Activities for Learning holds Open House
It’s fitting that Hazelton’s newest business, Activities for Learning, Inc. (AFL) held Open House in February. It’s heart month - and the heart of the program, developed by founder Dr. Joan A. Cotter of Minnesota, comes from her heart - a desire to give youngsters the right start in education - and so it is that her RightStart Mathematics program came to be.
Dr. Cotter developed the program because a family member was having difficulty with math. Her keen interest in making learning easier led her to tutoring children with learning problems and teaching junior high math. Her research led her to developing a math program which includes the use of the ALAbacus and card games. She started a Montessori school for children ages 3-6 years old; she also studied the Suzuki method and taught violin and piano to young children. Dr. Cotter is presently developing programs for grades 5-7 which will take them through math and prepare them for algebra.
AFL publishes classroom materials for a math curriculum developed for home schooling grades K-4. Word of its success has spread and now 70% of all orders go to home schoolers; 30% goes to private, charter, and public schools either as full curriculum, a supplement, for tutoring or for Title I. The program is used in several North Dakota communities including Hazelton. A rural low income community in Texas received a grant for the RightStart program. Since it began, those students’ math scores have nearly doubled.
The program is sold worldwide and is even used at a school for the deaf in Norway.
The Hazelton AFL facility covers 5,760 square feet but phase 2, 3, and 4 are already planned for future expansion. AFL provides jobs for 10 full-time employees as well as customer service representatives. It is looking for professionals to help with sales, support, and development.
We’re excited about this new business that is producing learning tools for youngsters worldwide as well as employment opportunities for our community.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:21 pm
This is very impressive. Education is a huge key in the this whole process and by starting with children you are setting the tone for their life long love of learning….. how many jobs will this create for your community? And Good luck!
June 20th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
In response to the question of number of jobs created by our new Activities for Learning in Hazelton - Eight full-time (local) jobs were created. I believe AL has at least 20 employees. Several students have found employment there this summer. More permanent jobs will be created as AL continues to grow.
It has been exciting to see the interest taken locally as the community comes to realize the benefits of having this industry in our town. As with all communities the size of Hazelton, there are not many places to find employment. This business has made it possible for adults to spend more time with their families as well as adding to their take home pay because they do not have travel expenses.
Some of the students employed with AL would otherwise not have been able to work this summer because they were unable to drive to a job for various reasons.