teacher, instructional leader, and doing education policy work. Tim has taught students at all levels from primary grades through college. He graduated from Fordham University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Later, he attended Rutgers University for an additional master’s degree before pursuing a doctoral program there in Teacher Leadership. His research interests involve teacher preparation and professional development, elementary math and literacy practices, children’s and young adult literature, and LGBTQ+ issues in schools. He has worked at the Princeton Academy since 2019 and has enjoyed supporting students as they tackle AoPS’s advanced content. When he is not working or pursuing his studies, Tim enjoys reading and writing, primarily middle grades and YA fiction. He also watches entirely too much Netflix and loves taking his dogs for walks with his husband along the D&R Canal.

Breanna Hathcock

With her master's degree in education (including specializations/licensing in reading and mathematics), Breanna creates a positive learning environment for students that is challenging, inclusive, rigorous, and supportive. She has taught math and language arts to students at the elementary and middle school levels, including at Central Jersey College Prep Charter School where she introduced the Math Games Club and the Random Acts of Kindness Club. She has also coached Science Olympiad. Outside the classroom, Breanna can be found spending time with her family and her dogs and cats, drawing cartoons, engaging in research, or kickboxing.

Sachita Jindal

Sachita is a dedicated and passionate educator who teaches at an elementary school in New Jersey. She holds a bachelor's degree in education from a prestigious university in India and a postgraduate degree in education from Birmingham City University. With almost a decade of experience working in various schools, Sachita has honed her skills as a mathematics educator and is eager to share her enthusiasm for problem-solving with AoPS students. Outside of her professional life, Sachita enjoys pursuing her artistic side (she finds solace in drawing and coloring intricate forms of Indian artwork, specifically Mandalas,) and spends quality time with her family. Sachita's dedication to education, love for mathematics, and passion for art make her a well-rounded and inspiring educator who strives to positively impact her students' lives.

Kyna Jones is a language arts instructor at AoPS Academy Princeton. She transferred from our Vienna campus over the summer and is excited to join the Princeton team. Kyna has a diverse background in the arts, education, and communications. She is originally from Memphis, Tennessee, and received her bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University. Immediately after graduating, she began a successful career in film, entertainment, and television as a freelance writer, actor, and voiceover artist. Over the last decade, Kyna has worked as a Performing Arts Director with various private organizations throughout New England, directing children's plays, teaching creative writing workshops, storytelling, and young acting classes. She has now taken her professional knowledge and experience of writing into the classroom, inspiring the next generation of young writers! Entering her 6th year as an English Language Arts Teacher, Kyna continues to help students grow as writers and discover their writing voices through her creative writing, scriptwriting, and speechwriting courses. On a more personal note, Kyna loves traveling to natural wonders, baking goodies from scratch for her family and friends, and watching movies. She looks forward to working with you and learning more about your creative gifts and adventures that you will write about in language arts class.

Renard Kardhashi

Renard is a math instructor at AoPS Academy Princeton. He received a degree in mathematics from Tirana University in Albania, where he also did his postgraduate studies in advanced mathematics. He then taught mathematics at the high school and university levels before beginning a career in computer programming in the Netherlands. Renard later relocated to the US and continued to work in computer programming and research before returning to his passion for teaching. He has been a high school mathematics teacher with the Trenton Public School District since 2008, dedicating himself to serving underprivileged students. Renard has also taught computer science, statistics, financial literacy, and SAT/ACT Prep, and served as advisor to the Computer Science and Robotics Clubs. Additionally, he teaches math camps during the summers, having worked with students at the Hun School, Princeton Day School, and Peddie School. In his spare time, Renard enjoys learning other languages, spending time with family, gardening, playing a wide variety of sports, as well as listening to music and audio books/podcasts.

Sree has a passion for teaching and inspiring young minds. He has over ten years of experience tutoring elementary math students and believes every child’s story is unique and that empowering them to be comfortable with their own skills and talents is paramount to inculcate a love for lifelong learning. Sree is a writer and has published three children’s books out of stories that originated from elementary school topics he taught his own son. Sree is a graduate of NYU’s Stern School of Business. He designs and builds models (financial, statistical, supply-chain) for his customers around the globe and is pioneering the use of AI(Artificial Intelligence) and ML(Machine Learning.) In his free time, Sree enjoys playing tennis and golf, and making his own wine.

Kathleen Lake

Kathleen has been a lucky and happy teacher in language arts and theatre-related residencies, teaching fun and effective means of self-expression, for many years at schools and arts centers around the U.S. In addition to acting professionally, she has been a full-time high school and college instructor in public speaking, acting, Shakespeare, comedy improv. and many writing courses. She is a published poet and freelance writer. Kathleen's favorite activities include tossing catnip toys and cat-wrestling.

Ryan R. Latini

Ryan received his bachelor's degree in English and master's degree in writing studies from Saint Joseph's University. He is a certified high school English teacher. He has lectured on the Beat Generation writers of the 1950s and horror movies of the 1970s; taught adults with literacy goals and college freshman; but has found his home teaching high school students. His goal is to help students develop a transdisciplinary lens through reading and writing about literature that they can use to view their world and explore their varied abilities, established notions, and diverse backgrounds—not as footnotes, but as their greatest assets as future college students, employees, and citizens. Ryan enjoys exploring nature with his daughters; writing and publishing fiction and poetry; and tinkering with carpentry, electrical work, and automotive repair.

Loki teaches math at AoPS Academy Princeton. He is a recent graduate of Princeton University, where he majored in physics and minored in applied mathematics. Throughout his college career, he served as a tutor and teaching assistant in the math and physics departments at Princeton. He has also participated in volunteer activities teaching math at summer camps for middle-schoolers. His favorite part of teaching is thinking of creative ways to explain concepts in order to find something that clicks for each student. Outside of academics, Loki enjoys playing piano, taking photos, reading books, and going down hills a bit too fast on his skateboard.

Michael Malvone

Michael is a math instructor at AoPS Academy Princeton. He earned his degree in mathematics from Princeton University. Although he originally planned to pursue graduate studies in mathematics, Michael realized that he found more fulfillment in teaching the subject than in researching it, and reoriented his career in that direction. Michael’s teaching philosophy is that everyone can be good at math if they have the right teacher, and he hopes to be able to share his knowledge of and excitement for math with his students. Outside of math, Michael is also interested in linguistics, piano, skateboarding, and reading contemporary literature.

Jacqueline Martin

Jacqueline earned her BS in elementary education and mathematics from The College of New Jersey, and has been teaching since 2013. She currently teaches middle school math, but has worked with all ages of students, from first grade through high school. When she isn't helping students learn to manipulate algebraic expressions, Jacqueline enjoys playing the violin.

Bryan Monroy

Bryan has always had a love for math and science. He graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a bachelor's degree in physics and from Cal State LA with a master’s degree in education. Bryan has taught high school science (chemistry, physics, and AP Physics I and 2) for the past nine years. Outside of the classroom, he advocates for increasing equity in education by developing strategies to support the social emotional needs of all students. In his spare time, Bryan enjoys nature walks with his three huskies and finding new baking recipes to try out.

Steve Ninivaggi

A love of literature and writing led Steve to earn a master's degree in English from Temple University. This was followed by a 30 year career of teaching writing to high school and college students. Then, Steve went on to mentor teachers as an educational leader. Envisioning a school environment where students of all abilities, means, and backgrounds could pursue their own intellectual and creative interests, Steve wrote and won a grant and built a “Genius Lab” for the middle school where he served as vice principal. Retirement brought Steve more time to read, attend the theater, travel, and develop his cooking skills. He also serves the community as a volunteer. His expertise in the pedagogy of writing, as well as his wide knowledge of education policy and best practices, sparked his interest in the AoPS Academy. He is excited to join its diverse and talented community of faculty and students.

