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Learn To Be

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6.2

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: March 31st, 2025

Learn To Be is a 501.3 non-profit that provides free tutor to at-risk students. This online platform allows at-risk students to receive one-on-one tutoring. This program was designed to help decrease the gap for underprivileged students. Learn To Be Believes all students deserve an education. We recommend Learn To Be for students in these types of situations.

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The Good

  • Free access
  • Whiteboard access
  • Certified tutors

Free Access

Learn To Be provides free tutoring sessions to underprivileged students across the nation. In order to qualify for these sessions, which start a one hour week and can change as needs are determined, students and guardians are required to fill out an application. Applications are found online and ask questions regarding the student and guardian to determine their need. Some questions are more personal and ask students' about their favorite book and what they could do to save the world. Once the application is complete, Learn To Be will call the guardian to better asses the situation and set-up a time to start tutoring. While Learn To Be wants to help all students, tutoring typically starts at 5th grade or higher.

Whiteboard Access

Another highlight of Learn To Be is their virtual classroom platform. This classroom gives students help in addition to one-on-one tutoring. Students are able re-watch sessions and gain further information by watching it back. The virtual classroom also has exercises by Khan Academy to help tutors further assess students and make sure they are understanding concepts. This online classroom helps tutors improve their teaching skills by going back and watching videos and seeing what they can improve on.

Certified Tutors

Learn To Be only offers certified tutors for students to learn from. Anyone can volunteer to become a tutor, they just have to go through an application process to be accepted and become certified. All tutors are volunteers; they are not paid to tutor.
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The Bad

  • Unclear subject catalog
  • Limited student availability

Unclear Subject Catalog

Since this is a need-based tutoring platform, the variety of subjects is unclear. Learn To Be does not specify what kind of subjects they provide tutoring for. It seems as though subject matter is strictly determined by the student on what their needs are. In other platforms, this could become a problem, but in Learn To Be's case, they base what subjects they tutor case-by-case.

Limited Student Availability

Most other platforms are based on monthly memberships or per hour for payment, so the amount of students accepted is not an issue. Since this is a non-profit for underprivileged students, there is a requirement to receive tutoring.
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The Bottom Line

Learn To Be provides tutoring to underprivileged youth across the country. Their certified tutors volunteer their time to help kids get education they deserve. We fully recommend Learn To Be as an excellent option for deserving kids across the country. However, if you do not qualify for Learn To Be, check out our top rated companies.
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Star Rating

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4.1

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26 Reviews

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4 grade

19%

3 grade

4%

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4%

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Ella Le

For the past year and a half, I have been a tutor with Learn To Be. At first, I was simply looking for a place to volunteer and help disadvantaged and underprivileged children since that is my passion. What I found at this organization is so much more. Not only have I had the privilege of educating young children in dire need, many of whom have no other alternatives, I have also been able to help them in other ways, such as providing free technology devices to families in partnership with Learn To Be and offering them career exploration opportunities with presenters with backgrounds in law, technology, education, and science and from organizations such as NASA and Meta. This has been an exceptionally fulfilling journey I have been on, working together with like-minded individuals who selflessly give their time and knowledge. As an organization that staunchly believes in free tutoring for the segments of our population most underserved, I have firsthand knowledge of their efforts to deliver while operating on a shoestring budget. My time here has felt as if I became part of a newfound family who truly epitomizes the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I have been blessed to have met over fifty families, many stating exceptional feedback from teachers as to the marked improvement of students, and some who no longer need tutoring because they are now above grade level in proficiency. While certain challenges and improvements can be made with any organization, the core mission and genuine desire to help exist within everyone I have come in contact with at this organization.

