Tutor.com Makes the Grade

An Internet service that connects students in grades 4–12 with expert tutors is proving to be a big hit with kids and librarians nationwide.

So far, more than 200 public libraries have signed up for Tutor.com's live homework help. The new service's tutors, many of whom are teachers, offer students 20-minute, one-to-one sessions, providing help with everything from grammar assignments to algebra and lab reports. The White Plains (NY) Public Library and the Denver (CO) Public Library are among the institutions who have recently signed up.

Not bad for a site that was launched only a year ago. "I think it's due in large part to word of mouth," explains George Cigale, the service's chief executive officer. "Kids really like it, and 90 percent say at the end of their sessions that they would recommend it to a friend."

But the site's popularity also owes something to public libraries, as kids flock to various branches to do their homework. The Plainsboro (NJ) Public Library offers the service seven days a week, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. "The kid who it will help is the one who comes home at 3:30 p.m. and whose parents are not home to help him do his homework," says Jinny Baeckler, the library's director. "It will also help the kid who is too shy to ask a question in class."

Tutor.com recently became a federally-funded service in California, one of just three statewide providers to receive that designation under President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. Under the president's education program, federal funds may be used to provide disadvantaged children in low-performing schools with supplemental services, such as after-school tutoring help and weekend assistance in reading, language arts, and math.

To find out more about the service, contact one of the librarians listed at Tutor.com. Pricing is based on a sliding scale, and depends on the size of a library.