Even before launching Frisco-based INC Tutoring in 2015, Jay Veal had been on a mission to close the achievement gap for students of color. And he’s looking to deepen that commitment with the planned launch of a new venture.
Veal is launching Black Tutors of Social Media, a nonprofit that will help connect students of color with tutoring and support services in their local area, as well as highlight black-owned tutoring companies across the country. And while the nonprofit will focus on students of color, all students are welcomed.
“It’s going to be like a whole movement at the end of the day,” Veal told NTX Inno. “The reason we kind of have it honed out for the minority community is because often times they don’t have access to all the resources. We want to be a resource-based pool for them to come to that they’ve never had before, and that’s how we reach out to the community.”
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Veal said the idea is something he has been toying around with for a while, but it really got started in January. After traveling around the country for INC, setting up locations of its holistic tutoring and support program in DFW, Austin, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, he noticed that many parents and educators were unaware of any black-owned of student-of-color-focused tutoring companies in their region.
Then, when the pandemic reached the shores of the U.S., Veal was forced to temporarily put plans on hold to focus on building out INC’s virtual capabilities and offerings. But he knew the pandemic wasn’t only affecting business, but also the students he was looking to serve, who were now looking to adjust to a new online normal. And as schools look toward the next academic year, some, including Plano ISD and Collin College, are looking at hybrid in-person and virtual learning models.
“We want to make sure their kids matter during this time, that they weren’t left behind after the three months of Covid-19, following off of Covid-19, the George Floyd thing happens, then the protests happen,” Veal said. “It’s too much going on for them to be able to consume, so they need to be in a safe haven where they can explore their creative thoughts, they could learn great things in education after school or they can work with somebody who looks like them.”
Veal hopes Black Tutors of Social Media will be a “full-scale, 360 degree solution” to helping students of color and black-owned tutoring businesses. The nonprofit will charge businesses a subscription fee to be listed on its future website and app, with the money being used to help students pay for tutoring services they otherwise financially wouldn’t have access to. Veal also plans to add worksheets, videos and activities for students and teachers, in addition to providing tips and support networks for parents and educators.
Tutors and businesses looking to be featured on the platform must be credentialed and will go through a screening process to ensure quality.
"It’s going to be like a whole movement at the end of the day."
“When I looked at this with everything that is going on, I’ve experienced some of the things that other African Americans have experienced when it comes to profiling… When I looked at that, I thought to myself, ‘I have to be in a position to be able to be somebody that could contribute to the solution,’” Veal said. “I wanted to be an ally to families and to parents and to students as someone who could be able to work with them, to be able to provide something that means something to them.”
Already, he said Black Tutors of Social Media has seen interest in the U.S., UK, Jamaica and Nigeria. And he hopes one day users around the world will be able to connect with local services. The website is expected to go live in the next couple of months, with the app following a few weeks later.
Veal said that while students of color make up the majority of public schools around the country, around 80 percent of staff are white. This creates an environment in which students lack role models who look like them or have advisors and counselors that may not understand their background and needs, he said. He added that now, with many universities in the U.S. getting rid of SAT and ACT requirements, focus will be more on the individual student’s academic ability rather than test taking skills and prep.
“The mindset from a student is: 'I want to be able to learn from somebody that looks like me, has similar tastes to me, that walks and talks like me… and someone that can relate to me,'” Veal said. “You now have a situation where… your opportunity gap is closing because through different subjects now these kids are able to fulfill their needs through different cities and countries.”
As the nonprofit grows in users and providers, along with the help of philanthropic funding, it plans to expand its service offerings. Veal said he plans to add financial literacy programs, college tour opportunities and personal and career mentoring, among other things.
“Everybody is going to look back at this and say, ‘there was something great that did come out of Covid-19 and out of the protests,’ and that is an organization that was built, centered around us being able to get access to something of quality, something of value,” Veal said. “Now you have an extended family who cares about you, and you can take that to the bank.”
Check out NTX Inno’s 2019 profile of INC Tutoring here.
