TeachStreet Unveils New Website to Help Students of Any Age Find Great Local Teachers and Classes
Launching in Seattle with More Than 25,000 Classes, Teachers, Instructors, Coaches, and Schools, TeachStreet Gives Lifelong Learners A Simple Way to Connect with Local Experts SEATTLE, WA — April 21, 2008 – For the lifelong learners among us, it’s not always easy to find the right teacher. Whether hoping to brush up on their Spanish, learn how to swing dance, or prepare for the SAT, students have had to search far and wide — and often with little success. TeachStreet, the first website dedicated to helping teachers and students connect with one another in the real world, today took the covers off its beta site at www.teachstreet.com. Representing the largest free directory of learning experiences for students of all ages, TeachStreet features more than 25,000 Seattle-area teachers, trainers, tutors, instructors, coaches, and classes. Students can search for teachers across more than 500 subjects and filter the results according to map-based location, ratings from other students, teacher availability, promotional pricing, and more. For teachers, TeachStreet provides a simple yet powerful way to promote themselves online and manage their learning business. “We have heard time and again from adult learners, and from parents looking for tutors and coaches for their children, how difficult it is to find relevant and up-to-date information to evaluate teachers. At the same time, teachers are craving easy-to-use tools to help market themselves on the Internet, manage their student rosters, and find more prospective students in their neighborhoods,” said Dave Schappell, founder and CEO of TeachStreet. “One of our goals with TeachStreet is to use the latest online technologies to facilitate real-world connections and provide anyone who wants to either learn or teach a new skill with a rich, geographically targeted website that feature’s a city’s best teaching resources.”
TeachStreet provides teachers and instructors with an array of free online tools to help them grow their business. These include:
• Online Profile Builder: In under three minutes, teachers can create a robust web presence where they can feature photos, sample lesson plans, pricing, and student references;
• Search Engine Optimization: TeachStreet was designed specifically to help teachers’ listings be discovered more easily on major search engines including Google, Yahoo! and MSN, providing teachers with an easy way to be found by students; and
• Scheduling and Management Tools: To help teachers organize their schedules and manage their workload, TeachStreet offers an assortment of calendering and management tools that let teachers focus their energy on what they do best.
With more than 25,000 Seattle-area classes, teachers, instructors, and coaches currently listed on the TeachStreet beta site, there’s a class for every interest. Classes and teachers currently available on TeachStreet include everything from the popular (SAT prep courses, tennis coaching, piano lessons, and cooking classes) to the esoteric (break dancing lessons, surfing lessons, and Texas Hold ’em Poker lessons, to name just a few). The site can be searched by keywords or visitors can scroll through TeachStreet’s extensive directory of classes, which are organized by subject. Currently, some of the most popular subjects in Seattle include: 918 yoga classes in 31 neighborhoods, 413 dance classes in 28 neighborhoods, and 131 dog obedience classes in seven neighborhoods. In addition, students are encouraged to submit reviews of teachers, and teachers are invited to enhance their profiles with lesson plans, class photos, and more.
While this extensive coverage is currently limited to the Seattle area, TeachStreet plans to expand its service to other US cities in the coming months. “As a guitar teacher trying to expand my student base, I think TeachStreet will be an invaluable resource. I’ve spent four years teaching guitar to students of all ages and that’s where I want to focus my energy, not trying to keep abreast of new technologies,” said Ryan Casperson, a guitar teacher based in Wallingford and early tester of the site. “In less than three minutes I was able to set up a full-featured online presence on TeachStreet and I now have a permanent address to send my students where they can get a true sense of my teaching style and how I work with students.”
About TeachStreetFounded in June 2007, TeachStreet is dedicated to helping students find great local teachers, and empowering teachers with robust online tools to manage their teaching business. The free site provides the information that students need to make a good decision about their learning experiences, including student reviews and teacher recommendations, pricing information, location, teacher background and training, and more. TeachStreet is headquartered in Seattle, WA and backed by Madrona Venture Group. For more information, visit www.TeachStreet.com.