An educational technology business that launched recently in Providence follows a simple premise: students learn best from other students.
GoPeer LLC provides the platform that connects tutors to families seeking help for their children in academic subjects. Unlike many tutoring businesses, all of the tutors are college students. The sessions are aimed at K-12 students, in a broad variety of subjects. Tutoring is in-person only, for a flat fee of $25 an hour.
Founded in May 2017 by Zura Mestiashvili, Erik Laucks and Ethan Binder, the company now includes two additional team members.
Its website launched in October 2017. Since then, 452 tutors have been screened by the company and added to the site, connecting with 73 families. A total of 319 tutoring sessions have been held, according to Ethan Binder.
The close connection in age removes some barriers to learning, said Andrew Binder, content strategist. “We believe [with] college students, in a near-peer relationship, the students feel freer to ask questions and risk untested conclusions,” he said.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.