YC-Backed Tutorspree Is An Airbnb For Tutoring Launching today from the YCombinator Class of 2011, Tutorspree is a online marketplace for K-12 tutors along the lines of accommodations network Airbnb, but specific to tutoring (yes I’ve made this comparison before). Founded by Aaron Harris, Josh Abrams and Ryan Bednar, the startup is disruptive in the sense that the tutoring space up until now has been monopolized by agencies like Sylvan and Huntington Learning Center or risky alternative Craigslist. Tutoring is a business that is aching for change: Agency strongholds make tutor comparison difficult and Craigslist is a whole ‘nother can of worms trustwise. Harris tells us that the quality control at an affordable price is Tutorspree’s competitive advantage, and the screening process favors people who have experience teaching kids in front of a classroom. Tutorspree also takes less of a cut from each lesson (50% initially and then less at each subsequent lesson) than traditional tutoring operations, so it is able to retain top talent.
NYC Hires First Chief Digital Officer The six-month search for someone to help the mayor’s office “develop forward-thinking policies on social media, digital communications, web 2.0 initiatives and other tools to better serve the public” is over. Brainscape: Learn Faster MiniManuscript Blog – Data And Transparency in Tutoring: State of Tutoring 2011 Aaron is a cofounder of Tutorpsree, and a tutor. He’s the resident numbers dork (well, so is Paul), and writes about what we’ve learned and how it influences what we do The start of the new year means it’s time to take a look at overall trends in the tutoring universe. We’ve sliced up the profiles of 10,000 tutors to get a sense of pricing dynamics across the US. The Price of Tutoring One of the more opaque pieces of the tutoring market is, of course what tutoring actually costs. Along with the average, the range of prices charged gives us information on market dynamics. What Teachers are Paid According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall median hourly rate for educators is actually $21.97, which is less than 50% of the hourly wage listed on Tutorspree, and less than 8% of the max price in NYC (the highest priced market). What Tutors Tutor What Students Want to Learn Tutors are listing the subjects they want to teach based largely on what they know. Summing it all up
EDITORIAL: New York is the wrong place to prey on hotel workers... - The New York Hotel Trades Council Union busting cereal-maker Kellogg's locks out workers fighting for fair contract On October 22, 2013 Kellogg's locked out their union employees for rejecting the company's efforts to impose a plan under which all new workers would be employed as casual and part time with no assurance of work, significantly lower pay and a dramatic cut in benefits. Kellogg's calls this 'The New Workforce of the Future'. Read more... Over 250 HTC members attend BUNY rally for union jobs and safer working conditions Over 250 HTC members turned out at Borough Hall to rally for union jobs and safer working conditions. HTC joined many other unions as a part of Build Up NYC to get the word out. Over 250 HTC members attend BUNY rally for union jobs and safer working conditions Over 250 HTC members turned out at Borough Hall to rally for union jobs and safer working conditions. Join the Fight and Work for HTC Interested in a career in social justice?
9 Sites to Save You Big on College Textbooks It's that time of year again, when college students scramble for textbooks, in the hopes they'll have money left over for food and fun during the school year. No longer does the campus bookstore have the monopoly on book sales. Students now have the option to buy their books elsewhere, often choosing to purchase used books online, or even rent textbooks from various sites. The key is to find the right edition of a textbook at the right price, and that can take some research. Fortunately, a few websites can help with that. SEE ALSO: 11 Deep Student Discounts on Back-to-School Tech The National Association of College Stores estimates students spend $655 per year on course materials, but that figure is down from $667 two years ago. So, do the research and then do the math. Will you be renting textbooks this semester, or do you prefer to own your books? Thumbnail image courtesy of gianlucabartoli and beaucroft.
Blog – Funding the future of one-one-learning Aaron is one of the co-founders of Tutorspree, and occasionally writes for our blog about company news and startup life. At Tutorspree, we have a vision of education built around one-on-one interactions. It’s a view formed by our own best learning experiences, and on what we believe are the best and most iconic student/teacher pairings in history - Socrates and Alexander the Great, Moses and Joshua, Pound and Eliot, Fonzi and Cunningham…the list goes on and on. We want to make high quality one-on-one instruction available to every student that needs it, whether they’re trying to figure out how to get the area of a circle with a with a math tutor or working with a programming tutor to solve the traveling salesman. What’s Next We’ve been analyzing thousands of student/tutor pairings to understand what exactly people want and what sort of matches lead to the best learning.
Casement Windows Are the Architects’ New Darling But now those classic casements are appearing on new apartment buildings with startling regularity, especially in West Chelsea and the West Village, as part of an architectural style that pays tribute to prewar buildings. In large part, New York has Cary Tamarkin to thank for the return of casements. An architect and developer, Mr. Tamarkin is sometimes referred to as “the window guy,” because of the distinctive casement windows in his buildings, including 140 Perry Street, 495 West Street, 397 West 12th Street and, most recently, 456 West 19th Street, a 22-unit 11-story all-duplex building with 5 apartments still for sale, starting at $2.2 million. As to the reason for using old-fashioned casements, which are typically more expensive than conventional windows, Mr. Mr. His windows are also made the old-fashioned way. Jaime Roth is one of those sensitive buyers. “The windows were really the reason why I bought that apartment,” she said. Mr.
EasyBib: Free Bibliography Generator - MLA, APA, Chicago citation styles Q&A: Director Lisa F. Jackson on 'Sex Crimes Unit' and DSK With the indictment of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) on charges of attempted rape, the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit is in the glare of the international spotlight. But the tabloid frenzy over this high-profile case obscures the dogged and far less glamorous work of the prosecutors and investigators of this pioneering crime unit, which investigates roughly 300 cases at any given time. A new documentary, Sex Crimes Unit, debuting this week on HBO, chronicles the history of the team and follows it through three recent cases, from investigation to trial. (The cases were all prior to the DSK indictment.) TIME spoke with filmmaker Lisa F. The film details the evolution of rape laws in New York and the creation of this new unit. [The rape shield law] was hugely important because of the cliché — that was actually a reality — that the woman who was on the witness stand would essentially get raped again. It's clear that investigating and prosecuting these cases is incredibly complex.
WTC Cross Lowered Into New Home A solemn ceremony took place in Lower Manhattan today as a relic of the September 11th attacks was moved to its permanent home. To view our videos, you need to enable JavaScript. install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Then come back here and refresh the page. A solemn ceremony took place Saturday in Lower Manhattan as a relic of the September 11th attacks was moved to its permanent home. Crews loaded an intersecting steel beam known as the World Trade Center Cross onto a flatbed truck so it could be driven to the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum and lowered inside. The 17-foot, 10 ton piece of metal was recovered near the towers in an area known as "the pit" following the attacks. A ceremonial blessing at Zuccotti Park took place before it was moved. "I am tearing up because this day that came many who were part of that community would have wanted to see it," said World Trade Center volunteer Rhonda Villamilla. "To be this close to finishing it's a great feeling. It's scheduled to open next year.