Krithika Prakash

Krithika is a software engineer specializing in cloud security and machine learning. She believes that a strong math foundation is critically important for success in any career path, as math helps students with the essential skill of evaluating a problem from many different perspectives. Motivated by this awareness, Krithika has developed not only a deep appreciation for mathematics but also a passion for teaching. Her teaching philosophy centers on demystifying mathematics, and making it accessible and engaging for all learners. She is eager to share her knowledge and experiences in the technical field, to help students grasp the importance and beauty of mathematics and the exciting opportunities it unlocks. In her free time, she enjoys playing the Indian instrument Veena and spending time with her family.

Dr. Iuliana Radu

The daughter of two math teachers, Iuliana participated in math contests throughout her K-12 education. She completed a BS in mathematics and an MS in computer science at the University of Bucharest (Romania) before coming to the United States to teach college math. Next, Iuliana pursued a PhD in mathematics education at Rutgers University, during which she researched how students think about mathematical infinity. Before joining AoPS, she taught math and math education courses at Rutgers University and coordinated the Rutgers Math Teachers’ Circle. Iuliana was a math instructor and later an Associate Director for the AoPS Princeton campus before transitioning to her current role of curriculum developer with AoPS. In her spare time, Iuliana enjoys hiking, music, and table tennis.

Ajitha Raju

Ajitha teaches mathematics at the Princeton campus. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in psychology, as well as a Juris Doctorate degree. Ajitha has a passion for mathematics, having taught the subject for over ten years. She has designed, developed and implemented courses in coordination with K-12 curriculum. She also has expertise in teaching common core standards and preparing students for standardized testing. When not teaching, Ajitha can be found working as a legal specialist and spending time with her family, son, and two dogs.

Tais Bastani Ribeiro

Tais holds a degree in physics with a focus on physics education. She has a background in physics and math teaching and tutoring. She was drawn to AoPS because she aligns with its educational philosophy, emphasizing problem-solving to achieve a deep understanding of central concepts, with the students at the center of the learning process. She loves to watch the students growth and development of their critical thinking as they are challenged. Her teaching style focuses on creating a dynamic learning environment, focusing on students' active participation.

Karuna Sangam

Karuna was raised with a love and appreciation for math from a young age, finding beauty in the weird and wonderful structures that arise from it. Despite this, they did not plan to study mathematics until they took a proofs course in college and fell absolutely in love with pure mathematics. After receiving their bachelor's degree from Bard College, Karuna attended Rutgers University for graduate studies in low-dimensional topology. While there, they solidified their passion for teaching and sharing the joy of mathematics with others. As someone who enjoyed the AoPS curriculum growing up, Karuna is excited to be teaching at AoPS Academy Princeton and working with middle and high school students on fun and challenging mathematical concepts. When not waxing poetic about the beauty of math, Karuna enjoys playing and composing music, and has a fondness of swimming in lakes.

Olga discovered her love of all things math early on and started tutoring others in the subject when she was still a student herself. Years later she would pursue a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), as well as her New Jersey certification to teach math in the United States. To date, Olga has been successfully teaching and tutoring students of all ages and levels in math for over 20 years. Her approach focuses on helping students discover the joy of exploring and figuring out a novel problem, developing their critical thinking skills, raising their self-confidence in mathematics, and helping them to prepare for exams. Though teaching and family life keep Olga quite busy, in her free time she enjoys reading and learning more about the history of math, and practicing Aikido and Tai Chi.

Maureen Sikora

Maureen has been teaching math for ten years and has worked at St. Paul’s School in Burlington, Stuart Country Day School in Princeton, and Cedar Hill Prep in Somerset. She has coached middle school teams for math competitions and loves showing her students just how beautiful math can be. Maureen is certified as a middle school math teacher and hold a master’s degree in special education from Rutgers University; she is also working on obtaining certification to teach high school math. When Maureen isn’t learning or teaching math, she enjoys running, outdoor activities, and spending time with her family.

Melinda Van Dillen

Melinda has spent the majority of her career as a corporate communications director in the entertainment and technology sectors. With over 15 years of experience crafting a broad range of messages and material, she is passionate about being able to communicate clearly and effectively. Melinda has also been involved with corporate internship programs and enjoyed helping students grow their communication and PR skills. She holds a B.S. in Writing for Television, Radio and Film from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications and is currently active in several non-profit organizations, including serving as a board member of her local PTA. Melinda enjoys spending free time with her family and friends and can most often be found in her kitchen experimenting with new recipes, playing with her dog or browsing in a bookstore so she can increase the ever-expanding pile of books she wants to read.

Matthew Veisz

While an undergrad at Rutgers, Matthew was offered a tutoring position at the University's Douglass writing center. The offer followed his completion of semester long independent research based course; for which he composed a 17 page paper investigating the similar conclusions drawn between modern quantum theory and timeless philosophical reasoning. As a tutor, and later ambassador, he oriented students of all disciplines in courses pertaining to independent research, scientific and technical writing, exposition, and basic language. As a student he studied economics and cognitive science, providing him a diligent, economical, and out-of-the-box approach to problem solving--one he is excited to share with his students!

Ping enjoys very much her role as a member of the AoPS Academy Princeton language arts teaching team, where she gets to inspire young minds with her love of books, grammar, writing and stories each week. In addition to being an experienced English instructor at the Berlitz Princeton Language Center, Ping works at Princeton University where she is the Event and Office Coordinator for the Center for Language Study. When not working at the university or challenging her students to reach new heights and further their communication skills at AoPS, Ping loves spending time in the kitchen. As a trained chef, she finds great pleasure in sharing her passion for the culinary arts with others, and has taught numerous culinary classes in and around the NYC metro area. Ping is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology where she studied communication design.

Mujtuba Yousufi

Mujtuba is a junior in the chemistry department at Princeton University with an interest in organic chemistry. He discovered his love of teaching in 2018 when he became the head of the math tutoring lab at his high school in Oklahoma. Since then, he has also been a tutor for the Ideas Center at Princeton High School and has taught ACT/SAT prep privately. His favorite feeling while teaching is the satisfaction that comes from seeing a student's face light up after finally piecing together the solution to a difficult problem. Mujtuba has a deep appreciation for mathematics that is fueled by its many applications - in the chemistry he studies, in the chess he plays too much of, or in the economic and impact calculus evaluations that can inform decisions. He prefers to spend his spare time reading philosophy and playing chess, both hopefully accompanied by the enjoyment of tea.

Our family regularly talks about AoPS. We try to think about how our life would be different without you all. What if my daughter hadn't learned to love math? What if she never experienced being pushed to her limits? Overcoming failure? She wouldn't be who she is. And she is AWESOME! A very proud mom here. We are so fortunate that we found AoPS Academy. I credit AoPS for much of her confidence.

AoPS Academy parent to 16-year-old engineering major at UW and future cancer researcher

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Randomized controlled trial study conducted, art of problem solving.

Train the next generation of intellectual leaders.

Art of Problem Solving trains today's brightest minds to tackle tomorrow's toughest challenges through highly engaging curricula, a supportive community of problem solvers, and varied onramps to advanced learning programs. Since 1993, we have prepared hundreds of thousands of motivated students grades 2-12 for college and career success through engaging curriculum, expert online instruction, and local academies. Programs:   AoPS Academy, and AoPS Online, and Beast Academy.

The information contained in the Tutoring Database is a compilation of publicly available information and information voluntarily provided by the identified organizations. THIS DATABASE AND ALL ITS CONTENTS ARE PROVIDED AS IS and are for informational purposes only. Neither Brown University nor the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University nor the National Student Support Accelerator make any guarantees, warranties, or representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the database or the information it contains, and none assume any responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that the database may contain. Use of this database is at the sole and exclusive risk of the user, and neither Brown University, nor the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, nor the National Student Support Accelerator shall have any liability for any claim, act, or omission arising out of or in connection with the use of the database.

