Our Teachers

Arkady Maydanchik, “Mr. Math,” graduated from high school at the age of 15, having won numerous math contests and has been passionate about teaching math since he was a teenager. For the past decade, Mr. Math dedicated most of his time to Adventures with Mr. Math. His objective is to grow the program to bring joy of math discovery to millions of kids around the world.

Impressed by the energetic and inquisitive students at the Adventures with Mr. Math, Beth Allegretti was excited to join this innovative program in 2016, after a storied career as a math teacher and coach. Ever since then she has become a staple of the Mr. Math program as a mentor to students and teachers alike.

Sharon McBride, “Coach McMath”, discovered the Mr. Math program when searching for a great challenge for her son in 2018. A former winner of the New Gifted Teacher of the Year award for the state of Missouri, she was thrilled with the program and its focus on fun in learning so she was excited to join the team.

Aaron says he’s “your friendly neighborhood geek”. From quantum physics to carpentry, and from psychology to JavaScript, he’s studied it (and has opinions).
Aaron believes “dumb” questions are the *best* questions, and that the courage to ask them is a skill we can build.

Aleksandra Labuda was born in Poland, in Gdansk, a city with over 1,000 years of history. From an early age, she was fascinated by mathematics and learning about its secrets. When she was in middle school, she started tutoring younger kids and has been doing it to this day. She is excited to share her love of math with our amazing students.

Cole Comfort first joined the Mr. Math program in 2018 as a TA, and it was the students that inspired Cole’s deep love for the program. Since then he earned a BA in Elementary Education along with an endorsement in Middle Grade Mathematics and has “graduated” from Mr. Math TA to Teacher, excited to see what the future has in store for him.

Galina Kofman thinks it’s ok to change one’s mind when it comes to who you want to be. She studied to be a mechanical engineer but fell in love with programming. She had a lot of fun building early Internet. One day Galina realized that solving math problems and being with kid is what she really wanted to do.

Matilde Ortiz-Luis was born in Manila, Philippines. She has always enjoyed doing math at an early age. At her school, Maryknoll College, she was always glad to help her classmates struggling in math from elementary to high school. During her high school years, her math teachers would request her to tutor the students failing their math classes. In her heart, she always knew she would want to be a teacher.

Peter Sompolski, “Mr. Solve-It”, had the pleasure of working with Arkady Maydanchik in the early years of development of the Adventures with Mr. Math. Peter was excited to join the program in 2021, having retired after an outstanding career as a math teacher for gifted students. He encourages his students to give it their all, ask questions, and learn by making mistakes.

Tanya Lock discovered the amazing world of Adventures with Mr. Math through years of stories shared with her by her closest friend, Sharon McBride. They began their teaching career together and have co-taught in kindergarten and early childhood classrooms. Tanya believes that everyone has the ability to excel beyond their own expectations.

Tasha Christensen started tutoring math when she was in high school, realizing at that point that she has a knack for making connections and explaining difficult concepts. Tasha was one of the few teachers in Illinois with the Gifted Educator endorsement and enthusiastically joined the Mr. Math program in 2021.

Vikki Williams has a deep seeded passion for mathematics and overcoming the challenges it presents. As she grew up she found a love for the world of math competitions, and still today is excited by every opportunity to foster that same enthusiasm in her students.

Adventures with Mr. Math

Arkady Maydanchik

Beth Allegretti

Sharon McBride

Aaron Sikes

Aleksandra Labuda

Cole Comfort

Galina Kofman

Matilde Ortiz-Luis

Peter Sompolski

Tanya Lock

Tasha Christensen

Vikki Williams

Student Portal: