New Website Unites Tutors with Students, Parents

Just over a month ago, a brand new resource for tutors and students on the South Shore hit the web. QuincyTutoring.com offers a network for local tutors to advertise their services and a place for parents to find a more financially feasible alternative to private tutoring companies.

Eric Clark, the Assistant Director of Academic Services at Eastern Nazarene College, started Quincy Tutoring in 2007 while he was working for the Quincy Public Schools. He recognized that students needed a resource to find more affordable tutors.

The service recently evolved into a networking website, which allows students to find tutors. Clark worked with Lance Cummins, of Rockland who owns NearlyFreeLance.com to develop the site. Clark created the site to reach beyond Quincy. Tutors on the site now work with students up to 30 minutes outside the city including Milton and other South Shore towns.

The site currently has 31 profiles of tutors in math, science, English, French, Spanish, arts and the elementary level. All of the tutors have a profile, which outlines their area of expertise, background, and rate.

While tutors post their own hourly rates, Clark suggests they consider factors like subject difficulty and their own credentials when setting them.

QuincyTutoring,com currently has tutors who are retired and working teachers. There are also upper-level college students or recent graduates from local institutions like Eastern Nazarene. As of now, Clark said he has gotten the most requests for math and science tutors at the middle and high school level. The highest percentage of expertise on the site currently rests at the elementary level.

Clark explained that prospective tutors shouldn’t be concerned about a large number of tutors in their subject because the site allows them to highlight their skills via blogs.

“There are ways to set yourself apart from the other tutors,” said Clark.

Clark continues to build the network of tutors in the South Shore. He hopes to increase the number of tutors and make more parents aware of the free service.

 “I think it’s a win-win for everyone,” said Clark of the website.

Between six and 10 matches of students and tutors have already been made in the last six weeks. With more tutors and parents using Quincy Tutoring, Clark expects the number to rise.

Though the Quincy site is a new endeavor, Clark is already moving forward. Within the next month he will launch BostonTutoring.net, an identical network for tutors and students in the city of Boston.

Clark is also working to cultivate relationships with colleges, pairing upper-level college students with students who need tutoring. “I think it’s a great way for colleges to highlight their students,” Clark said.

For a fee, Clark would be willing to recreate his website in another town or with a college. “It’s a service I want to promote in as many places as possible,” said Clark.

With the school year winding down, Clark says this is the perfect time of year to find a tutor and avoid that inevitable loss of knowledge through the summer months.

For more information on QuincyTutoring.com find them on Facebook or Twitter.