The inclusion of an organization's information in the Tutoring Database does not indicate that Brown University, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, the National Student Support Accelerator, or any individual associated with these entities endorse or support that organization. The National Student Support Accelerator includes all tutoring programs it is aware of in the Tutoring Database. In contrast, the Accelerator uses the following inclusion criteria for academic intervention materials. To be included, interventions must: 1) have a randomized control trial or quasi-experimental study, 2) that produced an effect size of +0.20 or greater OR 3) have particularly high-quality instructional materials but do not yet have RCT or QES research.

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Our Founders

Richard Rusczyk

Art of Problem Solving was founded by Richard Rusczyk in 2003 to create interactive educational opportunities for avid math students. Richard is the author or a co-author of 7 AoPS textbooks and a past Director of the USA Mathematical Talent Search. He was a participant in National MATHCOUNTS, a three-time participant in the Math Olympiad Summer Program, and a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner (1989). He received the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions Paul Erdös Award in 2014. He graduated from Princeton University in 1993, and worked as a bond trader for D.E. Shaw & Company for four years. AoPS marks Richard's return to his vocation - educating motivated students.

Glen Dawson

In 2014, Glen founded a learning center in Morrisville, North Carolina, that two years later became the first AoPS Academy campus. Glen served as the National Director of AoPS Academy until his retirement in 2019. He has experience as a college math professor, statistician, and expert SAS programmer. He has been a professional math tutor for many years, and specializes in training academically-advanced and high-performing math students. Glen is a graduate of Duke University and holds a graduate degree in statistics from Boston University.

David Patrick

Dave joined AoPS in 2004. He is the author or a co-author of 4 AoPS textbooks. Dave earned the sole perfect score on the American High School Mathematics Examination (AHSME) in 1988 and was a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner that year. He attended the Research Science Institute (RSI) in 1987, and the Math Olympiad Summer Program in 1988, where he first met fellow student Richard Rusczyk. He also finished in the top 10 on the Putnam exam in 1991. Dave graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1992 with a BS in Mathematics/Computer Science and an MS in Mathematics. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in 1997. He was an acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington from 1997 to 2001. Dave is originally from Western New York and is an alumnus of the SUNY Buffalo Gifted Math Program.

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Alex Hanner Senior Campus Director

Alex is the Campus Director for AoPS Academy Morrisville. Her love for education was born out of her time at Elon University, where she studied English Literature and established several K-12 creative writing camps throughout The Triangle. She then earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University and went on to teach writing workshop to middle school students for six years. Alex was thrilled to return to North Carolina in 2019 and join the AoPS Academy team--first as the Language Arts Associate Director, and now, as the Campus Director. Alex enjoys spending time with the wonderful Morrisville staff and getting to know the students and families of AoPS on a personal level. When Alex is not at work, she can usually be found doing one of the following: working on a personal writing project, watching a bingeable TV series, playing outside with her dogs, reading the latest page-turner, or going on fun adventures with her family and friends.

Angel Bell Senior Associate Director

Angel is a Senior Associate Director for AoPS Academy Morrisville. She is a certified high school math teacher with 10 years of experience in both face-to-face and virtual classrooms. Angel earned her BA in mathematics from Queens University of Charlotte, and she attended Johns Hopkins University (Applied and Computational Mathematics) and Gardner-Webb University (Curriculum and Instruction). She happily stumbled upon the Art of Problem Solving when she began tutoring online in 2015. The curriculum inspired her to begin coaching students for math competitions including MATHCOUNTS, the AMC 8/10/12, and state-specific contests. Before becoming an Associate Director, Angel taught for both AoPS Virtual Academy and AoPS Online and was a full-time School Staff Specialist on the AoPS Online Operations team. Aside from doing math for fun, she dabbles in hobbies including reading, crocheting, building 3D puzzles, and playing soccer.

Lakshmi Ganesan Senior Associate Director

Lakshmi is a Senior Associate Director for AoPS Academy Morrisville. She holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master's degree in computer science from Madurai Kamaraj University, India. After staying home for some time with her two children, she decided to go back to school to pursue her passion and earn her teaching degree in middle school math from North Carolina Central University. She has enjoyed teaching for the past 8 years and currently teaches 6th grade math at Martin Middle School. She believes the only way to learn math is to do math.

Hannah Beers Associate Director

Hannah Beers is an Associate Director for Elementary Math and Language Arts with over 15 years of experience in education. A North Carolina native, Hannah grew up in Morrisville, graduated from East Carolina University with degrees in mathematics and mathematics education, and holds a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University. Hannah first encountered Art of Problem Solving and Beast Academy in 2015, when she came across a local academy using the AoPS material to inspire and enhance children's problem-solving skills. She loves helping students find a safe place to learn, explore, and grow. Seeing their faces light up when they finally understand a difficult topic or leave the classroom telling their parents how much fun they had in class is the highlight of her days. In her free time, Hannah enjoys hanging out with her son, Remington, and her family, reading, exploring nature trails, and working out.

Matthew Smith Associate Director

Matt is an Associate Director for AoPS Academy Morrisville. He realized he loved teaching while studying philosophy at North Carolina State University, where he tutored subjects such as the History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, and Propositional Calculus. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree, he pursued a certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and taught academic ESL courses for international students completing their master's and doctorate degrees at NC State University. Matt deeply believes that good teachers have the ability to inspire others, and he is excited to inspire AoPS students to become brilliant thinkers and skilled communicators. When Matt is not teaching, he enjoys biking, writing music, and working in his garden.

Office Staff

Kirti Pathak Administrative Manager

Kirti is the Administrative Manager for AoPS Academy Morrisville. She moved to the US in 2002 and holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from Delhi University. She joined AoPS Academy in 2016 and enjoys meeting families and telling them about the impact of an AoPS education. In her free time, she likes to read, learn about different cultures and travel with her family. She especially loves to see the world through her kid’s eyes.

Deepa Nidumuri Front Desk Lead

Deepa is the Front Desk Lead for AoPS Academy Morrisville. Deepa earned her undergraduate degree in math, statistics and economics from Bangalore University and an associate’s degree in computer programming from Durham Tech Community College. She has been a member of AoPS Academy since 2015 and both of her children are proud AoPS students. She enjoys sharing the values of this academy with the community and loves teaching math to children. In her free time, she enjoys baking and painting with her children, trying new cuisines, yoga, and walking with her miniature aussiedoodle.

Leanne Bajkowski Front Desk Associate

Leanne is a Fayetteville, NC native who relocated to the Raleigh area in 2022. She holds her bachelor's degree in art and art history along with a master's degree in higher education and has been working in the education industry for 5 years. She enjoys working with various student populations with a focus on student success and wellness. During her downtime, she enjoys taking a walk in the park, traveling, or playing competitive video games.

Iye Massaquoi Front Desk Associate

Iye Massaquoi is originally from Alexandria, Virginia. Her love for track and field landed her a spot on the track team at North Carolina State University in 2015, where she earned her bachelor's degree in anthropology. After undergrad, she decided to pursue a career in Optometry/Ophthalmology. She currently works under a very prestigious Ophthalmologist in the RDU area in pediatrics. She enjoys working with children, and believes they truly are our future. In her free time, she tries to stay fit and active, whether that be with a long walk at the park after work, or hitting her weekly apple watch goals.

Surekha Reddy Patlolla Front Desk Associate

Surekha is a Front Desk Associate for AoPS Academy Morrisville. She joined AoPS in 2018 and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. She loves to decorate her house and is very much interested in interior design. In her free time, she likes to shop, watch movies and play games with her nephew Aditya. Her favorite part of AoPS is watching kids walk in through the door.

Akshaya Rajesh Front Desk Associate, Campus Facilities & Teaching Assistant

Akshaya Rajesh is a student at Panther Creek High School. She is a tutor for elementary schoolers in Durham public schools. Akshaya is also a part of the PC marching band, and plays the flute. She loves psychology and sociology and plans on pursuing these subjects in college. Outside of school and band, Akshaya enjoys biking, listening to music, and hanging out with her friends.

