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Teenage brothers from McLean launched an online tutoring service for elementary school students



McLean teenagers Alex Joel, left, and Ben Joel created an online tutoring service during the novel coronavirus outbreak. (Ben Joel)

By Kyle Melnick
September 25, 2020 at 5:59 AM EDT

It’s 1 p.m. on a Saturday in mid-September, so Sofia Bernstein logs into her laptop in Northwest Washington. Across the country in Oakley, Calif., 9-year-old Gavin Earley does the same. In a few moments, they’re connected on Zoom for their weekly tutoring session.

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These are the lessons elementary school students are receiving in one-on-one instruction through Intutorly, a free online tutoring service created by McLean teenagers Alex and Ben Joel during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The program, which began in April, has reached more than 200 students as children struggle to find individualized learning with many schools teaching online.

“It rivals most of the paid services that I’ve encountered,” said Daphne Earley, Gavin’s mother. “Sometimes I think it’s a little bit better because [Bernstein] tries so hard to make him feel comfortable.”

The idea for Intutorly began at Alex and Ben Joel’s dinner table in mid-March. They had been reading about how distance learning disrupted many children’s instruction, and they wanted to help. Some families have placed their kids in small groups during the school day, with many creating learning pods; Alex, 18, and Ben, 15, recognized that not all families have resources for that. ... They secured a domain name, designed a website and then recruited their classmates at the Potomac School to volunteer as tutors. They launched in early-April.

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Kyle Melnick
Kyle Melnick is a high school sports reporter and news aide for The Washington Post. Follow https://twitter.com/kyle_melnick