Dougherty Valley High Schooler Launches Tutoring Business

Meet Rishab Kalra: Dougherty Valley High School’s 17-year-old entrepreneur.Kalra is the founder and CEO of ACE Virtual Learning, an EdTech company centered around test preparation services for K-5 students.

ACE Virtual Learning provides a customizable curriculum tailored to students’ academics needs. The online institution offers practice problems and video tutoring to help students primarily with the Cognitive Ability Test, which is used by many schools to admit students into their Gifted and Talented Education programs, according to ACE Virtual Learning. According to Kalra, the program also offers one on one tutoring to students for additional reinforcement of concepts.

The student-run business has been in operation since 2016, reaching more than 1,000 students primarily in California, Washington and Texas among the 13 states they serve according to Kalra. Now the academy is introducing prep for the two additional exams administered in Iowa and Texas - the ITBS and the STAAR exams.

Kalra said he created the company to help his elementary school sister at the time who was looking to prep for such exams. Kalra, looking for resources to help his sister, was not satisfied with any of the test-prep services on the market.

“A lot of the resources she had were not that great … and then it hit me that there isn't a lot out there for gifted and talented programs,” he said.

And thus, a business plan was created - create a different, more comprehensive test prep service according to the founder of the academy, Rishab Kalra.

Ace Virtual Learning uses an intensive approach to ensure students grasp the concepts needed to do well on the exam. Kalra said his inspiration for this learning model came from his own personal experiences.

“Over time I realized it's not how much you practice, it is how you practice” Kalra said.

Ace Virtual Learning emphasizes strategies to solve problems students encounter to ensure students are truly prepped for the test, according to the companies website. In an interview with the Patch, Kalra said this was something he saw lacking in the test prep industry and the reason he chose to create his business.

ACE Virtual Learning is where Kalra can begin his journey to achieving his life’s purpose. Advancing the current education system through entrepreneurship and technology.

“Helping kids all over the United States, not just in my local community but nationally … being able to reach kids all over the country” is a real privilege, Kalra said.

As his company saying goes, “Stressless and Ace the test.”

Learn more about the academy here. Email Ace Virtual Learning Academy at Acelearning05@gmail.com.