Gladys Torres Front Desk Associate

Gladys joined AoPS in 2017. She has earned degrees in healthcare management, certified dental coding, medical administration, and medical billing and coding. In her free time, Gladys enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, baking, bowling, crocheting and traveling. She loves communicating with kids of all ages and hearing what they have to share with her, as well as assisting parents in any way possible. She truly considers AoPS to be her family too.

Siddharth Vijaymurugan Front Desk Associate, Campus Facilities & Teaching Assistant

Siddharth is a junior at Raleigh Charter High School. After being a student at AoPS Morrisville himself, his love for math grew exponentially and expanded to include physics, which he plans on pursuing in college. Specifically, he's looking to become a scientist working to improve Quantum Computing. He's also participated in various science fairs since middle school. After becoming a high school student, he's been coaching middle school students to participate in science fairs. From his love for math, he started tutoring math for students in elementary school. In fact, he's also tutored Spanish! Aside from his passion for math and physics, Siddharth is an avid fan of cricket and a hobbyist photographer.

Siddarth Giridharan Teaching Assistant

Siddarth “Sid” Giridharan is a sophomore at The Early College at Guilford, Greensboro, NC. Being passionate about mathematics, Sid has participated in math competitions from the regional to national level and spends his free time tutoring elementary schoolers for his school county. When he isn’t thinking about the next formula that he can use to one-up his dad’s knowledge of math, Sid loves playing the Indian Classical Violin and enjoys delivering performances across the state. His love for music is varied but passionate, ranging from the grooves of Ray Charles to the hard-hitting bass of Drake and Travis Scott. Outside of music and math, Sid calms himself down by rowing with his row crew on the lake and in regattas.

Paul Hamrick Teaching Assistant

Paul is a student on a gap year who graduated high school in 2022. He has taken many AoPS courses online over the years. He loves helping students to understand mathematics. He grew up in Monterey, California, and has moved around a bit since then. When he is not explaining mathematics, he might be reading a novel, playing with his dog, working on a fiction story, playing an instrument, or self-studying a mathematics textbook.

Raina Martens Teaching Assistant

Raina has been passionate about math since she was a student at the Art of Problem Solving in 5th grade. She is heading into her senior year at the North Carolina School of Science and Math and plans to pursue an education in electrical engineering. Raina is currently a math teaching assistant at NCSSM for Calculus and Precalculus. Teaching allows her to share her love for the subject and give back to the organization which was so impactful in her own life. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, and gaming. Raina also enjoys designing websites and has her own personal food blog.

Ananya Pragaturu Teaching Assistant

Ananya is a high schooler at Panther Creek High School. She is an avid learner of all things math and problem solving. She first started learning at AoPS when she was in middle school, and has grown immensely over the years. Ananya loves working with others to solve problems in a methodical yet witty approach to further think outside the box! In her free time, she loves watching movies and baking with her family!

Rohin Arivudainambi Campus Facilities Assistant

Rohin is an 11th grader from North Carolina, who has a passion for cars, as well as a passion for helping and teaching others.

Om Gautam Campus Facilities & Teaching Assistant

Om is a high schooler at Panther Creek High School, and has taken many courses through AoPS in the past. He helps run the Technology Student Association and National Technical Honors Society at school, in addition to participating in DECA and Programming Club. He is also working on reaching out to underprivileged communities to tutor kids in STEM subjects through his nonprofit. Outside of AoPS and school, Om loves to run, play video games, code, and hang out with friends.

Niklas Regan Campus Facilities & Teaching Assistant

Niklas is a 17-year-old junior at Green Hope High School and one of AoPS’ newest recruits. You will see Nik helping direct traffic between classes - say Hi! Nik has lived in the Raleigh area all of his life, and enjoys family vacations to the mountains. He has 3 siblings, so he’s good at problem solving and coming to compromises. He loves animals and reptiles (and currently has two pet geckos (Tommy and Dicky) and one very cute turtle (named Maraschino). He’s a big fan of chocolate muffins and scary movies. Niklas loves art and wants to become an illustrator. Nik loves working at AoPS because, “...the people are great, the environment is always positive and academically encouraging…” and as someone who’s not very good at math, Nik appreciates that everyone is always uplifting, caring, and helpful.

Instructors

Rasha Dumarieh Senior Instructor

Rasha is a Senior Instructor for AoPS Academy Morrisville. She loves math and is passionate about making the subject engaging for her students. She has taught and tutored math from the developmental level through calculus and had recently been working with math students at Durham Tech Community College. Rasha earned her bachelor’s degree in software information systems with a minor in math from UNC Charlotte, where she also earned a master’s degree in architecture. In her free time, Rasha enjoys reading and solving math puzzles, going out in nature, and mentoring K–5 students in her community.

Himani Pandey Senior Instructor

Himani loves being with children and learning from them, as she believes children have a lot to teach you! With more than two decades of experience in private tutoring, she has inculcated love for math and science in her students, who have attained academic excellence and are all over the world in diverse fields. Her teaching style is focused on creating an engaging and interactive classroom environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and exploring new ideas. Being a multipotentialite, she holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master's degree in science from the University of Jabalpur, India, as well as a master’s degree in business administration with a specialization in Human Resource Management from IGNOU Delhi, India. In her free time, Himani enjoys listening to music, watching YouTube and fashioning some delectable recipes.

John Allums

John first discovered how much fun it is to teach math while working as a teaching assistant with the Talent Identification Program (TIP) at Duke University. He holds a degree in math from Tulane University, a Master of Arts in teaching from Duke, and has taught math to both high school and community college students. Outside of AoPS Academy, John is a high school teacher at Saint Mary's School, teaching Honors PreCal and AP Calculus. When he isn’t teaching, John loves Ultimate Frisbee and speedcubing—his current best time is 10.2 seconds.

Dr. Shenek Alston

Shenek, a native of South Carolina, is a Christian, wife, and mother and lives in North Carolina. The Alstons have four children. Shenek has a PhD in statistics from NC State University, and she also holds a BS in math. Currently, Shenek homeschools her children and believes that one of the most important things she will ever do is to homeschool them. Her desire for them is that they would love God with all of their hearts! She is the author of two fictional STEM books for kids: Anna Kid Engineer, and Andre Kid Aviator. She has also authored an e-book: 20 Possible Holes in Your Child's Math Education.

Linda Baker

Linda’s joy is inspiring and motivating youth to think critically and creatively about math. Her 40-year career includes working as a systems network architecture instructor for IBM Asia Pacific, being a teacher of technical classes, teaching accelerated, advanced and compacted math to middle and elementary schoolers, including academically and intellectually gifted students. She led teams in Odyssey of the Mind, MathCounts, and Math Olympiad. Linda’s passion is to develop, write and implement curriculum for highly able math students. Her approach to teaching is investigative, humorous, and inviting. Linda has two children currently at NC State studying electrical engineering and at the University of SE Florida studying psychology. Linda also scuba dives, takes underwater photography, gardens, and enjoys bird watching.

Dilip Barman

Dilip Barman loves math and teaching. He has taught students at all levels from elementary school through college, and holds degrees in mathematical sciences from The Johns Hopkins University, computer science and software development from Marist College, and computer science from Brown University. His post-graduate research applied computationally feasible hypermedia and artificial intelligence (AI) to practical instructional. He then worked in software and hardware development at IBM. Dilip is also a prize-winning photographer and has taught photography for many years. A passionate vegan cook, he hosts the largest vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner in the US every November. Dilip is a member of the Triangle Math Teachers' Circle and homeschools his elementary-school-aged daughter.

Devan Beers

Devan got her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She has taught in Wake County since 2018, but has previous experience with both special education and pre-school children. She brings passion and positivity to every classroom she's in and enjoys learning from the students as much as she loves teaching them. When Devan is not in the classroom, you can find her hiking, kayaking, or watching sports (Go Browns!)

