Teen Leverages Social Media to Level the Educational Playing Field
By Celine Piser
Even before the pandemic brought to light the inequity plaguing education, Sarah Frank recognized the need to level the educational playing field. At 17, she created Simple Studies, a website aimed to combat the impact of COVID-19 on students by providing free educational resources. Within months, it had 100,000 users.
As a published teen author, she was a magnet student attending a Title 1 school where “some kids had access to private tutors and some kids barely had access to their textbooks.” When the pandemic hit, she thought she was in a position to help. As Student Government President, she proposed a free online resource site to help struggling students. The student board vetoed it. Some fellow board members didn’t think anyone would give up their free time to make the resources and wanted to focus on more traditional student government areas, such as pep rallies and homecoming — in-person events that Sarah knew were no longer a priority.
So Sarah built Simple Studies herself, featuring her own AP study guides to share with her peers. At first, it seemed the board was right — recruiting volunteers to create new content was a challenge. But then Sarah harnessed the power of social media to recruit her peers. As Simple Studies grew, more people wanted to be a part of it — “partially for the street cred, partially for the service hours, and partially because they saw that it was doing a lot of good.” Sarah mobilized hundreds of volunteers to offer study resources, tutoring, and academic support — all available for free.
While building Simple Studies, Sarah was taking AP classes and doing college applications, and, with a high-risk family member, surviving in total lockdown — “I didn’t leave my house for 15 months except to vote and get vaccinated.” She often felt like she didn’t have what it would take to make her effort a success. But then she would get a message from a grateful user, and realize that “spreading myself a little thin is worth spreading these resources a little farther.” By October 2020, Simple Studies had 100,000 visitors, a milestone she celebrated with her family.
Sarah’s efforts were recognized when she received a Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award, an honor celebrating Jewish teen leaders dedicated to tikkun olam, or “repairing the world,” in diverse areas ranging from philanthropy to climate action. Awardees receive a monetary prize, but for Sarah, the honor “reinvigorated my spirit to do community service.” Through the program, she gained a community of fellow changemakers with similar passions and challenges, and was able to “simultaneously congratulate and commiserate” with her fellow Awardees, sharing solutions to problems they all faced as teen leaders.
Sarah is now a student at Brown University, but her project continues to grow under new leadership. Rebranded as Studyist, the site offers an app, YouTube channel, college guides, Discord server, essay editing, study guides, and a matching service for study buddies, mentors, and even textbook trades. It’s fueled by more than 800 volunteers from 40 states and 40 countries, and now serves 350,000 users. The site’s success, and her recognition by the Diller Teen Awards, has taught Sarah that perseverance pays off.
