STUDENT ‘START-UP’ IN THE RICHMOND

Pandemic Prompts New Tutoring Service Created by Local High School Students: Success Leads to Fall Offering

A small group of community-minded high school students in the Richmond District offered free tutoring this summer to third through eighth grade students in hopes of augmenting their academics during this stressful time.

Evan Kwong, one of the tutors and a co-founder of the virtual tutoring program, teaches an online class. Courtesy photo.

Two of the co-founders, Ethan and Evan Kwong, attend the Urban School of San Francisco. Hayden Gong, the other co-founder, attends the Bay School of San Francisco. The three stated that the program was started to provide support to students who were behind and to help bridge the learning gap that was created by distance learning. Their program hosted more than 25 unique classes taught by a total of 10 tutors. More than 40 students sign up. The tutors taught one or two students on Zoom for 45-minute sessions and focused on reinforcing difficult concepts.

The program was a huge success. The feedback survey at the end of the seven-week program showed that 100% of the parents would recommend the program to others, and that 93% of parents would be interested in enrolling their child(ren) in the fall.

The founders are currently in the process of filing to be a nonprofit organization, and are working on expanding their program to accommodate more students in need of academic support this fall.

For more information, visit virtualtutoringsf.org or contact evankwong2006@gmail.com.