John has over seven years of experience teaching and tutoring at both the university and high school levels. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Sewanee: The University of the South. He has worked as an English teacher for a high school in North Carolina, an instructor of writing for the University of Florida, an editorial assistant at a literary journal, a features writer for several magazines, and a digital sales planner for Condé Nast. In his free time, John likes to read, write fiction, and play the guitar.

Kyra Burton

Kyra has over 10 years of teaching experience including classroom teaching, ESL, and STEM. She is a lover of creative writing, children’s books, and public libraries. In 2018, Kyra published her first children’s book, “America, Here I Come!”. The story was inspired by Kyra’s actual students who moved to the United States and have shared their feelings and experiences. Reading the story allows children to better understand the experience of moving, making new friendships, facing their fears and ultimately following their dreams. The book was ultimately selected by the North Carolina Museum of History. Aside from being a new author, Kyra has been a writer for educational programming for television for 10 years and is an accomplished documentarian with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Kyra hopes to always create work that encourages faith and inspires students.

Nikita Choudhary

Nikita got her BS in business administration-finance from North Carolina State University in 2018. She enjoys working with different kinds of learners; Nikita enjoys seeing a student finally understand something, because she believes every student is talented in their own unique way. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, trying new cuisines, and trying to improve her photography skills.

Miriam Diller

Miriam holds a master’s degree in English literature from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina State University. In the past 15 years, she has taught or tutored students at almost every level of reading and writing, from elementary school to college. She also has extensive experience in editing and research. Miriam loves to incorporate students’ interests and backgrounds into the classroom when possible, engaging students while emphasizing the wide applicability of language arts skills.

Logan has always had a deep passion for mathematics, education, and sustainability. This led her to obtain a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. During her time in college, she worked as a math tutor for a large variety of students and subjects ranging from computation to Calculus I. After working as a sustainability specialist and consultant post-grad, she decided to return to her tutoring roots and became an educational gardener. In this role, Logan discovered her passion for teaching and working with adolescents to engage and explore their critical-thinking skills. In her free time, she loves hanging out with her tabby cat, Bing, and playing board games with her friends.

Katie Doles

Katie was previously the Campus Director for Morrisville before moving to a new position with AoPS headquarters. She holds a master's degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University where her thesis topic was Three Player Partizan Game Theory. She has extensive teaching experience with students of many ages, from elementary school through advanced college courses. Having received her own middle-and high-school math education through Art of Problem Solving, Katie says “I feel that math at its heart is a very affectionate and enjoyable subject. When given the right presentation and learning tools, people can see how beautiful it really is. Art of Problem Solving does that better than anyone.”

Joshua Edgerton

Joshua got his bachelor's degree in applied physics and his Master's in engineering physics from Appalachian State University. While serving as a TA for physics labs, he developed a passion for teaching students and helping them discover new concepts through hands-on lessons. His work as an automation engineer helped him hone his coding and electronics skills. During his leisure time he likes to keep up with the latest rock and metal music (and try to play it on guitar with varying success), as well as watch sci-fi movies with his cat, Ragnar.

Lisa is a veteran teacher with over twenty years of classroom teaching experience. She holds an education degree from Meredith College. With her vast teaching experience across a variety of grade levels, Lisa brings creativity, joy, energy, and a love for teaching into her classroom each and every day. She has a passion for language arts, particularly for reading and making books come to life in the classroom.

Dr. Mohamed Elgindi

Dr. Mohamed Elgindi is an Emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and at Texas A&M University in Qatar. His Ph.D. is in applied mathematics from Michigan State University. He also has a master's degree from the University of London in algebra and a bachelor's degree from the University of Alexandria-Egypt in pure and applied mathematics. Dr. Elgindi's list of publications consists of about fifty research papers, and one US patent. In general, his research interests are in the areas of analytical and numerical solutions of differential equations arising in solid and fluid mechanics. Dr. Elgindi has also worked as a consultant for several industries in Wisconsin for more than twenty five years. Dr. Elgindi has also developed and coordinated the offering of after-school programs in Mathematics for K-12 students in Wisconsin and Saudi Arabia. Outside of work, Dr. Elgindi enjoys long walks, swimming and tennis. He also enjoys reading, music and relaxing while watching classical movies while eating popcorn and/or peanuts.

Dr. Frank Ethridge

Frank earned his PhD in mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. Frank also held a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University. Currently, he teaches mathematics and statistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler School of Business.

Shyamala Gopalakrishnan

Shyamala received her master's degree in math, computer science and data processing in India. Her love for teaching started as early as when she was in high school helping her classmates. After staying home to take care of her kids, she started teaching math and reading to elementary students as an instructional aide 8 years ago. Currently, she is also an instructor at Mathnasium helping elementary to high school-age students. She strives to help students achieve their full potential regardless of their abilities or background. She believes teaching is a two-way street and she is always learning from her students as much as they learn from her. In her free time she likes to read, hike, and spend time with her family.

Anastasiia Gorodilova

Anastasiia earned both master's and bachelor's degrees from Novosibirsk State University in Russia, followed by a Ph.D. in mathematics at a scientific center in the heart of Siberia. She accumulated 10 years of experience as a math researcher and teaching math courses for both high school and university students. Recently, her family of five moved from an area where snow covers the ground for up to five months each year. Although her kids miss the snow, they are now enjoying activities such as walking, biking, volleyball, and exploring the ocean in their new location. A fun fact about her is that, as a middle school child, she once vowed never to become a teacher. However, her passion for math completely transformed her perspective, and now Anastasiia is delighted to share her love for mathematics with kids!

Isaac Groves

Isaac always knew newspaper reporting wasn’t the best career, but it was a lot of fun. Reading was always Isaac’s favorite pastime as a kid, and writing was always his strongest suit as a student. That led him to get his bachelor’s degree at UNC’s journalism school and to have a 15-year career writing at a community newspaper — including hundreds of stories about schools and education. The newspaper business struggles these days, so Isaac chose to move on. Isaac wants to build on the skills that career developed by helping others enjoy writing and get the most out of reading. Outside of teaching, Isaac spends most of his time with family and likes to work with his hands from gardening to cooking to home repairs. Away from home, he loves travel.

Paul Hlebowitsh

Paul is an electrical engineer who has designed circuits for wireless power, industrial light installations, package trackers, medical cleaners, and x-ray machines, yet he has never lost his original passion for mathematics. Outside of teaching, Paul is currently raising his three children, making hardware games, learning Latin, and reading books on the history of civilization.

Don Katahdin

Don Katahdin holds a BS in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and a MS in computer studies from NC State. He worked for 21 years as a computer software engineer in the Raleigh-Durham area, most notably for Nortel Networks. He coached children's track for 6 years and loves seeing how fast young people can achieve personal records, as compared to adults. Don enjoyed tutoring middle and high school students so much that he decided to become a teacher, but he enjoys mathematics so much that he recently acquired a BS in mathematics from Portland State University. Outside of class, Don enjoys hiking, bicycling, and singing. He has sung in the chorus of 5 grand operas in Raleigh.

George Kattan

George holds a master's degree in mathematics focused on statistics and finance from Western Illinois University. He also earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Chowan University. Outside of AoPS, George enjoys doing handyman work and playing sports.

Lucas Leveillee

Lucas, originally from south Florida, received his undergraduate degree in English Literature & Creative Writing from Elon University. During his time at Elon, Lucas discovered how rewarding and fun teaching can be as a student teacher for high school freshmen in Alamance County. Lucas has experience running creative writing workshops with students and hopes to use his creative approach to teaching to support students at AoPS. Outside of teaching at AoPS, Lucas is active in the Carrboro-Chapel Hill school system and has worked in the past as a copywriter in marketing. In his free time, he can be found reading a good book, playing video games, participating in recreational sports leagues, and organizing board game nights with friends.