4 days ago

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Miya

Volunteering as a tutor with Learn To Be has been a rewarding and meaningful experience for me. The platform provides a great opportunity to connect with younger students and support them in subjects they may be struggling with. It's incredibly fulfilling to watch a student gain confidence and improve academically over time, especially knowing that your guidance played a part in their growth. One of the best aspects of Learn To Be is the flexibility and accessibility it offers both tutors and students. You're able to build a personal connection with your student and tailor your teaching style to what works best for them. It's a great way to give back while also strengthening your own communication and leadership skills. That said, one of the challenges can be consistency. Sometimes, it’s hard to schedule regular sessions if a student’s parent or guardian isn't very responsive. This can make it difficult to maintain progress or develop a steady routine. But when communication flows well, the impact you can have is truly significant. Overall, I highly recommend Learn To Be to anyone passionate about education and mentorship.

6 days ago

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Shannon Zhang

Learn To Be is an incredible tutoring platform that truly makes a difference! As a tutor, I’ve seen firsthand how this program provides free, one-on-one academic support to students who need it most. The flexibility, supportive community, and rewarding experience make it a fantastic place to volunteer. Watching students grow in confidence and skills over time is so fulfilling. I highly recommend Learn To Be to anyone looking to give back and make a meaningful impact in education!

2 days ago

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Jessy Dong

Being a tutor from Learn to Be, I highly recommend this organization to many families. I’ve encountered many students who improved greatly with tutoring. Seeing an improvement definitely boosts a student’s confidence, encouraging them to look at problems they don’t understand in a more positive way. Also, I recommend those who have some time to join as a tutor to help many more students. As a tutor, you can learn many valuable skills and expand on your own knowledge.

3 days ago

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Sarah

As a LearnToBe tutor, I am extremely grateful to have found the program and be involved in tutoring. As a student in high school, LearnToBe granted students like me an opportunity to tutor younger students in subjects they may be struggling in. I have been able to connect with my students and help them succeed in classes, while gaining hands on experience which can better prepare me in the future.

1 week ago

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Julinna Eare

Speaking as a volunteer tutor with a sibling who is getting tutoring with Learn to Be! First off, the organization is wonderful-- wonderful kids, tutors, staff (most of the time). Their organization is well-meaning and students DO improve their grades tremendously, especially with an attentive tutor. Keyword: attentive. Now, if the parent, child, or tutor is not attentive, that's when things get disorganized fast. Miscommunication can lead to angry talks from either side, thus time is wasted and grades do not go up at all. There's also another thing: I wish communication was better in a lot of different ways. Sometimes parents aren't clear about what their student needs tutoring in. Sometimes parents (or even tutors) don't respond. Sometimes (or actually, way too many times) the correct time zone isn't picked out correctly... it's hard to fix this too, I talked to the staff and received no response. But either way, as a tutor, there's a lot of benefit with joining Learn to Be. You pick your own schedule, choose the student who best fits your skill set, and move on with them. Currently, I'm in the program Tutor Corps and in return for 200 tutoring hours, you receive the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, a letter rec, and a $1000 stipend. I've also received wonderful career guidance, and since a good amount of the tutors recruited are students, this is VERY IMPORTANT. One small problem however, I do not think we are communicated with enough. We get an email or text once in a blue moon. In the end, it's important to realize that it is free. You can totally have this same experience with a tutor you *do* pay for (it's happened). Most parents come in frustrated with their student's grades, then come out happier. My students have risen their grade ~20% plus passed tests that seemed cumbersome at first. If both the parents and tutors take the initiative to communicate properly and show up, there's a huge chance their student WILL improve. I hope the staff becomes more organized as well.

2 weeks ago

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Shyom Rai

Speaking as a fellow tutor, Learn To Be is a great free tutoring program that helps students improve their grades and learn for free! The staff is supportive, and we tutors can set our own schedules, making it really flexible. The sessions can be held easily and just by a click of a button. There are some challenges, like missing student info or trouble reaching parents at times. Communication can be tricky at times, but most issues can be worked out. Since tutors are volunteers, the quality can vary. But overall, it’s a solid program, and I’ve had a good experience with it. If I were a student on the other hand, I would definitely want to use this platform, especially since it is free!

