Math Tutor NYC · Upper West Side · Grades 1–12 · Small Groups of Six
SOMATH is a real math school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan — not a matchmaking service, not an app, not a $200/hour private tutor. Small-group math tutoring for grades 1–12 taught in person by Harvard- and Kellogg-trained teachers, capped at six students per class, at our classroom on 226 W 79th Street.
Book a free 30-minute evaluation →Why parents pick SOMATH over a private math tutor
Every NYC parent asks the same question the first time their kid brings home a bad math grade: should we get a math tutor? The instinct is understandable — math is cumulative, gaps compound, and Manhattan has plenty of $150–$250/hour private math tutors happy to come to your apartment. But for most kids, most of the time, private math tutoring in NYC is the wrong answer.
Here is what actually happens with private one-on-one math tutoring. The tutor arrives, works through the current homework, closes a specific gap in that week's material, and leaves. Next week, a new homework, a new gap. There is no curriculum. There is no long arc. The child never builds fluency on the fundamentals underneath the homework — they just get the specific homework done. When the tutor stops, the gains stop.
Small-group math classes at a real math school do the opposite. Your child works through a curriculum designed for their grade, in a classroom with 4–6 peers, with a trained teacher watching them think. They see how other students approach the same problem. They persist through problems that private tutors would have solved for them in thirty seconds. And they do this for less than half the cost of a weekly private tutor.
SOMATH is the math school on the Upper West Side that runs this format. We built it because we could not find a math tutoring option in NYC that we would send our own children to. Small groups of six. Trained teachers, not college students. A written curriculum. Weekly, in person, year-round.
How SOMATH compares
| Option | Format | Cost/month | Curriculum? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private math tutor (NYC) | 1:1, at home | $400–$1,000+ | No | Short-term catch-up on a specific unit |
| Kumon (Manhattan) | Worksheet-based, self-paced | $150–$250 | Yes, but rigid | Kids who like repetition and self-directed work |
| Mathnasium (Manhattan) | Small group, rotating tutors | $300–$400 | Yes, generic | Kids who need general math support |
| Russian School of Math (RSM) | Large group, ~10–15/class | $200–$300 | Yes, competition-heavy | Advanced students on a math-olympiad track |
| App-based (IXL, Khan) | Self-paced online | $10–$25 | Yes, self-directed | Supplemental practice at home |
| SOMATH | Small group of 6, in person | $246–$800 | Yes, custom 24-class syllabus per level | Grade 1–12 students who want a real math school, not a fix |
The math tutoring NYC market has plenty of options. What is missing is a real neighborhood math school with small classes, a trained teacher, and its own curriculum. That is why we built SOMATH.
Programs by grade
Number sense, addition and subtraction fluency, intro to fractions, word problems. The foundations everything else rests on.
$246/month
See Little Newtons →Multiplication mastery, long division, fractions and decimals, area and perimeter. The upper-elementary core done thoroughly.
$367/month
See Kid Einsteins →Integers, fractions, ratios, and the introduction to algebraic thinking. The bridge from arithmetic to real math.
$489/month
See Young Fermats Pre-Algebra →Linear equations, systems, exponents, factoring — a real Algebra I track for middle-schoolers.
$489/month
See Algebra Ignite →The specialized high school admissions test math — question families, timing, scratch-paper strategy. Small groups only.
$587/month
See SHSAT Prep →Heart of Algebra, Problem Solving & Data, Passport to Advanced Math, Additional Topics. Aligned to the current digital SAT.
$640/month
See SAT Math →Full honors-track high-school curriculum — quadratics, polynomials, functions, and proof-style geometry.
$489/month
See Algebra II →College-Board-aligned syllabi with free-response drills. Prep for the AP exam and for real college math.
$800/month
See AP Calculus →Neighborhood coverage
SOMATH is a physical math school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 226 W 79th Street, first floor, between Broadway and Amsterdam. Every class meets in person at that address. Families come from across NYC:
We are one block from the 79th Street 1 train and a short walk from the B and C at 81st Street. On-street parking is available on 79th Street after 3 pm.
The teachers
Every SOMATH class is taught by a full-time teacher — not a college student, not a rotating cast of contractors. The two co-founders lead most classes personally:
Both teach in the classroom every week. The team page has full bios and a note on how we hire.
FAQ
Private one-on-one math tutors in Manhattan typically charge $100–$250 per hour, which works out to roughly $400–$1,000 per month for one weekly session. SOMATH's small-group math tutoring runs $246–$800 per month depending on grade level for a 90-minute weekly class capped at six students — a fraction of the private-tutor cost, with a real teacher and a real curriculum.
For most kids, yes. Small groups keep students engaged, expose them to how peers solve the same problem, and cost far less. One-on-one is the right choice for a child recovering from a specific gap in a short window (a failing quarter, a make-up unit). For year-round math development in grades 1–12, small groups of 4–6 outperform one-on-one on almost every measurable outcome.
Yes. SOMATH runs dedicated SHSAT prep for rising 8th graders and SAT math for high schoolers, both as small-group tracks with the same 6-student cap. SHSAT is $587/month, SAT Math is $640/month, and both include diagnostic and practice tests aligned to the current exam format.
226 West 79th Street, 1st floor, between Broadway and Amsterdam on the Upper West Side. One block from the 79th Street 1 train. Open Mon–Fri 3–10 pm and Sat 10 am–6 pm.
Grades 1 through 12. Little Newtons (1–2), Kid Einsteins (3–4), Young Fermats Pre-Algebra (5–6), Algebra Ignite (7–8), plus high-school Algebra II, Geometry, SAT Math, SHSAT Prep, AP Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus, and AP Statistics.
No. SOMATH is in-person only. We believe math is taught best in a classroom, at a real whiteboard, with a teacher watching how each student works through problems. Every class meets at 226 W 79th Street.
Every new student starts with a free 30-minute in-person evaluation. Your child works through a diagnostic with one of our teachers, and you receive a written report on their strengths and gaps. If a class is a good fit we recommend the right level and schedule at the end. Book at schoolofmath.us/evaluation or call (646) 668-6151.
Yes — that is most of our students, actually. Advanced kids are the ones private tutors bore fastest, because private tutors follow the classroom curriculum. At SOMATH, advanced students work through the SOMATH curriculum, which is deliberately above the grade-level standard. Read our math enrichment page for how we handle strong students.
Keep exploring
Bring your child to our Upper West Side classroom for a one-on-one diagnostic with one of our teachers. You leave with a written report on your child's strengths and gaps in math. No pitch, no pressure.
Book the evaluation → Or call us: (646) 668-6151 · 226 W 79th St, 1st Floor, NY 10024