Dr. Shelly-Ann Love

As a child, Shelly-Ann's father sparked her interest in math by frequently entertaining her with math riddles. Although Shelly-Ann loved math, she was not naturally good at math. However, with hard work and determination, Shelly-Ann excelled in math throughout her academic journey. Her love for math led her to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics and statistics from Stony Brook University, a Master of Statistics degree from North Carolina State University, and a Doctorate of Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Shelly-Ann has 8+ years of teaching math and statistics to undergraduate and graduate students with diverse abilities. Shelly-Ann's greatest joys in teaching math include observing students grasp a concept they had difficulty understanding and overcoming their math anxiety. Shelly-Ann is an Epidemiologist and Biostatistician who investigates risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and other age-related outcomes. Shelly-Ann enjoys working out, watching foreign movies, and spending time with her husband and three children in her free time.

Alina Lozhnikova

Alina earned her master's degree in computer science from the Moscow State Technical University in Russia. After many years in different jobs, she came to a conclusion that math is the basis of all subjects. Whatever you are, it is always good to have a strong math foundation. Teaching at schools in the Wake County School System, Alina hears students saying how hard and boring math is. She is eager to change this opinion, because math is fun! Studying math is rewarding in many ways. Even if you love reading or history most, you can still be a very good mathematician. In her spare time, Alina loves gardening, watching art house movies, and walking/biking on trails. She has a family of five. Fun fact - Alina's dog doesn't understand English.

Auten Lunsford

Auten is a passionate instructor of mathematics! In May 2023, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a B.S. in applied mathematics and a minor in statistics. During college, he guided children as a camp counselor at Morehead Planetarium and the YMCA. At Morehead, he taught and managed classes of 10 children in chemistry and computer science. As an undergraduate, he also worked as a teaching assistant and peer tutor. Since graduation, Auten has been an online instructor at iD Tech, delivering one-on-one lessons in all math subjects to kids of all ages. He also led week-long virtual camps in computer science. Apart from mathematics, Auten enjoys jamming on his keyboard, watching films/TV, and eating pasta!

Carolyn McCormick

Carolyn’s early interests in math and science have been rooted in a desire to help others. While in high school, she learned about engineering and the incredible opportunities to help people as an engineer. Carolyn completed undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering from Lafayette College. She also holds two master’s degrees: one in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and one in biomedical engineering conferred jointly between UNC in Chapel Hill and NC State. Carolyn has had the pleasure of working with K-12 students in various math and physics topics and has mentored and taught undergraduate engineering students. As an engineering professional, Carolyn supports biomedical research studies and medical device product development. Outside of the classroom, Carolyn and her husband, Matt, are rock climbing at Triangle Rock Club or volunteering at their church.

Alissa McElreath

Alissa has a master’s degree in creative writing from Binghamton University, where she studied under the poet Ruth Stone. She also has a master’s degree in English language and literature from the University of Rochester. She has published fiction and non-fiction, served as a senior editor for the online literary magazine Literary Mama , and taught students from high school through university. Alissa loves working with students from all backgrounds and of all ages and especially enjoys seeing their skills and confidence flourish.

Tim MacNeil

Tim completed both his Bachelors of Science in Mathematics Education and his Masters of Science in Statistics at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Tim previously worked as the associate math director at AoPS in Morrisville before choosing to take a position at his alma mater. Tim currently works in the computer science department at NCSU training their teaching assistants in effective pedagogical techniques and handling their administrative needs. Before working at AoPS, Tim worked at the Academic Skills Center at Vance-Granville Community College for five years, where he specialized in training the school’s mathematics tutors, organizing study groups, and assisting students at all skill levels. In his free time, Tim loves spending time with his daughter, solving problems that are ‘just a few steps away,’ playing video games, and drinking tea.

Courtney Manahan

Courtney completed her bachelor’s degree in education at Frostburg State University and earned her master’s degree in mathematics education from Towson University. She taught for 6 years and now works in curriculum development. While teaching, she enjoyed coaching the math and robotics team. Courtney is originally from Long Island, NY and enjoys spending time outdoors with her golden retrievers.

Benjamin Martens

Benjamin holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from MIT, where he served as a TA for an introductory computer science class. His career has been varied, including vaccine biopharmaceutical production, controls engineering for a turbine manufacturer, and work as a bond trader and strategist. Benjamin developed a love for teaching as a MATHCOUNTS coach, and he loves to provide real world commentary on the practical application of the techniques that students are learning.

Dr. Michael Medvinsky

Michael Medvinsky loves to teach and believes that students can feel it. The most satisfying part of teaching for him is to see understanding in the student’s eyes. Michael holds a PhD in applied mathematics from Tel Aviv University. He is also a lecturer at North Carolina State University where he also used to be a computational mathematics researcher. Michael likes jazz, rock and classics, but never knows the names of bands and songs, because he needs to remember mathematical theorems instead.

Dr. Saideep Nannapaneni

Saideep’s passion for mathematics and engineering inspired him to earn his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in India. He then moved to the United States for further education, and earned master’s and doctorate degrees from Vanderbilt University. After a brief period as a Postdoctoral scholar at Vanderbilt, he moved to Wichita State University as an Assistant Professor in Industrial Engineering where he taught courses on data science, analytics, and applied statistics to undergraduate and graduate students for five years. He also served as a Grader for AP Research in 2022. Away from work, he enjoys spending time with family, playing board games, watching movies, practicing yoga, and playing racket sports.

Deepa Nidumuri

Deepa earned her undergraduate degree in math, statistics and economics from Bangalore University and an associate’s degree in computer programming from Durham Tech Community College. She has been a member of AoPS Academy since 2015 and both of her children are proud AoPS students. She enjoys sharing the values of this academy with the community and loves teaching math to children. In her free time, she enjoys baking and painting with her children, trying new cuisines, yoga, and walking with her miniature aussiedoodle.

Jayasri Panangipalli

Jayasri has over 6 years of experience teaching at both elementary and college levels. She holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in India. She has taught engineering students for 3 years. After staying home to take care of her family, she started teaching at Wake County elementary schools. She enjoys finding various ways to make learning fun, and to encourage students to form a positive connection with math. During her free time, she enjoys gardening, solving sudoku puzzles, playing board games with her daughter and trying new recipes.

Brian Phillips

Brian Phillips has taught math and science at local private schools and also works as a math tutor. He holds a BS from NC State in chemical engineering and history, and an MS in occupational health and safety from Eastern Kentucky University. Brian comes to teaching after a 35-year career managing Environmental, Health, and Safety programs at large corporations. He also managed the Safety and Quality programs at OE Enterprises, which provides support and job training for people living with disabilities. Outside work, Brian is active in his church and enjoys, reading, swimming, and historical re-enacting. He and his wife Mary Beth have two adult children.

Wendy is a Massachusetts native who earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Stonehill College and her master's degree in education from UMass Boston. She has experience teaching middle school English, conducting educational research, coordinating districtwide language assessments, and writing curriculum for after-school programs. In addition, Wendy holds a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) and taught EFL to high school students in Hungary. Wendy enjoys building strong relationships with students to help them excel in overcoming obstacles and achieve their full potential. In her free time, she can be found playing with her two young children, baking, or reading the latest whodunit.

Stephanie "Blake" Sigmon

Blake is an ELA teacher for AoPS Academy Morrisville. She is also a licensed speech-language pathologist specializing in language acquisition and use (i.e., phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics) in school-aged children. Blake is a North Carolina native and earned her Master of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She loves helping her students develop confidence in their spoken and written language abilities.

Shannon Smithberger

Shannon has 25 years of teaching experience in traditional and nontraditional classrooms in Maryland, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Using an interdisciplinary approach, she has taught K-12th grade students with a primary focus of science and English language arts. She has been a middle school ELA teacher and K-5th grade librarian for the past two years and finds great joy when a student discovers a just-right book to read and discuss. Shannon believes in the power of words and loves working with students to hone their writing skills. Shannon has a master’s degree in natural science from Rensselaer in Troy, New York, and when she is not dreaming of winter (she loves snow!), she is reading, reading, reading!

