Taking a break between classes at Madison ALOHA are Adelida Divoll, from left, Diya Patel, Srinika Mekala, Conrad Divoll, Disha Patel, Elizabeth Swaine and Vallabh Bushetty. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Classes at Madison ALOHA guide youth in sharpening their focus and memory, sometimes using an ancient tool for calculating.

An acronym, ALOHA stands for Abacus Learning of Higher Arthritics. ALOHA is an international child enrichment and brain development program that triggers usage of both halves of the brain.

For Dr. Praveena Kommidi, teaching is her passion. She founded ALOHA in Madison to prove that learning can be fun for youth, including her own children.

Originating in Malaysia, the franchise has 160 centers across the country and is offered in 14 other countries.

“Kids are first taught with the help of the abacus, an ancient mathematical tool, and then later move on to mentally visualizing it to perform complex math problems without the aid of any external tools,” she said.

ALOHA offers Mind Math, reading and critical writing classes for five- through 12-year-olds as an after-school enrichment program, along with daytime home-schooling classes. ACT and SAT preparation classes for high school students and tutoring services are available.

Kommidi teaches Mind Math classes. Another teacher with a master’s degree in English teaches reading and critical writing. Three high school students help with grading.

Parents choose ALOHA because it’s a teacher-based program. “Teaching takes place in small, interactive fun-filled sessions. Evaluations occur at each level,” Kommidi said. “The program aims at enhancing creativity, reflexes, speed and accuracy.”

For Kommidi, the secret to success is “love of teaching, fun environment and caring for the parents’ and kids’ concerns.”

Kommidi earned a doctorate’s degree in physics, specializing in optics, at Alabama A&M University. Her two master’s degrees are in applied electronics, specializing in computer technology, and physics, specializing in material science. She works as an assistant professor of physics at Miles College in Fairfield.

ALOHA’s address is 540 Hughes Road, Suite 11. Office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and 5 to 7 p.m., along with Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.

For more information, call 256-251-5447, email to Madison@aloha-usa.com or visit alohamindmath.com or Facebook/Madison ALOHA.