
The founder of a new NYC school that offers online learning has revealed that he was inspired to start a new school because his own children were being bullied online.
The new school, which is called Educate Your Child, has a goal of creating a “digital world of learning” that will make learning possible for everyone, but especially kids from underrepresented backgrounds.
EducateYourChild.org founder and CEO Matthew R. Lutman, who has a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in history, said he decided to create the school because he knew his own kids would be targeted online, especially those who were black, Hispanic, or Latino.
The idea for the school was born after a teacher in his class, who is white, called him out about the bullying he witnessed from his own child.
“I was really sad,” Lutmann told Newsweek.
“It felt like there was nothing I could do about it.”
Lutmans son, a high school senior in Manhattan, told him that he had been the target of online bullying and that it was a growing problem for his school.
The two talked about how they could work together to change the way they were perceived online.
“We saw the need and thought we had to help solve it,” Luthman said.
“He told me to put it on my website, and I did.”
The two worked together to launch Educateyourchild.org, which became one of the most popular sites on the internet, and launched an online learning course.
Luthmans son said that he is also the founder of the new school to help children from underserved communities get into the online world and get their learning started.
EducatestheKids.org is now available on the site.
Luttman is also working on a curriculum to teach preschoolers and teens how to use a computer and to learn how to do online math and science.
LUTMAN, who previously worked at the Harlem-based nonprofit Teach for America, said that the new online learning platform has become one of his favorite tools to help his community.
“The Internet is changing the way we live,” he said.
Educating Your Child is offering online learning classes for children ages 5 to 18, and is expanding to include students from middle school through high school.
Lutzman said that one of Educate your child’s first classes will be to help kids who are struggling to get into school, especially for those who are low-income.
Educated Your Child also is working to increase the number of online learning courses offered across the country and provide support for parents, educators, and others who work with students.
Lutsman, a native New Yorker who grew up in Harlem, said the goal of the program is to “help children get a chance to learn, not just for themselves but for others.”