New after-school program in Beaverton challenges kids to think

A Different Kind of Classroom.

There’s a first grader we’ll call Theo who used to dread school. He couldn’t sit still. He couldn’t focus. His teacher called him disruptive. What nobody quite realized was that Theo wasn’t a discipline problem. He was a kid who hadn’t been challenged yet.

That changed when Theo’s family found AoPS Academy Portland, part of the national Art of Problem Solving network now serving the Beaverton area. At AoPS, Theo is being seen for the first time, not as a kid who can’t focus, but as one finally being asked to think hard about something he loves. His mother recently told campus director Andy Keiser that she’d found “a community where kids love math” just as much as her son does.

Meet the Team. Andy Keiser is an experienced educator who has taught students and led programs across school, nonprofit, and outdoor education settings. He was drawn to AoPS by i ts focus on deep mathematical thinking and its mission to challenge and inspire talented students. His teaching philosophy centers on building intellectual courage, creating space for kids to take risks, wrestle with hard problems, and grow from the process.

He’s joined by Associate Director Rashni Anandawansha-Allbright, PhD, who earned her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computational Physics from New Mexico State University. Rashni grew up in Sri Lanka, where math was never just a subject. It was the one place where the harder the problem, the more interested she became. Her philosophy is that math should feel like an extracurricular activity, something a kid chooses to wrestle with because the struggle itself is fun. She’s in it for the moment a concept that once seemed impossible finally clicks.

How We Got Our Start. AoPS Academy is an after-school program for grades K through 12, built for kids who finish their homework in five minutes and are still hungry for more. Instead of racing through worksheets, students dig into problems designed to make them pause, get a little stuck, and find their own way through. That struggle isn’t a bug, it’s the whole point. It’s where real confidence gets built, the kind that outlasts any single test.

What to Expect When You Walk In. Classes are led by instructors who know exactly when to step back and let a student own the answer for themselves. Parents looking for something beyond another worksheet packet will find a place where getting stuck is celebrated, not corrected, and where kids like Theo are finally given room to become who they’re meant to be.

Stop by and visit us: AoPS Academy is an after-school enrichment program with a mission to teach problem solving skills through advanced math, language arts, and science courses. We provide in-person academic year and summer courses for grades 1–12. Our current location is next to Catlin Gabel School at 8245 SW Barnes Road, but in early October, you can find us at 11786 NW Cedar Falls Dr in Cedar Mill, near Timberland Town Center. We look forward to seeing you!

For more info, call (503) 567-8875 or email portland@aopsacademy.org. We’re open Monday – Friday, 9am to 5pm.