Karen Varney

Karen has over 20 years of experience teaching language arts and social studies. She is certified to teach language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade. Karen is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Economy of Industrial Societies. She also earned her master’s degree in education from California State University, Dominguez Hills. After teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 6 years, Karen and her family moved to North Carolina in 2008 where she taught at West Cary Middle School and later at Mills Park Middle School since its opening in 2010.

Giridharan (Giri) Venkataraman

Giri loves teaching math and science and helping his students apply their knowledge to the real world. He has coached elementary and middle school math clubs for several years. Giri earned his master’s degree in engineering science and mechanics from the University of Alabama and worked at North Carolina A&T State University’s Engineering Research Center for Revolutionizing Metallic Biomaterials. He is now a principal engineer at Fidelity Investments. In his spare time, Giri enjoys cooking and solving cryptic crosswords.

Justin Verstrat

Justin is a National Board Certified (NBCT) educator and an experienced high school language arts teacher, with twelve years’ experience teaching for Wake County Public Schools. Previously, Justin taught language arts to middle-school students in California and Istanbul, Turkey. He earned his BA in English from the University of Southern Maine and his MFA in English and creative writing from San Francisco State University. Justin’s knowledge of students’ needs, enthusiasm for subject matter, and sense of playfulness create a lively class environment where students thrive.

Barbara Webber

Barbara earned her master’s degree in education and her literacy specialist certification from The University of Mary Washington in Virginia. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education and English from Monmouth University in her home state of New Jersey. Barbara is a veteran teacher and has experience teaching middle and high school English as well as reading and literacy for all grades, starting with preschool. When she's not teaching, she loves to spend time with her three kids playing games or exploring around town. Barbara also enjoys writing, photography, and long weekends at the beach.

Jeff Zidman

Jeff has a passion for math, science and a good puzzle. He has a degree in industrial engineering and spends his days solving complex business supply chain and quality problems. Jeff enjoys bringing his creativity and energy to the classroom, whether he is teaching foreign language, history, statistics, or coaching students through a hands-on science project. He has taught elementary- and middle-school students and instructed adult learners.

Our family regularly talks about AoPS. We try to think about how our life would be different without you all. What if my daughter hadn't learned to love math? What if she never experienced being pushed to her limits? Overcoming failure? She wouldn't be who she is. And she is AWESOME! A very proud mom here. We are so fortunate that we found AoPS Academy. I credit AoPS for much of her confidence.

AoPS Academy parent to 16-year-old engineering major at UW and future cancer researcher

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ABOUT AOPS ACADEMY

Rigorous Curriculum and an Unforgettable Experience

Since 1993, Art of Problem Solving has prepared hundreds of thousands of motivated students in grades 2–12 for college and career success. Through our innovative approach, students build a problem-solving foundation, an unparalleled skill set that helps them overcome obstacles in school and in life.

Our Carmel Valley Location

We’re right in your neighborhood! Our campus location is at 11455 El Camino Real, Ste 150, San Diego, CA 92130.

A Problem-Solving Curriculum

Our curriculum is rigorous — it's built to be. If students never feel challenged, they’re not getting to the boundaries of what’s possible. By solving new and complex problems, AoPS students are inspired to expand to their fullest academic potential.

If you’re looking for a challenging, interactive environment where your student will build the skill stack to succeed in school and beyond, you'll find it at AoPS Academy Carmel Valley!

Our family regularly talks about AoPS. We try to think about how our life would be different without you all. What if my daughter hadn't learned to love math? What if she never experienced being pushed to her limits? Overcoming failure? She wouldn't be who she is. And she is AWESOME! A very proud mom here. We are so fortunate that we found AoPS Academy. I credit AoPS for much of her confidence.

AoPS Academy parent to 16-year-old engineering major at UW and future cancer researcher

Art of Problem Solving Math Books Review

What is art of problem solving.

Founded in 1993 by former USA Math Olympiad winner Richard Rusczyk, Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) is a company that produces rigorous math instruction courses and products that can help outstanding math students develop a more thorough understanding of math concepts, as well as help prepare them for success in math competitions. 

From textbooks to online classes to physical learning centers, AoPS offers a variety of educational products and services that can help challenge kids, deepening their knowledge and strengthening their mathematical thinking.

AoPS Math textbooks

Art of Problem Solving has created a series of textbooks for middle and high school math textbooks that are designed to give outstanding math students a deeper and more rigorous curriculum in math. 

Originally designed to help talented math students prepare for competitions, over the years AoPS’s textbook line has expanded to offer full curriculums in middle and high school math courses, and their problem-based and rigorous approach to math has made them very popular with parents across the world as a top enrichment option. 

What Grades and Math Subjects does AoPS Math cover?

Art of Problem Solving textbooks cover middle and high school math, as well as competition prep.  

Generally speaking, the AoPS math textbooks can be broken down into two curricula- introductory and advanced – that roughly correspond to most middle and high school math programs (in terms of overall scope, that is). 

Parents of younger math enthusiasts should note that Art of Problem Solving covers elementary school math (Grades 1-6) in their Beast Academy series, which you can read about in our review .

Introductory Curriculum (Middle School)

Advanced curriculum (high school) .

When taken as a whole, Art of Problem Solving’s math textbooks cover the topics included in most US Math curricula, as well as touching on a few topics that aren’t usually covered in most public high school programs. 

That said, the point isn’t really to get kids learning college level math or a curriculum beyond high school math, but instead to get students to develop their problem solving skills and develop more creative and flexible mathematical thinking, to get them to recognize and appreciate different approaches to problem solving, as well as getting a better understanding of the why of math, rather than just focusing on how to compute problems. 

As such, AoPS’s curricula tend to go deeper into your typical middle and high school math topics, letting kids examine concepts more rigorously, more thoroughly and with more challenging problems than they would otherwise be able to do in other math courses. 

Art of Problem Solving Contest Prep

In addition to their more academically-focused textbooks, Art of Problem Solving also offers a variety of books designed to further enrich exceptional students or help with preparing for math contests and Olympiads.

These books generally tend to work on developing stronger problem solving skills, going far deeper into various concepts and exploring far more challenging questions and problems, while introducing various approaches for understanding and solving them quickly and effectively.

Geared more for gifted enrichment and contests preparation, each of these books tend to go over a greater variety of concepts and topics, touching on concepts in Geometry, Algebra, Number theory and more, and aren’t really bound to any linear curriculum. 

In addition, the problem sets, geared as they are to helping students prepare for national tournaments and contests, are far more challenging and in-depth than would be expected of even an advanced middle or high school course.

For these reasons we don’t usually think this series is where parents should necessarily start off when working on math at home, but in our experience we do feel they are great supplements to the main textbooks and can be excellent for enrichment purposes and preparing for contests.

How Art of Problem Solving Teaches Math

Aops pedagogical approach.

Art of Problem solving is a big believer in teaching through solving problems. 

The books consequently include a wide variety of problems, many of which kids will have never encountered before.

In fact, some come directly from various math competitions such as:

• The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC)  
• The Harvard-MIT Math Tournament

The general idea is that by getting kids to work through problems themselves, and more importantly discovering how to solve certain problems, kids will develop a deeper understanding of the material. 

As a result, AoPS Math textbooks are quite problem set heavy.

Explanations of each concept are quite short and to the point and are followed by a good deal of exercises for students to try out on their own.

When introducing these textbooks, parents should expect that kids will have to think things through a bit more and work out the answers themselves without a lot of hand holding or spoon feeding, and that there will be a heavier emphasis on logic and proof than other curricula. 

All this really drives home Art of Problem Solving’s place as a resource for outstanding or talented math students who don’t need a lot of time or explanation to grasp the material. 

Consequently, students who are less adept at math may find the instructions a little too short and too quick and may need extra help in order prevent getting frustrated by skill and knowledge gaps as the exercises come rolling in

Lesson structure

Regardless of the book in question, Age of Learning’s lessons tend to follow a particular format.

