By J.D. O’Gara

Kutors – its name derived from “Kid” and “Tutors,” is making its debut as an online service – and it’s the brainchild of a handful of Franklin High School juniors. 

Jetrin Orenberg talks about where he had the spark of the idea for Kutors.

“We were in lockdown, could not go anywhere, and I wanted to get a job, and I thought, ‘Where can I go to get a job I’d like?’ When I was younger, I used to help out in my math class, but then I actually found, when I teach somebody, I learn more, and it betters my understanding. Then I looked for tutors for high school students and I couldn’t find anything.”

Orenberg decided he’d create a company “where people my age can tutor.”

After speaking with his guidance counselor, Mrs. Walsh, Orenberg found himself meeting with his high school principal, Mr. Hannah. “His personal opinion was he wanted to see some survey results,” says Orenberg. Orenberg worked with his friend, Arav Tyagi, to advertise and distribute a survey.

“Arav filled in the gaps I didn’t know I had,” says Orenberg, who asked him to join the team. The survey drew responses from over 100 parents and students nationwide and got 70,000 Instagram followers. The students met again with their principal, began a website and started the process of opening an online 1:1 student tutoring business that will operate via video chat.

“I got sole proprietorship under my name, and we’re hoping to go to LLC, soon, but first we need to make a profit,” says Jetrin. The website, www.kutors.com, which describes itself as “A community of students tutoring students,” will allow for video chat and payment, and students interested in tutoring can sign up.

The two worked with Sibi Dinakaran, who created and designed the logo. Sibi will also participate as a tutor.

“If you’ve ever heard of Fiverr or Upwork, think of that for tutors,” says Dinakaran. 

“It’s freelance tutoring,” says Jetrin. “With the website, as a tutor, you pick who you want to teach, the hours you want to teach, (your rate), you can do whatever you want, if you feel comfortable. So, if you think, from a professional standpoint, you don’t have the ability to retain (younger kids’) attention, you can say, ‘I’m only tutoring 6th grade and up.’ We’re taking pride in professionalism, the best we can find. In order to become a tutor, you have to go through a test and a mock lesson. We administer quality control.”

Arav notes that high school- and college-age tutors would be ideal. “They’ve already covered a lot of math, and they’re also at the point where, because they’ve taken those classes so recently they’d know tips and tricks to be able to better teach high school and middle school.”

Orenberg says that, eventually, the program will not be limited to the United States. He’s gotten some feedback from her family and connections there.

“One of the main goals of (Kutors) is affordability. Even if we’re working with other countries, our prices are going to be affordable,” says Jetrin. Professional tutoring, he says, “is going to start at $60 bucks an hour, and we’re pretty much going to be reducing that to $10 or $15. I don’t think it’s fair. I think if you need help, you should have access to help. There are so many people out there who need help but can’t pay $60 bucks an hour for that help. With us, you can get four hours for the price of one.”

The Kutors team envisions its tutoring program also offering a class function with a very low entry fee. 

“Right now, we’re trying to target more locally, so that it grows from there,” says Tyagi.

Fellow student Evan Matthews, who came on board to help with the Kutors website, is particularly pleased of the autonomy tutors will have. “We’re giving (tutors) complete control of everything –courses, your times, your days, if you need a vacation,” says Matthews.

“(As a tutor) it really helps being able to choose your own times. I’m only free maybe two hours a day and being able to schedule classes in those two hours allows me to make money in the time I have,” says Orenberg, who adds students stand to earn more than their part-time jobs usually pay.

Worked into the website is a rating system, where students can rate the tutoring they’ve received. 

“These have to be approved,” says Jetrin, “and there’s a quality badge for tutors that have reached an X amount of (positive) reviews. We’re going to be monitoring the site, to make sure it’s a safe environment for everyone.” Anyone under 18 will require parental consent to participate.

For more information on Kutors, visit www.kutors.com.