Our story
The ScholarTree Story
In 2023, my wife, an educator with 25 years of experience, was thinking about starting a tutoring company. I'm a technologist, so I offered to build an app her students could use between sessions. AI was improving fast, and it was clear it belonged in that app.
My wife decided not to start the company, but by then I was hooked. Every few months AI got better, and the idea got bigger. What if I could shape AI into a tutor that was safe, focused, and actually good at teaching?
I didn't want to build another curriculum. Kids already have plenty of assignments. I wanted a tutor that meets them where they are and helps them understand the work they've already been given. My wife knew what good teaching looks like, and she helped shape how ScholarTree guides students with questions instead of answers.
I also had two very real test cases at home. My sons are in high school and elementary school, and I wanted ScholarTree to work for both of them. I wanted it to spark their curiosity and take away the frustration that makes kids give up before they really understand something.
Two breakthroughs made it possible. In September 2023, ChatGPT learned to see images, so a student could snap a photo of a worksheet and get help with that exact problem. Then came natural voice conversation, which let ScholarTree become a tutor kids can simply talk to.
AI keeps getting better, and so does ScholarTree. Today it can help a second grader with reading and a high schooler with chemistry.
There are plenty of AI tutoring apps now, so what makes ScholarTree different?
It remembers.
ScholarTree builds a picture of each student over time: what they've mastered, where they get stuck, and how they learn best. Every session picks up where the last one left off, instead of starting from scratch.
It keeps parents in the loop.
As a dad, I didn't want an app that disappears into my kids' screens while I wonder what's happening. I wanted to see the journey. So we put just as much care into the parent's side of ScholarTree as into the tutor itself.
Parents can read every conversation their child has with the tutor. They can see what their child has been working on, which skills are clicking, where they're still struggling, and how consistently they're showing up. They can choose which topics are off-limits and decide which safety alerts they want, so if something concerning comes up, they hear about it.
Our goal isn't to replace parents in their child's education. It's to give them a clear window into it, so the dinner-table question “What did you learn today?” gets a real answer.
It's built with care.
It's designed for kids from the ground up, and every detail is shaped around two goals: a child who's engaged and learning, and a parent who's informed.
— Ron Dippold, founder