The After-School Program Helping NYC Girls Fall in Love with Math, Starting at Age 3

Nobody is born deciding they are not a math person. That happens later. Somewhere between the early years of pure curiosity and the first time a child absorbs the message that certain subjects belong to certain kinds of people, a door quietly closes.

Rocket Club Math, which runs programs in Tribeca, the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side, focuses on reaching children before that door has a chance to move. The program is an after-school enrichment program for young children that focuses on making math something they can explore and use. The program also encourages confidence and perseverance.

According to the Operations Director Kristin Goldston and her team, if a visitor were to enter a room at Rocket Club Math and ask the young children gathered there “who is good at math,” the enthusiastic answer would be that “we all are.” This surprising response reveals how effective Rocket Club Math has been at keeping children engaged and enthusiastic about a subject many might have been directed away from in other academic environments.

The organization enrolls children as young as 3 and 4 years old, introducing them to mathematics through games, storytelling, real-world themes and hands-on problem-solving. The goal is to help the kids see math as something fun to explore by connecting it to their interests.

According to the company, approximately half of its members are girls, a figure its team considers one of the more meaningful indicators of what early access and consistent role modeling can produce.

The Real-World Connection

The mission of Rocket Club Math is to engage children with mathematics before they decide whether math is a subject they enjoy or not. The organization starts working with children during preschool and the first years of elementary school. The five women leaders of Rocket Club Math are invested in giving children a chance to establish a solid relationship with math before they’re discouraged by others.

“A lot of young girls and kids in general come into math thinking, ‘When am I ever going to use this?’” says Jezalyn Schussler, who leads the East 72nd St. location, describing the shift she watches happen in young students. She and her team then get to show the children “you could actually use math to build a roller coaster, design fashion, open a restaurant, or create something you’re really passionate about.”

That framing, she believes, matters especially for girls. When math becomes a tool for pursuing something a child already cares about, the relationship with the subject changes to a positive one.

“We want our members to realize math isn’t just something you do on a worksheet. It’s in science and business but also in baking, car racing, music and art. Once our members make those connections, there’s so much more purpose behind what they’re learning,” says Goldston.

The location director at Tribeca, Florencia Mino, enjoys working with children who haven’t been isolated into an academic box by others or themselves. She’s worked with Rocket Club Math for three years and considers it a privilege to observe the effect the program has on students.

“Watching a student have that “aha!” moment is magic. Creating an environment where those moments can happen consistently is priceless,” says Mino.

Those moments can come after hours of hard work and perseverance, but are always worth the effort. The program reports seeing a positive change reflected in how students engage over time, including in feedback from families. Staff members say parents describe children coming home and trying to stump them with math problems, or explaining concepts with visible pride.

What Role Models Do

One of the goals of Rocket Club Math is to inspire girls when they’re young by surrounding them with strong female role models who love math. Five women hold leadership positions across the Rocket Club Math locations. The gender gap in STEM has been an issue for decades, and it’s speculated that the problem is rooted in what little girls are taught before they even reach higher grades in school.

Operations Director Kristin Goldston, who studied biology as an undergraduate, has always been invested in education. Her role is to help the organization rethink academic extracurricular programs, making them accessible and engaging to the young students. As the mother of a little girl, Goldston emphasizes the importance of girls observing women in leadership positions and that the visibility of female leadership carries significant weight.

“Our girls come to Rocket Club Math and see women teaching math, running locations, and leading our organization,” Goldston says. “That’s the norm here. I want all the girls who come through our doors to grow up assuming those spaces and opportunities belong to them too.”

The belief that certain subjects are for only one gender and not the other has had a detrimental effect on many young girls and has kept many out of STEM subjects. The Rocket Club Math organization is focused on giving them the chance to decide for themselves where their interests lie.

“A lot of young girls and kids in general come into math thinking, ‘Why am I learning all these numbers? When am I ever going to use this?’ And then we get to show them you could actually use math to build a roller coaster, design fashion, open a restaurant, or create something you’re really passionate about. Anything is possible,” says Jezalyn Schussler, the location director of East 72nd.

