Numeric is a small team of friendly people who are on a mission to help young South Africans excel in mathematics. Specifically, Numeric’s goal is to create exciting and high impact learning environments. We do this in low-income areas with a view to helping learners in Grade 7 establish strong foundations in mathematics and develop the next generation of well-equipped and passionate teachers.
Our mission is to help young South Africans excel in mathematics and to train well-equipped and passionate teachers for the public school system.
Our Values
Excellence
Integrity
Community
Trust
Learning
Our History
Numeric was founded in 2011 by Andrew Einhorn with generous support from the David and Elaine Potter Foundation, and was established to help young South Africans excel in mathematics. Troubled by the poor outcomes in matric mathematics and concerned for the impact on South Africa’s economy and development, Andrew Einhorn and Elaine Potter discussed the prospect of online learning shifting high-quality instruction into low-income areas. The first iterations of the Numeric program were online learning environments in computer labs in township schools and community centres.
Target groups
Initially, the target group was Grade 9 and 10 learners as they prepared to choose and study pure mathematics at Grade 10 level. It soon became apparent that the challenges learners have in mathematics are more fundamental than the concepts that are covered in high school grades, the gaps existing in more basic arithmetic and pre-algebraic concepts. In 2013, the Numeric focus shifted exclusively to Grade 8 with the approach that the first year of high school would be ideal for solidifying these foundations. The transition between primary and high school is crucial and after iterating the model with Grade 7 learners, Numeric found our niche in working with learners in their final year of primary school and we currently work exclusively with primary schools in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban. The first few iterations of our program allowed us to fine-tune our model and find the best target group for our intervention.
Learning methods
Another important shift happened that has made us more effective and that is shifting away from online learning in our after-school programs to more interactive learning methods, including peer learning, group work, games, and developing a high-quality teacher to facilitate instruction. This shift has resulted in improved attendance, persistence, and impact measures year on year and has led us to increase our focus on training of the “coaches” (teaching interns) who we work with, thereby not only improving maths outcomes for learners, but also developing the next generation of teachers who will go on to teach in public schools.
Where we Work
Our Reach
Partner Schools
Active Coaches
Learners