More parents turning to tutors as districts decide to start school year with remote learning

BOSTON — As schools finalize education plans for the fall, parents are being proactive. They found out last spring that teaching from home is not the easiest and are looking for help; many are turning to tutors.

“We truly believe that education is vital and everyone should have access to quality education,” said Cynthia Rajeshkanna, of Northborough.

When classes shifted to remote learning, high school rising-juniors, Melissa Dai and Cynthia Rajeshkanna, were inspired to start their own non-profit called Aptitutor.

“Cynthia and I experienced first-hand students weren’t exactly receiving the thorough, comprehensive education that in-person school, full-length classes offered,” said Melissa Dai, of Northborough.

Parents with students as young as kindergartners are securing tutors to supplement class curriculums.

“The number one is personal attention,” explained Brian Galvin of Varsity Tutors. “When classes moved to Zoom, class is over, it’s a click of button and it’s just over.”

Starting around $60, Varsity Tutors says you can be matched with the more than 2,000 teachers in their pool serving the Boston-area. Varsity Tutors says about 23,500 clients are using their services.

For Aptitutor, they’re filling an educational-need combined with giving back by offering their tutoring services for free.

“We noticed that with rising unemployment rates, people falling down on hard times. The problem here was really multiplied ten-fold so we really wanted to take action,” said Rajeshkanna.

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