Best South Bay Tutor Helps Students Struggling With Virtual Learning.

For 27-year-old Lawndale native and lifelong educator Karla Herrera, offering top-of-the-line tutoring services at top-of-the-line prices seemed like the obvious move after she spent years tutoring and teaching students across the South Bay. 

However, when it came time for her to start her own tutoring business, she wanted to do something different. She wanted to offer top-of-the-line tutoring services to the students who often get left behind because their parents can’t afford $80-an-hour tutoring services. 

“So many kids need extra support, but realistically not everybody can afford it,” Herrera said. “I didn’t want to charge those crazy prices, but I figured in the long run it would be worth it to have quality tutors at a fraction of the price for those kids. With me you’re getting the exact thing – the same professionalism, the same prep work that i put into classes for students whose parents were super rich.”

At the end of 2019, she founded Best South Bay Tutor, a tutoring service located off of Hawthorne Boulevard in Lawndale that offers the same level of exceptional tutoring services she offered at private schools, at a fraction of the price.

“I love teaching, but when I was working at private schools I had to deal with the admin and politics and I started losing the joy of it, Herrera said. “I feel like every teacher that has been discouraged with their profession is not ever discouraged because of the kids. You do it because you love the kids – not for the money or the praise.”

After schools closed down because of the pandemic in early 2020, she knew that the students who were already getting left behind would have even more trouble catching up. So, she started expanding her Lawndale-based tutoring service to include more subjects, and to be Covid-19-complient. 

“We’re only just starting to take students in-person wearing masks and keeping the distance,” Herrera said in July. “Most parents have chosen to stay online though. When the tutor knows how to use tools effectively – like ours do – it ends up working out. That’s the thing with teachers in school right now, none of them had taught on Zoom before, and with K-5 it’s really hard to pay attention in-person, and it’s even harder to pay attention to a screen.”

Herrera and her team of tutors have even started helping students virtually across the country – from Northern California all the way to New York. 

Best South Bay Tutor offers everything from homeschooling support to one-to-one tutoring for students who just need help with one subject. They even offer homework support and full-on lessons. 

“Let’s say that your kid isn’t getting anything from their school,” Herrera said. “We can provide the actual materials – the packets, the activities, the lessons – we guide the students through the whole lesson that’s common core and meets all the standards that need to be met.”

Her tutoring company offers everything from language classes to math and yoga – and everything in between.

“It’s really hard,” Herrera said. We’re all teachers, so we understand being a teacher is one job, and being a parent is another – and it’s hard to combine the two.”

Karla’s things to keep in mind when looking for a tutor for your child:

• Make sure the teachers have adequate experience to teach. “There are a lot of kids who are still in high school who work at some of these places. Make sure they have the experience to work with your child.”
• Find a place that is open to your suggestions. “A lot of places just want the parent to go away and let them do their thing. I believe it’s a collaborative process and takes a village, I’m never going to know more than you know about your child. Listen to your child and see how they feel after a session or two.”
• Make sure the tutors are qualified to work with your child’s age.
• Ask to sit in on a class. “If they don’t let you sit in on a class, that’s an issue. Many think the parents are going to be a distraction. You’re putting your hard work and money into this and you want to make sure the tutoring is actually working.”
• If you don’t like something, be very vocal about it. 

To learn more, visit bestsouthbaytutor.com.