Find a Tutor. Save Some Tears.

The school year has barely begun and the stress is already palpable. You feel it too? Especially if you have a high-schooler and most especially if that kid is a junior; ACTs, SATs and trying to keep those grades up for college admissions. Oh, the stress indeed. And, we’re not sure whether parents stress out more than the kids themselves, but we know that a good tutor could help overcome learning humps.

And then, just the thought of finding the right tutor with the right credentials compounds the general level of anxiety. How much can you trust the advertising flyer posted on your grocery store’s community grocery store? Is the guy listed on Craigslist legit? Why are all recommended tutors charging $75 an hour?

Turns out that the internet and some enterprising young men are at the rescue. Indeed, Aaron Harris, Josh Abrams and Ryan Bednar founded Tutorspree when they saw the need in the marketplace for a better student-tutor matching system.

More precisely, Tutorspree is an online marketplace that helps parents find the right tutors, locally, for their kids in various subjects (math, language, science) or for specific issues such as test prep, study skills and special needs.

When searching in my area for tutors by subject (math is our issue!), I received several results showing me tutors that were university or graduate school and some phD’s as well. The rate for each tutor ($15 to $40 an hour in this case) is immediately displayed and their profile information includes their qualifications, a photo and first name and their general location. That’s just enough information to make a choice, or at least to start a discussion to see if this might be the right fit. Tutors have been screened by Tutorspree and additional feedback is also available from parent feedback and peer reviews.

It’s a great system. I wish this had been around when my son (now in college) had been in high school. Might have prevented a few tears. And, I mean mine.