Youth Venture

Non-profit SAT tutoring

In early 2006 I (Jason Shah) was visiting my sister Julie in Philadelphia who was working as a middle school math teacher through Teach for America. During a class visit, I was shocked to see the vast disadvantages faced by students under tougher socioeconomic circumstances. One student even asked me how to spell "ball"--three separate times. These students did not suffer from learning disabilities or a lack of determination; they were products of a culture that did not provide the right resources for success. Yet how would this end? The cycle is self-perpetuating; if you're raised without resources and fail to break out of that, then you will live your adult life in that continued physical and mental poverty. Then, your children are raised in the same society. But what if these students had a chance to break the cycle? What if they were admitted to great colleges, earned scholarships and not only had the chance to make a better future, but believed that it was possible? I wanted to follow my sister's footsteps in the effort to close to educational achievement gap. So I returned to Florida, figured that SATs were a relevant stepping stone for students my age, planned a program to prepare students for the SAT and college applications, enlisted faculty advisers and National Merit Scholars as tutors, publicized the program, took applications and began working with students. We have helped over 50 students and are working to expand across the country. The class of 2008 has been trained and will be under the leadership of the second executive director, Faiz Jiwani, who can also be found on this site. Bridge Ed has also led me to move into commercial entrepreneurship by launching an online SAT prep company, INeedAPencil.com. We are pleased to be a part of this community and look forward to sharing experiences with you all.
Check us out in a local newspaper article: http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/snapshots/frtHEAD02100906.htm
Check out Jason's SAT prep business:
http://www.INeedAPencil.com