For some high schoolers, math feels like an unsolvable puzzle. But three students – Justin Son, Aiden Huh, and Yujun Piao in 10th grade turned challenges into a philanthropic opportunity. The JAY Solution, named after its founders, provides students with mini-lessons, mock exams, and lecture videos.

The initiative began informally. Co-founder Yujun Piao said, “Justin and Aiden finished their work fast and liked helping others in math class. It started by just helping our friends during class time, but evolved to, ‘We can help you during after-school hours,’ and ‘How about we set a set time for teaching all of you guys.’ It started small, but we’re adding on to it, and it became official now.” 

The three sophomores wanted to make the JAY Solution official after they saw their peers improve. Reina Li in 10th grade said, “My score improved after JAY Solution became official. Specifically, after the logarithm lesson sessions, I saw a big improvement in my score.” What began as a simple gesture of support gradually developed into an organized tutoring program that many students now depend on for help. 

In the process, students initially doubted that JAY Solution would make a difference. Aiden Huh said, “Some of our peers at the start doubted our abilities to teach them as we are still the same age and in the same grade and still learning the same materials.”

Since then, the group has further tempered its process to benchmark teacher resources and recreate the testing experience for students. “For the worksheets, I oftentimes look into what the textbook does or what Mr. Coleman’s worksheets do and base it off that. For the mock tests, after I take the test, I reflect on what kind of questions Mr. Coleman gave and try to adhere to his format,” said Piao. 

Each member of the team teaches Precalculus content prior to the first test. Piao said, “Justin is in charge of the lesson, and Aiden’s job is to make the answer keys for the worksheets and the mock tests. Before the initial test, we structure the session such that it is mainly based on answering the questions our classmates have.” 

Students who miss lessons can watch recorded videos on the JAY Solution’ YouTube channel. This flexibility ensures that every student gains access to the support they need, no matter their schedule. 

JAY Solution refines its strategy for retakes, focusing on key areas where students need the most support. Piao said, “Before the retake, we utilize the mock test, our biggest strength, and we go over each question type, how to format the answers, and we try to point out unexpected question types that appeared in our initial test so we can correct small misconceptions our classmates may have.”

As more students turned to JAY Solution for help, its impact became clear. Mock tests, Q&A sessions, and lecture videos proved to be valuable study tools. Sophomore Belle Kim said, “Since they are my peers, I was able to ask them comfortably. It was really helpful because they explained nicely and with details.” 

In particular, students found the mock test a game-changer. “The mock test was really similar to the real test and it was really helpful for practicing before the real test day,” said Kim. They sent the practice exam out two days beforehand and on the day of the test, which resulted in students feeling more prepared, less anxious, and more confident. 

Many beneficiaries saw great test score improvements. “We sent out a feedback form to our classmates asking them what they want us to improve in. They mentioned score improvements, which included 70 to 99, fail to 85, and 88 to 100,” Piao said. 

Teachers took notice early on and fully supported the initiative. Ms. Wang, secondary math teacher, said, “I supported them so much because sometimes, students learn better from their classmates.”

Building on this idea, secondary math teacher Mr. Coleman said, “I think that it’s a fantastic idea to make a concerted effort not attaching lunch clubs or ASA, to just do it for the good of their own heart to try and lift up their own classmates for no benefit but their own class.” 

The for-students, by-students nature of the JAY Solution brought the sophomore class together. Huh said, “JAY Solution is also an opportunity to interact with our peers and have a better understanding of their personalities or their strengths and weaknesses, and it’s just generally a good method for getting to know our grade and for socialization as well.” 

Still, no system is perfect. “ I’m sometimes a little bit concerned that students focus only on the mock test papers, the questions themselves, instead of the topics or the concepts because they are going to just try to solve those questions only because they know that this type of question will be coming out on the test,” said Wang. 

The three sophomores aspire to expand to other grades. Freshman Justin Huh in ninth grade said, “The 10th-graders reached out to me first, because they wanted to expand into our grade because they knew that ninth-grade math was really difficult for us. So they reached out to me first, and after that, we were all formally invited by the 10th-graders to this introductory meeting, and from there we were invited to JAY Solution.”

The three sophomores’ commitment to helping others has grown beyond just their peers, leading them to take on a new initiative in the wider community. Piao said, “We reached out to a cultural center near Myeongdong station, and we are doing a tutoring volunteer. We are teaching elementary kids in after-school times in math, and also in English because we are international students. So we are expanding our tutoring initiative to places outside of just our school community.”

From late-night study sessions to bold goals, JAY Solution shows that education doesn’t end when you walk out of the classroom. These sophomores prove that sometimes, the best solutions come from the students themselves.