Jeanette Strohm-Anderson and Mark Anderson

Jeanette Strohm-Anderson and Mark Anderson have two sons, Max and Alex, who attended Larkspur Elementary, a Douglas County public school. Jeanette and Mark were very involved with Larkspur over the years; Jeanette even served as vice president and president of its Parent-Teacher Organization. But they were unhappy with aspects of Larkspur’s curriculum, particularly its “reform” math approach. Max showed a keen interest and aptitude for math and science, and Jeanette and Mark preferred that he be educated using the “Singapore Math Method,” which places a strong emphasis on problem-solving and model drawing.

Accordingly, the Andersons applied for and received a scholarship under the Choice Scholarship Program, which they planned to use to send Max to Woodlands Academy, a small, non-religious private school with a strong math and science curriculum and that is approved to participate in the program. Jeanette and Mark were impressed not only with the school’s curriculum, but also with its small class sizes and the passion of its teachers. Max spent two days sitting in on classes at the school and described his first day there as “the best seven hours of my life” and “the best math class I ever had.”