Student Savannah Spotlight: Testimonial

Gooroo has been in business for over 5 years now and has helped thousands of students and families. What’s most important to us is finding the perfect student-tutor match. We believe in lifelong learning and lasting relationships to help students on their journey. So, we always love to hear student success stories and testimonials from the relationships built between tutors and studnets.

Here is one about our longtime student, Savannah, and her Gooroo, Sarah. We had the pleasure to interview Savannah’s mom, Jajaida, and she was able to share their story.

Could you briefly tell us a little bit about yourself and Savannah?

Savannah likes to think of herself as an artist and a very social person. She loves spending time at the beach, but she loves the winter. On any given day she is willing to try even the most extreme roller coasters. On her 10th birthday, she insisted on trying indoor skydiving!

Mom and student Savannah
Jajaida and Savannah

I, on the other hand, was never so adventurous. I consider myself to have been a very low-key child growing up. Now, I work as the Vice President of Day Services at a non-profit called SUS. We provide habilitative activities and support to people with intellectual disabilities to be gainfully engaged in their communities and to be gainfully employed.

So, what made your child begin tutoring with Gooroo?

My personal favorite activity is reading. I love to curl up with a good book. However, I soon realized that Savannah did not share the same joy. I know that reading is a key factor in her educational success. I also was aware that the pressure of me reading with her made her more anxious. Every child wants to please their parents.

Child reading

So, I was looking for a tutor that she could not only connect with but also look up to. I figured there must be a service or something out there to make it easy to find a good tutor. There had to be a company out there that did the heavy-lifting and provided all the background work so that I could feel comfortable with a tutor to be with my ONLY child for an extended period of time. Then, I found Gooroo!

How has Student Savannah taken to tutoring?

Now, my daughter is doing extremely well with all of her subjects. At the beginning of the year, I shared Savannah’s syllabus with her tutor, Sarah. Sarah has taken a really proactive approach in getting Savannah ready for the school week. They go over the subjects in advance and review the concepts, making Savannah more confident when she is in class. She’s never lost in class if the teacher becomes distracted with another student. Not only that, but Sarah also reads aloud with Savannah, which has led to a boost in her confidence. I’ve already seen a huge improvement in her reading skills. Most importantly, Savannah really enjoys meeting with Sarah on a weekly basis. She likes the individualized attention and the time to ask questions without any pressure.

You mentioned that you wanted a tutor that Savannah could connect with and look up to. What is Savannah and Sarah’s relationship like?

Sarah has been an absolutely amazing tutor for my daughter. She has been patient and taken her time with Savannah. She’s helped with Savannah’s reading goals and kept her ahead in math. Savannah really likes Sarah. When we found out Sarah was graduating from her Master’s program, Savannah insisted that we get Sarah a gift!

Student Savannah in her figure skating zone
Savannah in her figure skating zone

Last winter, Savannah invited Sarah to her figure skating recital, but we never really expected to see her at the rink. To our surprise, Sarah showed up with flowers, and Savannah was so happy! Savannah was so proud to share that moment with Sarah. Sarah had no obligation to go, but she made it a point to attend. I would like to think it’s because she is heavily invested in not only Savannah’s learning but her as a person. The funny thing is, a friend had asked if I would provide information about Gooroo and Sarah so that they could also get tutoring. I, of course, shared this, but when Savannah found out that I shared her tutor’s name, she was so upset! She was not interested in sharing Sarah with anyone. LOL!

Student Savannah at figure skating recital
Sarah and Savannah at the figure skating recital

Lastly, what has made you stay with Gooroo?

The ease! It’s so easy, and the tutors are great. Like I mentioned before, Gooroo did all the work for me. They assessed Savannah’s needs and learning style to match her with the best tutor. Not only that, but they also take the time to interview the tutors and background check them. The platform is very convenient because it takes care of finding a tutor, billing, scheduling, and so much more. The Gooroo support team is always there for us.

Lastly, the upfront disclosure of the cost of tutoring is also really appreciated. Gooroo has always been transparent about its tutoring membership costs. Prior to finding Gooroo, I had tried to find a tutor on my own. However, the upfront price never matched what I was later told once I met the tutor in-person. Moreover, other tutors we had prior to Gooroo never showed any interest in my daughter’s hobbies or passions outside of the tutoring session. Gooroo and Sarah’s willingness to get to know my child has allowed Savannah to build a strong learning relationship.

About the Author

Eshka-Ne Kumar

Eshka-Ne Kumar

Eshka is a Growth Strategist at Gooroo, a tutoring membership and online learning platform that matches students to tutors perfect for them based on their unique learning needs. Gooroo offers Math, English, SAT, Coding, Spanish tutoring, and more.