Anyone Try Kumon? Looking for Cost and an Honest Review

Try to avoid contract and some kumon centers will offer registeration and supply fee free. Over all they are expensive three fees registeration, supply n monthly. U can also take a month off during a calender year. December month would be great due to holidays!

I don't know where you live.. but I am an elementary teacher staying at home.. and if you live near by I would be more than happy to private tutor him for less than what Kumon charges.

Jen

We tried Kumon but only for a short while. We wanted to use it as enrichment during the summer. It requires total commitment from all of you at home for it to be successful. That means in addition to the 40min-ish session he has once per week at the center, he also has to do 20 minutes of work at home every day. So you have to really be on top of setting up that routine.

In the beginning my son loved it, we set up his work station and he chose some great pencils. I thought I had really set out something great. But choosing the right time of day was tough and eventually we always came to battles over his actually sitting his bum down and working for 20 minutes. At 6 I just decided to stop fighting the battles.

But the work is easy and repetitive in the beginning so they gain confidence and they progress slowly but there is progress which makes it rewarding.

I totally believe in the model and if you have an extra $100 per month to help your son's confidence most likely it can't hurt. Unless he hates homework in which case you'll be spending money for one more thing to fight about.

Good luck!

First of all...full disclosure. I have worked at the Bartlett Kumon Math & Reading Center for 4 years. I recently enrolled my two oldest daughters (9 & 7) in the math program because I believe in the concept so much. As a high school math teacher, I have seen kids still counting on their fingers in high school! Students need to know the basics well to be successful in math and the Kumon program is excellent for that. As another mom said, it does take full support at home; however, if it's consistently taking longer than 20 minutes per subject a day, the worksheets may need to be adjusted so that the child is not overwhelmed. The work load my 7 year old has takes her about 10-15 minutes a day if she's not distracted. She also struggles a little with math. The quality may vary from center to center slightly due to the instructor; however, I know the corporate Kumon watches each center closely. I happen to know personally that the Bartlett instructor is an excellent one and really cares for each student! (I also enjoy working with each of the students, so there's a double advantage if you are in our area.) The cost recently went up and is now about $110/mo. per subject (Math and/or Reading) - this may vary slightly from center to center - not sure. There is also 2-3 upfront fees you pay the first month in addition to the tuition (registration, materials, etc.), but otherwise it's just the monthly tuition of around $110. Good luck!

my sister did kumon for math and reading. and it really did help her a lot. it is a lot of repeation of the basic skills so you can move on to the harder stuff.
i hope that helps

Kumon is the worst franchise to own here in the U.S. I quit a high paying job in Chicago in 2010 to start a Kumon learning center. Initially, everyone was friendly and painted rosy picture about the franchise. I went through the motions and finally got my center up and running after investing close to $120,000 in build-out, lease, furniture, training etc.

No sooner started my Kumon learning center, I was asked to spend $4000 on advertising. I was told that I could advertise anywhere. So I did, only to get into the cross hairs of another Kumon learning center franchise owner. My signs were taken out, posters ripped etc. The Kumon office intervened and "I" was told not to advertise by the same people who told me to do so in the first place.

The problem is that Kumon does not have assigned territories. So anytime a center can open anywhere even next door to you. It makes your Kumon center vulnerable to competition.

The rent I pay is over $4000 per month with CAM extra. In the first 12 months I just had about 60 students, and by the end of 2 years I just had 110. I am deep in the red, and am worse off than I was with a high paying job that I quit. The royalties are about 35% of the tuition. Tuition is $100 per month. I would like to increase it but other Kumon franchisees seriously undercut me on the price that one can do nothing about.

Older franchisees bad mouth newer franchisees like me claiming more Kumon experience and by putting some fake awards on their walls.

Management at Kumon is in total disarray. My field support manager provides me with no support. She comes once in a while, looks around, smiles and leaves. The staff are poorly trained to support franchisees. You call up the Chicago branch office and you are sure that your call will never be answered or returned. At the instructor conference this year, I heard that the problem goes right to the top. Recently the President Akira Hamanaka and Executive Vice President Atsushi Nose were fired from Kumon North America. This happened after all franchisees were promised better days to come at the conference by the President and CFO.

If you are reading this and are planning to open a Kumon learning center, take my advice and DO NOT invest your hard earned money in Kumon.
- Kumon is an outdated program and has not changed in over 50 years. It does not match the school curriculum and is below school standards in the U.S.
- Overall Kumon has a bad reputation among students and parents. Parents and students who quit the program usually never come back.
- If you complain about your student numbers with the Kumon staff, they blame the franchisee saying that "it is your fault that your students are quitting you."
- Older Kumon franchisees get a free pass. They can do whatever they want, even run a center from non-retail space.
- Older Kumon franchisees bad mouth new franchisees like me.
- There are no clearly assigned territories.
- There is poor advertising support.
- Management at Kumon is bad.
- There is no quality control in other Kumon centers.
- Royalties are very steep and margins slim to none.
- Kumon staff are inept, poorly skilled, arrogant and condescending.
- Worksheets similar to Kumon and of better quality are freely available on the internet.
- Many parents have switched to online learning on advice from their school teachers.
- Kumon has a bad reputation among Schools and School Teachers in the U.S.
- There is no resale value for one's Kumon center. I have been trying to sell my center but I cannot even recoup 10% of my investment.
- There are many, many better programs like EyeLevel, Aloha Math etc. which offer lower royalties and assigned territories.
- Franchisees that I met all hate the management and staff at Kumon.
- If you fall sick or are unable to run your center, the Kumon management will shut you down.

My advice is DON'T OPEN a Kumon learning center even if you are sold about it. You will regret it just as badly as me.

P., I did Kumon with my 8 yo in NJ from Apr to June the following year. He hated every minute. Math just isn't his thing, nor was Kumon. I loved the program and concept. The registration fee was either $50 or $100 and then it was $100 every month.

Consistency is key. Best to do the worksheets the same time every day before regular homework. You go to the center 2x/week for however long your son needs to do his worksheet and/or take a test (possibly 5 min to 1 hr), then you get worksheets for the days you are not there. Basically, he is competeing against himself (speed/accuracy). My son never got this. His times never improved and the instruction he got wasn't enough to motivate him once he walked out the door.

If your son is motivated which it sounds like his is; try it for the 3 months that's the minimum.

Good Luck,

B.