Two years after opening its first Washtenaw County branch in Ann Arbor, the Mathnasium Learning Centeris adding a new location in Saline.

The branch will be located in the Country Creek Village Shopping Center at 7025 E. Michigan Ave., have plans for a soft opening on Monday, with a grand opening celebration to be scheduled later in July.

Vera Chiu, who runs the Washtenaw County centers with co-owner Grace Wang, said the Ann Arbor branch has enjoyed steady growth since its opening and has made “tremendous progress” with students.

“Students change from hating and struggling with math, to really excelling and getting A's and A pluses,” she said. “We think it would be great to benefit more people, more communities and more kids.”

Mathnasium is a math-focused learning center that works with students in preschool through high school on an individual level to increase their math grades and skills. Mathnasium has independently-owned branches all over the world, with several located in southeast Michigan, including centers in Plymouth, Livonia and Novi.

Tutoring sessions range from $23 to $35 per hour, depending on the complexity of the math. Students can get help with everything from preschool arithmetic to AP calculus.

Since opening in April 2011, instructors at the Ann Arbor center, located at 2111 Packard Road, have worked with more than 200 students according to the center's website. Chiu said the Ann Arbor center has about 110 students enrolled and she hopes to have at least that many enrolled at the Saline center within its first year.

“We want to help more kids become not only proficient, but to really excell in math, and we also want to dispel this myth that only smart kids can do math,” she said. “Everyone can learn math and become good at it, if you put in the effort. We have a wonderfully effective system to do this.”

The Saline space is about 800 square feet, which is about half the size of the Ann Arbor space. Chiu said the Saline location is expected to offer the same services as the Ann Arbor branch with the exception of preschool math tutoring, which is offered on a sporadic basis in Ann Arbor depending on demand. Chiu did say services for preschoolers haven't been ruled out entirely though, and could be available at the Saline Rec Center if there is enough interest.

Chiu said she plans to hire six part-time instructors for the Saline branch, which is four less than the Ann Arbor branch, she said, many of whom are college students.

The new Mathnasium is located between the Brewed Awakenings coffee shop and the State Farm Insurance storefront, previously occupied by Ceci Cafe, which closed in 2010.

The Mathnasium Learning Center will make a great addition to the space and the surrounding businesses, according to Tony Caprarese, a real estate broker with Swisher Commercial, the management company for the shopping center.

“It really ties up that whole west end of the shopping center,” he said. “I think they’ll all complement each other and benefit from one another’s services.”

Ann Arbor resident and mother Anarkali Chhanda said she has had positive experiences with the Ann Arbor Mathnasium and is glad to hear it is expanding.

Chhanda said the center has helped her 9-year-old daughter, Mehree Islam, to excel in math. She said Mehree, a fourth grader at Ann Arbor’s Daycroft Montessori School, has gone from a 70 percent grade to a 96 percent grade in math since she started attending Mathnasium last year.

She said the experience has not only helped her daughter’s math skills, but has given her new self-confidence as well.

“Even after school she looks forward to coming to Mathnasium,” she said. “Normally kids are tired… but I didn’t see that from her. She’s very eager to be here and she’s doing excellent in her math now.”