By Patricia Roy

A high school student looking for a helpful homework buddy could find it’s right there in the palm of their hand, or on their desk or even in their back pocket – wherever their cell phone happens to be.

Algis Petlin, Ashland High School Class of 2022, has developed an app that will connect students with tutors in a range of subjects as well as a range of languages.

He pointed out that last part is crucial to help students whose first language is not English. 

As a sophomore Petlin was accepted in the AHS virtual class program which exposed him to computer science taught by the school’s guidance counselors.

He also studied app development online using the website Udemy.

“I wanted to apply my knowledge in a practical manner,” he said. 

Around the same time he was admitted to the National Honor Society and was elected its president. An inside look at the organization was the impetus for developing the app, Petlin said.

“The National Honor Society has a tutoring program that allows members of the society to tutor anyone in the whole school who needs help,” he said.

 Petlin thought of applying his skills in app development to improve the tutoring program and its accessibility to students.

He had already done a lot of tutoring work at the high school, beginning with his sister and then tutoring his friends in math, history and English.

Eventually, he heard that other kids were looking for tutors but were unable to find any, even though Petlin knew of dozens in the National Honor Society. 

And that led to the tutoring app currently known as AHS Tutor Connect. It reflects more than a year of Petlin’s work with feedback coming from teachers and fellow students.

While the app is designed to link up students with tutors; teachers have administrative privileges and can assign a student to a tutor as they think best. 

All users first create a profile on the app. Then students select the subjects they need help in, and tutors post their availability. Students who would like to become a tutor can apply through a Google form and select what they would like to teach. It is possible to be both a tutor and a student.

To connect with a tutor, a student clicks to view their profile and chooses a preferred meeting day, subject and preferred language, then sends the request.

Students and tutors confirm the appointment or they’re also free to cancel.

Teachers/administrators are able to create accounts for students without cell phones and can browse through all users and edit their privileges if necessary.

The goal of the app is to make it easier for students to access the help they need. 

And best of all, it’s free.

The tutors are volunteers and Petlin said he took advantage of mostly free resources in developing the app.

“I didn’t have to spend a lot of money to create this app and it’s nice that I’m able to help out my community in this way,” he said.

AHS Tutor Connect will be released during the coming school year and Petin will continue working with high school faculty to ensure a smooth rollout. He is hopeful of getting the app into App store and Android store.

This fall, he will attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst majoring in Computer Science with a goal of becoming “a good computer or software engineer.”

He also hopes that the app will inspire Ashland High School students to get involved in their community, both as problem solvers and volunteers.