Kumon Student Makes History!

POWAY, Calif. - (Business Wire) Pomerado Elementary School student Sansar Yogi, 9, makes history as the youngest student in North America to graduate from Kumon’s Math and Reading programs. Kumon is the world’s largest after-school math and reading program with centers in 46 countries. The curriculum includes thousands of worksheets covering pre-school to advanced high school material.

Sansar completed Kumon worksheets every day in addition to his school work. He mastered differential calculus, indefinite/definite integrals and differential equations in the final level of the math program and studied great works of literature from Shakespeare to T.S. Eliot, as well as interpretation and critique of literature in the reading program. Sansar’s passion for learning new things motivated him to work through the entire math and reading curriculum in just three years.

“It is a great achievement for a young child to have the skill, capability and dedication to achieve this goal, and to do so takes great effort,” said Hideki Kusuzawa, president of Kumon North America. “Every child can achieve their full potential through independent learning like Sansar.”
“Sansar was different from the other kids,” said his instructor Saeko Jalbuna, of the Kumon Center in Poway. “He has the ability to concentrate and persevere through challenging problems without becoming frustrated.”

Although Sansar is the youngest completer in North America, he is not the only one in his family to complete both the Kumon Math and Reading program. His older sister Sara, 12, finished the reading program last August and the math program in June.

As Sara completed the program, Sansar gained the extra motivation and encouragement from his family to finish the program. “My dad taught me what I needed to know and more,” said Sansar. “My mother encouraged me to keep going and my sister supported me.”
Last year, only 1,141 out of more than 250,000 students in North America graduated Kumon’s Math and Reading programs. Sansar is one of 669 graduates in North America this year but is the first to graduate before middle school.

Sansar and Sara’s mother, Manita said, “It’s a really exciting time for our family. I’m really proud of my children for tackling an enormous challenge all on their own.” Their father, Gopal, echoed these sentiments, “Sansar and Sara truly surprised us! We never thought our children would master these advanced levels at such a young age.”

Sansar leaves the Kumon program with words of encouragement for current and future Kumon students, “Even though it may be hard to finish the program, the benefits of completing the program will greatly help you in school.”

In addition to his academic interests, Sansar is a first degree black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. He also enjoys watching movies and reading books in the ‘Magic Tree House’ series. Sara enjoys running long distance on the track and field team and tutoring after school.

Sansar hopes to one day become a college math professor or work as an engineer for NASA, while his sister Sara aspires to be a pediatric surgeon.

As for how Sansar celebrated his completion of the Kumon Math and Reading program, “We held a big party, and I had a four-day sleepover with my friends,” grinned Sansar, remembering the event.

About Kumon Math and Reading Centers
Kumon [Koo-mon] is an after-school math and reading program that unlocks the potential of children by motivating them to achieve more on their own. Founded in Japan in 1958, the learning method uses a systematic individualized approach that helps children develop a solid command of math and reading skills. Through daily practice and mastery of materials, students increase confidence, improve concentration and develop better study skills. Kumon has 26,000 centers in 46 countries and more than four million students studying worldwide.