Over the summer, before Victoria Ayodele began her junior year at Lithonia High School, she spent some time researching online ways to become a tutor.
Tutoring was something she’d enjoyed doing before on-and-off but said she was looking for a way to tutor more consistently. Through her research she discovered TeensTutorTeens, a national nonprofit based in Georgia.
Starting in Fall 2021 she began tutoring two students. A high school senior who was taking AP Psychology and a fifth-grader in reading, math and ELA.
Ayodele said she was tutoring seven hours a week in the fall semester and three hours a week this semester. All tutoring sessions are done virtually which she added allows for flexibility in her tutoring schedule.
Founded by former Gwinnett County high schooler Gabriela Nguena Jones, TeensTutorTeens is 100 percent free and run entirely by students. Including Jones who is now at Vanderbilt University.
In addition to the Georgia chapter TeensTutorTeens has three others in California, Connecticut and North Carolina. They allow anyone who is 13 or older to join an existing chapter as a tutor or to franchise a new chapter.
The organization offers tutoring to students in K-12 and/or studying for the SAT, ACT or GED. They do require students 12 and under to get parent permission to receive tutoring.
Ayodele told The Atlanta Voice that even though she is the tutor, she’s also still improving.
“I’ve learned a lot about responsibility, time management and being patient and understanding and adaptive to the way my student learns,” she said.
In addition to getting students from sign-ups, the Georgia chapter of TeensTutorTeens is partnered with Christian City: Crossroads. Through the partnership they provide academic support to Suwanee and Clayton County students in foster care.
The organization’s mission statement says they are committed not only to academic service but also community service. This winter they held a clothing drive to donate to students at The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology.
Students who tutor with TeensTutorTeens are able to earn volunteer hours that qualify for the Presidential Service Volunteer Award.
This article is one of a series of articles produced by The Atlanta Voice through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to Word In Black, a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country.