The books are made up of several chapters, each of which covers a particular topic within the subject and contains several sections. 

Each section is then typically broken down into various related concepts, an overview of the types of problems kids may come across (both common and uncommon) and often the various factors that can affect outcomes.

In Introduction to Algebra, for example, when discussing multivariable linear equations, the chapter is divided up into an introduction, a discussion of substitution, elimination, some word problems, common and uncommon problem sets, different variables and so on.

As kids go through their lessons, they are given lots of examples to try and lessons tend to work through some of them step-by step in a fairly in-depth and rigorous manner to demonstrate concepts. 

Sections typically end with a variety of exercises for that section and, at the end of each chapter, there are review and challenge problems. 

Review problems go over and test what the student has learned with similar problems, while challenge problems go a step further and test mastery of the material with far more challenging questions. 

If kids get stuck, there are always hints and solutions that are helpfully included in the back of the book ( no cheating !)

Look and feel 

As you might expect from a problem solving and word problem-heavy methodology, these textbooks contain lots of typical math diagrams and pictures floating about to go along with and illustrate the word problems.

AoPS textbooks also tend to have a lot of floating boxes that highlight important information for kids, including: 

• Pointing out various strategies they can take on given concepts or problems
• Offering extra work
• Giving extra information
• Even offering “bogus” solutions that point out the most common mistakes made by students when solving a problem

Despite its rigor, Art of Problem Solving does its best to keep its material from becoming too dry and boring, which we appreciate. 

The books are written in a very casual tone, which makes it feel as if a math-whiz friend were explaining the material rather than a textbook. 

There are also a good deal of amusing and interesting examples and concept demonstrations sprinkled throughout, sometimes even involving sly pop culture references (some of which may go over kids heads, but parents will appreciate).

Does this approach really work?

Due to its philosophy and the way it teaches, we feel the Art of Problem solving takes more or less a constructivist/Problem Based Learning approach to teaching math where, instead of receiving formal lectures about math, students build up their own knowledge and skill by working through and solving various problems.

This learner-centric approach to teaching math and science actually has been linked to positive outcomes when teaching math and science , fostering greater problem-solving skills, improving self-motivation and encouraging creative and critical thinking skills as they relate to mathematics. 

Past customers have also reported that the series challenges their students pretty thoroughly, increasing the depth of their knowledge on relevant subjects and increasing their speed at solving difficult-math problems, sometimes dramatically. 

It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Art of Problem Solving curriculum is often used in honors math classes across the US. 

Some Drawbacks to Art of Problem Solving Textbooks and Curriculum

Can be time consuming.

Due to its focus on doing exercises, exploring concepts and working through problems to gain a better understanding of the subject matter, Art of Problem Solving can take a little more time to work with than some other programs.

This can be particularly true as AoPS tends to use far more challenging questions than kids are used to, some of which are in formats they haven’t seen before. 

While great for learning, this approach isn’t exactly a time saver. It’s not uncommon, for example, for parents to report spending up to 45 min (or more) each day on math (in addition to other homework). 

Can be tricky to jump into from another curriculum

With its particular approach and pedagogy, as well as its more rigorous approach to mathematics and problem solving (including the use of proofs), Art of Problem Solving can be somewhat tricky to get used to if you jump into it from another curriculum. 

Because math is a cumulative process, kids who begin Art of Problem solving without having at least reviewed some of the foundational material in previous books can find themselves lost or slowed down by skill and knowledge gaps they didn’t realize they had. 

Helpfully, the AoPS website does have free, printable diagnostic assessments for each book to help parents determine if their kids are at the right skill level. 

Discovery approach can frustrate some learners

Despite the fact that Age of Problem Solving’s approach has been shown to get results and improve the mathematical thinking and skills of talented math students, sometimes it just isn’t the right approach for the student. 

AoPS often requires students to play around with numbers and concepts and discover missing information themselves. 

Some students, even really talented students, can get frustrated by this approach and may prefer a more straightforward, traditional math course where they can get down to computation and see their results more quickly. 

Who is Art of Problem Solving For?

Overall, we think Art of Problem Solving is a great resource for parents and kids looking for a far more thorough, challenging and enriched math program.

It is an ideal course for students who demonstrate an aptitude for math and are looking to deepen and strengthen their math skills with more challenging grade-level material.

We think AoPS textbooks can be particularly good for students interested for more rigorous preparation for math-heavy STEM subjects in university , where their greater focus on problem solving, proofs and logic skills will be a strong asset, such as with physics, engineering and even computer science,

We also think that Art of Problem solving’s textbooks and methodology can be an excellent base material for students interested in or preparing for math contests and olympiads (AMC 10, AMC 12, MATHCOUNTS and the like), particularly their Contest Math Prep Series, as they promote creative approaches to problem solving and strengthen mathematical thinking that kids can use when faced with new problems.

Who is Art of Problem Solving Not Great For?

That said, Art of Problem Solving textbooks are obviously not for every student. 

These books are not the best curriculum for kids who are struggling with math concepts as AoPS math is primarily aimed at enriching math study. 

AoPS math goes far deeper into the material with far more rigor, exploring various high school and middle school math topics at a more advanced level and with more challenging problem sets, while emphasizing multiple approaches to problem solving and flexibility when approaching new math problems. 

Struggling students, while they often can benefit from learning the why’s behind math, can usually spend their time better by reviewing the fundamentals and practicing basic strategies, as well as by working on more targeted skill development with programs like IXL and Khan Academy .

Similarly, we don’t feel that AoPS textbooks are really the best resource for preparing for the SAT and other timed standardized tests where answering speed and efficiency (and test taking strategies) can be far more effective when it comes to success than gaining a deep understanding of concepts and working through problems.

In these instances, kids are better served through specific standardized prep programs that will work with them on developing their proficiency at solving very particular types of questions. 

Finally, AoPS textbooks are also not the best solution for kids looking to explore college level math as, despite its more challenging nature, AoPS math goes deeper into middle school and high school math topics (algebra, geometry, number theory, single variable calculus), rather than beyond it.

Price: How much do AoPS Textbooks Cost? 

The price of AoPS math textbooks really depends on the particular book and subject you’re interested in. 

Generally speaking, though, each book costs between $45 and $70, which is roughly the same as the average middle or high school textbook .

The length of each book varies, however, from just under 300 pages of instructional material in some cases to well over 700 in others.

Unlike many other middle and high school textbooks, however, these are designed to serve as a complete curriculum for each topic as every book contains instructional material as well as hundreds of practice problems, hints, and a step-by-step solution guide that itself is usually a couple hundred pages long as well. 

Bottom Line:

If you have a talented middle or high school math student and you’re looking for ways to nurture their excellence, Art of Problem Solving’s math textbooks might be right for you.

Although certainly not for everyone, with their challenging curriculum and in-depth exploration of math concepts, AoPS can foster better problem solving skills, stronger analytical ability and improved creative and critical math thinking, all of which can help students take their math skills to the next level.

About the Author

David Belenky is a freelance writer, former science and math tutor and a tech enthusiast. When he’s not writing about educational tech, he likes to chill out with his family and dog at home.  

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Art of Problem Solving Introduction to Algebra

Learn the basics of algebra from former USA Mathematical Olympiad winner and Art of Problem Solving

Art of Problem Solving Intermediate Algebra

A comprehensive textbook covering Algebra 2 and topics in Precalculus. This book is the follow-up to

Art of Problem Solving Introduction to Geometry

Learn the fundamentals of geometry from former USA Mathematical Olympiad winner Richard Rusczyk. Top

Art of Problem Solving Precalculus

Precalculus is part of the acclaimed Art of Problem Solving curriculum designed to challenge hi

Art of Problem Solving Calculus

Calculus is part of the acclaimed Art of Problem Solving curriculum designed to challenge high-