Help Disadvantaged Children Get Free Tutoring

Vital Stats

Preetam S

San Diego, CA

people helped20
People Doing It 6

The Problem

Disadvantaged children and youth do not have access to good after-school academic help during their elementary, middle and high school years. They are mostly in inner city neighborhoods in the United States and in many impoverished areas in third world countries. The students I have met at the local community center are mostly minorities (African-Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, etc.) and many come from broken families, single parent households, foster homes or abusive, drug addicted parents. Basically, they are good kids in a bad environment who are desperately in need of a helping hand to break out of the cycle. Apart from the educational benefit, after-school programs in the US have shown to help reduce school dropout, teen pregnancy, substance abuse and gang violence. Also, it is difficult for high school students who serve as tutors to travel to other schools and community centers to provide after-school help on a regular basis. My goal is to provide disadvantaged students from kindergarten through 12th grade with free online tutoring lessons and help with their homework and be an advocate for students helping students anywhere to help bridge the gap in educational disparity.

Plan of Action

My first step was to identify local students with need of after-school academic assistance and who could be provided with internet access. I have just partnered with a local non-profit organization called REACH and the local County Office of Education to identify students/schools that would benefit from free online tutoring assistance. I will be the primary tutor, and after launching the program, the next step in my plan is to recruit other high achieving juniors or seniors from my school who will use their personal computers connected to writing tablets to tutor these students. The students, in turn, will use their school or the local community center computers (with internet access) to receive lessons and tutoring. The software (Skype and iDroo) used is free, and with webcams and microphones, the online tutoring becomes interactive and personalized. I have also started a club in my school with plans to recruit juniors as office holders to ensure that this program will continue even after I graduate in two years. Finally, I plan to raise money for hardware (writing tablets, webcams, microphones, etc.) through grants such as this. Using the feedback I receive from site supervisors at the community centers and schools regarding the student's progress, I will continually improve the program. I believe this program will truly make a positive difference in young people’s lives.

For More Info

Education Beyond The Classroom - http://educationbeyondtheclassroom.weebly.com/

Education