Empowerment is at the core of the program. Through the use of hands-on activities, games, and real-world themes, the students learn that math is more than “numbers on a worksheet.” This is especially impactful on the female students. If they can see themselves in multiple possible roles in their future from a young age, it can make a significant difference in how they regard and use math.

Winnie Cross, the location director on East 76th St., brings graduate-level mathematical experience to the program. Her firsthand experience with math at a high academic level informs how she helps students tackle their earliest math challenges. She pushes back on what she calls the either/or mentality attached to school subjects many children absorb early.

“Kids pick up on that black-and-white thinking really young. What I try to do is make room for the huge gray area in between: she doesn’t have to love math or be advanced at it to be a math kid. She just has to keep doing it long enough to see the benefits, to find out it can actually be fun, and to realize it’s not just a school subject but something woven into every part of life,” Cross says.

Asiya Fatima is the location director on the Upper West Side and has witnessed girls become more comfortable taking risks in the classroom.

“The program is low-stakes; they can make mistakes, try again, and explore different ways to solve a problem without feeling pressured. Over time, that creates confidence and a willingness to challenge themselves,” Fatima says.

Cross agrees, noting that “You can be challenged by something and still be confident in it.”

Mino points out that when girls begin to trust their own thinking, they become more engaged and curious. “That willingness to take risks, work through mistakes and explain how they reached an answer is real confidence,” Mino says.

A Confidence That Travels

Mino describes the most meaningful student change in straightforward terms: girls stop waiting for permission to trust their own thinking. “I’ve watched students go from hesitating to answer to eagerly tackling new challenges.”

Fatima points to something similar. “There is no right time to be good at math. Everyone learns differently and at their own pace. With practice, support, and the opportunity to keep trying, you can build confidence and realize that you are capable of doing math, even when it doesn’t come easily at first.” Over time, she says, that environment produces something durable.

At the East 72nd St. location, Schussler has watched girls go from being apathetic about math to rushing to their class binder to dive into their lessons. This evolution is a part of her job that she finds special and powerful. The program not only teaches young students math, but empowers them to realize they can do anything they set their minds to.

Students are often risk-averse, but the program allows them to explore different ways to solve problems without being pressured. The result is that the students learn to be confident in challenging themselves. Discovering that they are capable of discovering the answers themselves and not waiting to be told their solutions are right lessens their fear of exploring math.

“You start to see less fear around getting something wrong and more excitement around figuring it out and using different ways to approach a problem. This trickles into other problem-solving areas of their lives and leads to more creative thought processes,” says Goldston.

Creating a supportive environment where children can learn is the foundation of Rocket Club Math. Making math more engaging and meaningful has an influence on how children see the subject and apply it to their lives. The supportive environment makes children eager to learn.

“Children leave thinking, ‘That was fun, and I can’t wait to see what we do next!’” says Fatima.

The power of math to break down problems into smaller pieces to make sense of them is a valuable tool in a world that often feels complicated to children. Giving children this tool helps them learn to trust themselves, even when things feel difficult. The program also encourages children to move at their own pace and doesn’t pressure them. Instead, it enables them to learn from their mistakes and try again.

“Every girl deserves someone who reminds her that struggling doesn’t mean she isn’t capable; it means she’s learning,” says Schussler.

Cross believes that making math fun is a part of the equation to what makes the program work so well, but so is the knowledge that there is a right answer. When a student lands on it, they know they have accomplished their goal. The feeling that comes with getting it right can encourage them to continue learning.

“I want every girl to get the chance to feel both sides of it: the certainty of getting it right, and the excitement that there’s always more to learn,” says Cross.

When the Director of Operations is asked what she would like to share with the children in the Rocket Club Math programs, she says, “Math is all around you. Give yourself the chance to find out what you can do before you decide that something isn’t for you. Look at your biggest interest in life or favorite hobby: I bet you’ll find some math there.”

Rocket Club Math reports its membership is currently drawn nearly equally from boys and girls. Whether that reflects the age at which the program begins, the presence of female leadership throughout, or the emphasis on math as a real-world tool is something its team continues to think about. What they observe is the outcome: children who walk in uncertain and walk out curious about what comes next.