As a Ranger Medic, Derek Lariviere, franchisee for Mathnasium Learning Centers, the math tutoring franchise with 1,100 units around the world, spent the majority of his time navigating crises and supporting others. However, when he was injured in 2012, he was forced to pivot. After recovering, Lariviere pursued roles in crisis and risk management consulting, which leaned heavily on his prior experience. However, when the pandemic hit, he experienced a new type of crisis: Schools were closed due to the pandemic, and his daughters were struggling to receive the level of education they required in the new remote learning model.
“I’m a single father. I have full custody of my three daughters. And when COVID hit, I noticed that they (and basically everybody else) were struggling with the disruption in their education,” explained Lariviere. “It was just the nature of the situation. They couldn’t be in school, so what do we do?”
Lariviere knew he wanted to support his own children and his community in Oklahoma, so he got involved with education at both the state and local levels. After running for the school board and learning even more about the needs of students in his community, Lariviere began conceptualizing a private school that would allow him to be in full control and cater to the needs of his students.
It was then that he connected with a friend from church whose brother was selling his Mathnasium franchise.
“I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I want.’ I’ve had a passion for building up kids’ confidence any way I can, whether it's through math or the resilience-based summer camps I do,” explained Lariviere. “I’d really like to see the next generation of kids be successful and confident.”
Lariviere also has a rich family history with education. His mom taught special education, his cousin is a professor at the University of Massachusetts, and he has uncles who are public school educators.
“I was kind of the only one who didn’t go directly into education after high school,” he added. “Just growing up and being around it, hearing my mother and aunts and uncles talk about the difference they were making in the community, it was always something I had considered.”
So, when the opportunity to invest in Mathnasium fell in his lap, so to speak, Lariviere took a leap of faith, leveraging his passion for local education and the ability to develop and follow standard operating procedures he established during his time in the military. This was his chance to build something that would serve him, his daughters and the larger community.
After taking over his location in February, Lariviere has worked to build strong connections with local schools to support students and teachers through the aftershocks of the pandemic. In addition to math support — a crucial community need as students continue to recover from COVID learning loss — Lariviere has been involved with local STEM, STEAM and Math Nights to further connect with the community.
“We’re doing some work with the Norman Public School Foundation. They have a build-your-own gingerbread house event on December 2nd that we’re going to be sponsoring,” added Lariviere. “One of my students is the chair of Tiger Palooza, a Norman High School cheer group that puts on events throughout the year, and I sponsored them. They were really happy about that. It’s all been very fun.”
While he enjoys getting involved with the fun events in the community, Lariviere is also working to make meaningful, systemic changes in his community. For example, he will soon be meeting with schools that receive Title I funding to discuss using some of those funds for additional academic support in an effort to improve the students’ math scores.
Through all of this, Lariviere has been fulfilled knowing he is building something that will support his three daughters in the future. And in the meantime, he has been able to maintain his involvement in the education community without sacrificing the lifestyle and meaningful experiences that he values.
“Mathnasium has allowed me to have a lot of really awesome experiences”, he said. “It’s allowed me to incorporate my daughters. This isn’t a nine-to-five where I don’t see my kids; there’s a lot of flexibility in my scheduling without sacrificing income. This is a great way to be in the education space without the restrictions of a public educator’s role. If you're looking to really help shape the next generation of kids, really instill confidence in them, Mathnasium has a great model.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit 1851franchise.com/mathnasium/info
Mathnasium
SPONSORED
After watching his own kids struggle during the pandemic, Derek Lariviere got more involved in the education space in Oklahoma. Now, he’s making an even bigger impact with Mathnasium.
As a Ranger Medic, Derek Lariviere, franchisee for Mathnasium Learning Centers, the math tutoring franchise with 1,100 units around the world, spent the majority of his time navigating crises and supporting others. However, when he was injured in 2012, he was forced to pivot. After recovering, Lariviere pursued roles in crisis and risk management consulting, which leaned heavily on his prior experience. However, when the pandemic hit, he experienced a new type of crisis: Schools were closed due to the pandemic, and his daughters were struggling to receive the level of education they required in the new remote learning model.
“I’m a single father. I have full custody of my three daughters. And when COVID hit, I noticed that they (and basically everybody else) were struggling with the disruption in their education,” explained Lariviere. “It was just the nature of the situation. They couldn’t be in school, so what do we do?”
Lariviere knew he wanted to support his own children and his community in Oklahoma, so he got involved with education at both the state and local levels. After running for the school board and learning even more about the needs of students in his community, Lariviere began conceptualizing a private school that would allow him to be in full control and cater to the needs of his students.
It was then that he connected with a friend from church whose brother was selling his Mathnasium franchise.
“I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I want.’ I’ve had a passion for building up kids’ confidence any way I can, whether it's through math or the resilience-based summer camps I do,” explained Lariviere. “I’d really like to see the next generation of kids be successful and confident.”
Lariviere also has a rich family history with education. His mom taught special education, his cousin is a professor at the University of Massachusetts, and he has uncles who are public school educators.
“I was kind of the only one who didn’t go directly into education after high school,” he added. “Just growing up and being around it, hearing my mother and aunts and uncles talk about the difference they were making in the community, it was always something I had considered.”
So, when the opportunity to invest in Mathnasium fell in his lap, so to speak, Lariviere took a leap of faith, leveraging his passion for local education and the ability to develop and follow standard operating procedures he established during his time in the military. This was his chance to build something that would serve him, his daughters and the larger community.
After taking over his location in February, Lariviere has worked to build strong connections with local schools to support students and teachers through the aftershocks of the pandemic. In addition to math support — a crucial community need as students continue to recover from COVID learning loss — Lariviere has been involved with local STEM, STEAM and Math Nights to further connect with the community.
“We’re doing some work with the Norman Public School Foundation. They have a build-your-own gingerbread house event on December 2nd that we’re going to be sponsoring,” added Lariviere. “One of my students is the chair of Tiger Palooza, a Norman High School cheer group that puts on events throughout the year, and I sponsored them. They were really happy about that. It’s all been very fun.”
While he enjoys getting involved with the fun events in the community, Lariviere is also working to make meaningful, systemic changes in his community. For example, he will soon be meeting with schools that receive Title I funding to discuss using some of those funds for additional academic support in an effort to improve the students’ math scores.
Through all of this, Lariviere has been fulfilled knowing he is building something that will support his three daughters in the future. And in the meantime, he has been able to maintain his involvement in the education community without sacrificing the lifestyle and meaningful experiences that he values.
“Mathnasium has allowed me to have a lot of really awesome experiences”, he said. “It’s allowed me to incorporate my daughters. This isn’t a nine-to-five where I don’t see my kids; there’s a lot of flexibility in my scheduling without sacrificing income. This is a great way to be in the education space without the restrictions of a public educator’s role. If you're looking to really help shape the next generation of kids, really instill confidence in them, Mathnasium has a great model.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit 1851franchise.com/mathnasium/info
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