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eSylvan Brings K-12 Tutoring Online If eSylvan.com has its way, every student will have the opportunity to reach his/her potential in math and reading. Give them 36 hours of online tutoring with certified teachers, voice, chat, and interactive white boards and they guarantee the student will improve by at least one grade level (If the student was working at a 4th grade level, they'll improve to a 5th grade level). In fact, in a recent beta test of their online program, students improved by an average of 1 1/2 grades in reading and 2 1/2 grades in math. The idea for eSylvan, Inc., an 18 month old Baltimore-based internet startup, evolved directly from its parent, Sylvan Learning Centers. Over the last 20 years, Sylvan Learning Centers has dominated the tutoring market with over 800 nationwide learning centers in 50 states. Several years ago, they noticed a huge influx of people going to their web site, jumping from 200,000 to 2 million visits in a single year. It became apparent that visitors were looking for alternatives to face-to-face instruction. eSylvan is funded by Sylvan Ventures, the venture capital fund founded by Sylvan Learning Systems. The purpose of the fund is to incubate education-focused start-ups. Other companies the fund has invested include, MindSurf.com, iLearning.com, and ClubMom.com. eSylvan currently employs about 65-70 and about 20-30 part time certified teachers. Like most startups, the economics of today's market have taken its toll. The company recently had a staff reduction. The company is convinced that e-learning is a home run. Even Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers recently predicted, "The next big killer application for the Internet is going to be education." Studies seem to back this up. According to Merrill Lynch, the 1999 market value of K-12 e-learning services was $1.3 billion, but is expected to grow to $7 billion by 2003. eSylvan thinks with its brand recognition that it's well positioned to tap into this market. eSylvan's early tests show that students who work online from home, progress just as fast as their peers in traditional brick- and-mortar teaching centers. It's a win-win situation for moms, dads, and kids. Kids love working on computers and feel comfortable in this type of learning environment. And as one parent puts it, "You don't have to fight with him to get in a car to go to a tutoring session, and you don't have to leave your other children at home or try to cover with daycare."
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