By Ann Donnelly
For many, math conjures images of rigid formulas and textbook exercises. Still, for Jacqueline O’Donnell, founder of Math Refresh, it’s a canvas for creativity, mentorship, and a bit of bright pink branding. O’Donnell, who holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and marketing, is utilizing her unique background to “rebrand math”, making it relevant, engaging, and accessible to students statewide.
Math Refresh, which celebrates its third anniversary in October, is a math education company partnering with New York State-certified teachers to provide high-quality educational consulting, STEM programming, and private tutoring. Based in Saratoga, O’Donnell also resides in Glens Falls and is actively expanding her reach throughout the Adirondack region, recently joining the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce.
O’Donnell’s journey to entrepreneurship was sparked by the widespread disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. She obtained her degree and certification in 2020, and her first teaching assignment involved meeting students in person only twice before instruction moved entirely online.
After spending two years teaching geometry in the classroom, she observed significant academic fallout. “I could see a lot of the learning gaps popping up from the pandemic,” O’Donnell explained, noting that students were often missing foundational algebra skills required for higher-level courses.
Recognizing that she could better facilitate change through individualized support, O’Donnell decided to leave the classroom to pursue private tutoring full-time. She built Math Refresh on the foundation of blending her marketing acumen with her teaching expertise.
All tutoring offered by Math Refresh is conducted online, primarily via platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet. This virtual model provides much-needed flexibility in meeting times and locations, enabling the company to serve a wide geographic area, with tutors and students connecting from New York City to Saratoga and the Ithaca area.
O’Donnell notes that this format unexpectedly enhances the learning experience. The virtual whiteboard forces students to slow down, communicate their exact steps, and analyze their own work, reinforcing conceptual understanding over simple rote memorization.
Crucially, the one-on-one virtual setting fosters a mentorship environment where students feel safe to ask questions—a fear O’Donnell personally experienced as a student. “Working one-on-one helps to create an environment where they feel safe to take those risks with their learning and ask questions,” she said.
The company currently employs two additional certified teachers who tutor alongside O’Donnell, ensuring they stay up to date with evolving standards and curriculum. While many parents seek help for students who are struggling, O’Donnell stresses that tutoring is not just for those “failing or on the cusp of failing”. She finds great success with students in the “low to mid 80s range” who often do not receive extra services in school. She explained: “Those students are the ones that we see the most change with because we’re able to push them up into the 90s range just by giving them a space to be able to comfortably ask questions”.
Creative Engagement and Community Reach
Beyond tutoring, O’Donnell has found creative ways to fulfill her mission of making math fun. In 2023, she published a children’s book, The Ultimate A through Z Math Scavenger Hunt. The book introduces higher-order concepts such as parabolas and logarithms with simple definitions, encouraging students (ages 7 through high school) to find examples in the world around them. This playful approach was inspired by a scavenger hunt activity she used in her geometry class.
O’Donnell aims to change the negative stereotypes surrounding math. She sees her work as crucial for showing young people, especially girls, that they can pursue STEM fields while being “unapologetically herself”.
As a business owner, O’Donnell acknowledges the challenges of entrepreneurship but cherishes the creative freedom it offers. She remains deeply engaged in networking, actively participating in groups like Pallet, Saratoga Women in Business, and the Association of Math Teachers of New York State.
Looking ahead, O’Donnell plans to continue expanding the private tutoring division to support families who feel disconnected from increasingly complex modern curricula. She is also considering writing another book, finding more ways to break down complex concepts into accessible ideas.
“My hope is that people have a newfound appreciation for where math exists in the world around them,” O’Donnell said, emphasizing that these foundational analytical skills are necessary for intelligent decision-making, even something as simple as analyzing a cell phone bill. “I just want to keep trying to break that barrier of like math being something so rigid and inaccessible for people”.
For more information on Jacqueline O’Donnell and Math Refresh, visit www.math-refresh.com.