1 week ago

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McDonagh Kuntz

Working with LTB as a tutor has been an incredibly fulfilling experience for me. I have enjoyed working with numerous incredible students. Other comments have mentioned difficulties with students and tutors not being responsive. In my experience, this is rare, and when it did occur, finding a new student to work with was simple and easy.

2 weeks ago

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Lily Le

Speaking from the perspective of a tutor, the LearnToBe organization is well-meaning but not organized nor professional. Whether or not the student will receive adequate academic support, however, depends mostly on the tutor they happen to get. Each tutor structures their tutoring sessions differently. Personally, I like to start off every new student with a short session discussing the student's needs and goals, as well as tutoring schedules and timings. However, I cannot guarantee that this is the same process that every tutor goes through. The good thing is that this platform is entirely free, and tutoring sessions are mostly one-on-one (depends on the tutor, since there is a new group tutoring feature).

2 weeks ago

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Persephone Poet

I have been a tutor with LearnToBe for about a year and a half now, and the support I've gotten is incredible. Like all systems, it isn't perfect and I have had my fair share of struggles related to my students and understanding how to support them, but the admin and fellow tutors of LTB have been amazing and have helped me in every way possible. From free resources to advice to a substitute when necessary, they made my tutoring experience as amazing as possible.

1 week ago

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Indira Tenginakai

LearnToBe is a great organization that benefits both the kids and the tutors! It helps make a positive difference.

1 week ago

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Chloe Kim

Coming from a LTB tutor, this is a great opportunity for me to meet many different kinds of students and witness their confidence grow! I love that I can choose my own students and set my own schedule. I recommend it to any students looking for free tutoring or to be a potential tutor!

2 weeks ago

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Ella Haggerty

LearnToBe has been a great way to represent growth in students and for everyone to have an equal chance in education.

2 weeks ago

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Siyou Wang

Speaking as a Learn To Be Tutor, I would say that this program is a wonderful free service. The organization is well meaning, and the staff try their best to address any concerns and tackle any issues that are brought up. Students can improve their grades with consistent effort and communications with the tutor, and it is very rewarding to see. As a tutor, you are able to pick your own schedule and generally volunteer as you and your student see fit, granting a large amount of freedom and flexibility. However, there are some issues with missing student information or parents reaching out to ask for more sessions or subjects after connecting as a tutor. It can also be difficult to reach parents at times, and it's frustrating to see missing or unclear information from students. To sum, while the program itself is good, people can be inconsistent and communication is a issue at times. Ultimately, the service is great for a free program, and the errors with communication can usually be overlooked or resolved. Most of the tutors are students, however, which is something to be aware of. I've personally had a good experience with Learn To Be and recommend it, though the quality of tutoring may vary due to all tutors being volunteers and most being students themselves. Overall, it's a good program but there may be hiccups when finding a tutor that best fits your needs.

2 weeks ago

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Sophia N

I've tutored with Learn to Be for over a year now! It's an amazing platform to make a true impact on the community, as well as get volunteer hours and experience. I've had such a great time tutoring my students! Furthermore, it's super easy to keep track of hour many hours you've done. The classroom tools are also super helpful! I love that we have an IXL account as it makes tutoring sessions so much smoother. Great platform!

2 weeks ago

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Shriya Singh

As a student who has been tutoring for Learn To Be throughout high school, I can say confidently that it is a great, free resource for underprivileged kids. The kids I tutor have improved their reading, writing, and math so much! And, navigating through the loops of this organization has shown me how everyone here is SO passionate about giving everyone an equal opportunity to get an education. It's amazing to see an organization so committed to this cause.

2 weeks ago

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B A

Signed up and none responded. I followed up and received an email stating "After carefully reviewing your application, we encountered some challenges in evaluating your eligibility due to a lack of information. This made it difficult to assess whether you meet our program's criteria." The professional way to handle this would have been to pick up the phone or send an email seeking additional information.

