Learn To Be at a Glance
Learn To Be is a nonprofit founded in 2008 that provides free, one-on-one online tutoring to K-12 students who need it most. The organization is powered by more than 23,000 volunteer tutors recruited through 636 school and organization chapters across the country, with a growing intergenerational tutoring program that brings volunteers of all ages into the work.
A Volunteer-Powered Engine
LTB's tutoring model runs on volunteers, the vast majority of whom are college and high school students recruited through 636 school and organization chapters. Over time, more than 23,000 tutors have participated, and the organization is expanding its intergenerational program to bring in volunteers across all age groups. The growth trajectory speaks for itself: from roughly 2,000 hours in 2019 to more than 112,000 hours in 2025, a 52x increase in six years.
Current School Year (Aug 2025 – May 2026)
Monthly Hours (Consistent ~9,000–10,000/month)
Standards-Aligned Content
LTB recently built comprehensive K-9 content in math, reading, and writing, all aligned with Common Core standards and delivered through LTB Academy, the organization's custom-built learning platform. The content is structured around the idea that students cannot succeed in grade-level work until foundational prerequisites are in place.
Math
K through Algebra 1Strong emphasis on math facts and automaticity. Research consistently shows that students who don't know their math facts are still counting on their fingers in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, which makes current grade-level work nearly impossible to access.
Reading
K through 8th gradeFollows phonics instruction and the science of reading, with a core focus on reading fluency as the prerequisite for comprehension. Includes a curated list of 254 titles to build reading stamina and engagement.
Writing
K through 7th gradeImplements research-backed frameworks like The Writing Revolution for sentence mastery. Builds the foundational writing skills that students need before they can produce coherent paragraphs and essays.
After-School Alignment
Peak tutoring happens right after school lets out, with the heaviest volume at 3-4 PM Pacific. The 3-8 PM block accounts for 54% of all tutoring hours, which means LTB naturally fits into the after-school window that school districts care about most.
How LTB Uses AI to Scale
LTB views AI as a force multiplier for human tutoring, not a replacement for it. The organization uses AI strategically across two areas: building the learning platform itself, and enhancing the student experience during tutoring sessions.
AI-Assisted Platform Development
LTB Academy was built by a small engineering team that leans heavily on AI tools to punch above its weight. AI coding assistants accelerate development across the platform, from generating and reviewing code to building out the 36,000+ practice problems and 34 courses that make up the curriculum. AI-powered image generation (via Gemini) creates custom illustrations for reading stories, producing unique cover art and page illustrations that bring early literacy content to life for younger students. This approach lets a lean team build and maintain a platform that would otherwise require significantly more resources.
AI-Enhanced Tutoring Experience
Within LTB Academy, AI serves as a supplementary tool alongside the human tutor. An AI chat assistant is available during practice sessions to provide hints and explanations when students get stuck, giving tutors an extra resource in real time. The platform also uses a spaced-repetition algorithm (FSRS) to schedule review of material at optimal intervals, ensuring that skills students have learned actually stick over time. Diagnostic assessments powered by adaptive logic help identify exactly which prerequisites a student is missing, so tutors can target the right gaps from the start.
AI-Generated Reading Content
For early readers (K-2), LTB uses AI to generate personalized illustrated stories that double as reading practice. Each story is created with age-appropriate vocabulary and phonics patterns, accompanied by AI-generated illustrations that keep young learners engaged. This lets LTB produce a virtually unlimited library of fresh reading material tailored to each student's level, without the cost of licensing or commissioning traditional content.
Filling Foundational Gaps
Almost all of LTB's students arrive without knowing their math facts. Many of them are still counting on their fingers in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, which makes their current grade-level work feel impossible and steadily erodes their confidence. These students are not lacking ability. They are simply missing prerequisites that were never fully taught or reinforced.
The same pattern holds for reading. When students can't read fluently enough, the cognitive overload is too high for them to succeed in any subject, including math.
LTB's approach focuses on filling these foundational gaps in math facts and reading fluency so that students can actually access grade-level content. This is not remediation for its own sake. It is about unlocking the ability to learn everything else, restoring the confidence that comes from finally feeling capable in school.
Alignment with 2026 Grantmaking Strategies
Differentiated Student Supports
Overdeck priority: "Increase scale and cost-effectiveness of high-impact tutoring and other evidence-based differentiated supports that accelerate student learning."
This is the core of what LTB does. The organization provides high-impact, one-on-one tutoring at scale through a volunteer model that keeps costs dramatically low, approximately $6.33 per hour of tutoring delivered. With 112,509 hours in 2025 alone and 52x growth since 2019, LTB demonstrates that tutoring can be both high-quality and sustainable without relying on paid tutors. Every student receives individualized support tailored to their specific prerequisite gaps in math facts, reading fluency, and writing fundamentals.
LTB's model also advances two related Overdeck priorities:
High-Quality Instructional Materials
LTB has built 34 Common Core-aligned courses with more than 36,000 practice problems across math, reading, and writing, all delivered through LTB Academy. The content is structured for mastery, with diagnostic assessments and spaced-repetition practice that adapts to each student's level.
Improved Learning Environments
LTB's tutoring naturally fits the after-school window, with 54% of hours falling between 3-8 PM, complementing school-day instruction rather than competing with it. The platform supports self-paced mastery learning where students fill prerequisite gaps at their own speed.
Overdeck has invested heavily in tutoring through Accelerate (approximately $10.67M), primarily supporting paid-tutor models. LTB represents a complementary approach: volunteer-driven, technology-enabled, and structured around foundational skill-building rather than grade-level content coverage alone.