Smithtown HS East Juniors Launch Free Tutoring Service In Suffolk

SMITHTOWN, NY — Three juniors from Smithtown High School East are leading a free virtual tutoring service, PeerLab Tutoring, to help students conquer their schoolwork through the coronavirus pandemic.

A team of 30 tutors from Smithtown are working with students grades 6 through 11 across Suffolk County.

PeerLab Tutoring was founded by Jonathan Chung and Aman Mistry in April once schools went fully remote due to COVID-19. The co-presidents brought Justin Hippler to the team as vice president during the summer before launching in September. But before that, tutors had to be recruited and a website had to be built.

"We understood that some students had difficulty adapting to the obstacles of remote learning, so we wanted to create a service to give easy access to academic assistance," the PeerLab Tutoring team told Patch in an email.

To sign up for a free, one-on-one tutoring session, a parent or student can sign up on the PeerLab Tutoring website under the "Sign Up" page. Students can sign up for both one-time and recurring sessions depending on their needs. Once the form is submitted, the parent or student will receive a confirmation email followed by an additional email from their tutor, where they will be given a Google Meet or Zoom link to their upcoming session.

Once a session is confirmed between the student and tutor, the student can send any material they would like to work on beforehand so the tutor can get a better idea of what they need help with. During the session itself, tutors will usually work on areas that the student has requested and answer questions. To make sure the student understands the material, tutors will usually provide practice problems.

While the service is only currently available to Suffolk County students, PeerLabs Tutoring hopes to expand its services to Nassau residents in the future.

"We wanted to emphasize that although the idea of asking a high school student for help may seem intimidating, and it might be at first, we can assure you that the students get used to it and learn a lot from the experience," the team said. "Our main goal is to help you understand the material and succeed in your class."