6 months ago

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TJ Brooklyn, NY

TRASH!!! I had high hopes for this site I really did but the unprofessionalism is ridiculous. Yes things happen and yes it can me free if you decide not to donate but this is not a good site. None of the tutors stick around or keep proper contact, some at least have the decency to just release the child because they can’t stay committed. Meanwhile most of them sell you high hopes stating that they’ll show up to sessions and instead of giving a heads up they just ghost you. Stop hiring kids to work for free & the site could really be something great. Don’t even get me started with customer service, they seem nice at first but some of them like to go back and forth via e-mail trying to tell you exactly what you personally experienced. Just a tiring situation to be in, every other week it’s something and my child is left without a tutor and hasn’t been able to make progress because no one is reliable!

2 years ago

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jessica sloderbeck Ooltewah, TN

Took the time to know my child. When she didn't understand something the tutor explained it in a way that she could. First assignment after her tutoring session she got 100%!!!

2 years ago

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Doga Aksemsettinoglu

It's an amazing tutoring platform. My daughter used to tutor for them, and she loved the kids!

4 months ago

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Jim Goldman

While LearntoBe has a wonderful mission I would recommend avoiding this platform as a volunteer or a tutor. From what I have observed there is not much of a vetting process for tutors or students. I had no formal interview to become a tutor. I just filled out an application and filmed myself via webcam answering a few video questions. Due to LearntoBe failing to screen tutors and families, this leads to a variety of issues. Like other people have said you can have tutors or families who are not committed to the program and stop reaching out or disconnect for no reason. This has happened to me several times and is extremely frustrating and disheartening. The other issue I noticed was that often times the student's needs we're not adequately described. I had the opportunity to tutor two students in high school level math, however; the families mis-represented the students' abilities. I was expecting to tutor a high school student slightly behind in math, but I discovered that the students I tutored had the math skills of a 3rd or 4th grader. When I reached out to LearntoBe with these issues, they expressed concern, but took no action. Unless you are desperate I would highly recommend avoiding LearntoBe due to their failure to vet their tutors and students. They are a well meaning, but very disorganized organization.

8 months ago

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A Mother Carteret, NJ

During my time with Learn to Be, it has not been a pleasant experience. My daughter needed help with physics and as I was looking for tutors, we stumbled upon Learn to Be. It looked reliable and seemed like it fitted our needs but, after our fair share of 5 tutors in the past month, only 1 was actually willing to help. You need to message the tutors, describe them your child's needs and eventually, you would set up a date and time where they could meet through zoom online. Simple, right? Well, actually no. This is not the case when tutors never check or reply to your messages and leave you on days without an answer, ghosting you, and eventually "releasing you". Releasing is when you or the tutor thinks that it is not working out and cut off all sort of communication. Every single time I have "connected" with a tutor, they end up releasing my daughter, even before the first meeting. Another detail, you can't report the tutors to complain or tell people about the tutor, so essentially, they can connect from kid to kid, without ever ACTUALLY helping them and contributing to the platform's goal. Ultimately, my experience with this platform, as you have read, has not been positive and hope this helps any other parents who plan on joining or using this platform to "help" their kids, when it really doesn't. It is a waste of time and the "tutors" there don't help and you most likely, won't actually find someone who wants to help and is actually committed.

2 years ago Edited January 23, 2023

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Deborah Fox Tucson, AZ

I am a retired, credentialed educator with extensive teaching experience and a desire to provide online help to struggling students.I applied to volunteer with LTB. They did not respond. That meant, per their policy, I was not “accepted” as a tutor. No reason, no questions, no “thanks but, no thanks”. I wonder how serious they are and what their criteria is for accepting volunteers…

1 year ago

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Cindy miller Austin, TX

My sons tutor has been with him for over 3 years. He has been amazing and has helped my son tremendously.

1 year ago

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18puppies

I really enjoy working for LTB. It is an easy way to help those in need.

2 weeks ago

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Kiawannia McMillon

Schedule with two different tutors both say can we reschedule since beginning of June horrible service.

9 months ago