Our Team

Board of Directors

Careers

News and Events

Publications

What People Are Saying About SMARTHINKING

SMARTHINKING Offers "E-Structors" Who Tutor Students When They Need the Help

The Education Innovator
U.S. Department of Education
12/22/03

It's 9 o'clock at night and your child is writing an essay for his English class. He has incorporated the literature review and feedback from his peers, but now has a manuscript with fragments of ideas. Who can he ask to help him develop transitions and bring coherence to his paper? Or, your daughter has questions about her Algebra II assignment. It's been 25 years since you studied math, and you weren't that great at it then. Where does she go for help?

Based in Washington DC, SMARTHINKING staffs live, online tutoring and academic support for students in middle and high school (grades 6-12), as well as college. SMARTHINKING sessions complement and enhance classroom instruction. The math and writing programs aim to increase student achievement and enhance learning by connecting students to qualified educators through up to 18 hours of pre-scheduled tutoring and unlimited 24-hour-per-day live access to homework assistance.

The 24-hour homework help provides students one-on-one instruction in the core courses, answers to specific questions, and detailed feedback on writing, usually within 24 hours. Students can "drop in" online to get help, without scheduling an appointment in advance.

SMARTHINKING'S standards-based programs in writing and math support the curriculum a student is studying and align with state assessments. Students take a diagnostic test prior to enrolling in the program and are provided with a custom learning plan based on their needs. The actual transcripts of the live tutoring sessions, as well as student assessments, are saved and accessible to students, teachers, and parents at any time so that a student's progress can be monitored.

SMARTHINKING's "e-structors" are available to help students when traditional teachers may not be available. They can also be particularly helpful to students who live in rural, remote areas. The e-structors include qualified college faculty, graduate students, high school teachers, retired educators, and advanced undergraduates. The e-structors currently provide support to students in:

• Mathematics (basic math through Calculus II);
• Writing (essays in all subjects and career writing);
• Grammar and the writing process;
• Statistics;
• Accounting;
• Economics (Macro and Micro);
• Chemistry; and
• Spanish.

To date, SMARTHINKING has worked with over 51,000 students and provided over 221,000 tutorial sessions. Lately, SMARTHINKING is also providing supplemental educational services to eligible Title I students in schools in need of improvement under the No Child Left Behind Act . The company is an approved supplemental educational services provider in Alabama, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For additional information, please view SMARTHINKING and supplemental educational services.

Note: The featured innovation is a description of one state-approved supplemental services provider and is given as an example to help school districts and schools implement the supplemental educational services provisions of No Child Left Behind. The U.S. Department of Education has not evaluated the specific services of SMARTHINKING, and the information provided should not be regarded as an endorsement.