Rise of new tutoring program establishes budding potential for future growth

Recently released from hybrid and virtual models, some students may be experiencing difficulties adjusting to full school weeks with full classrooms. With the recent implementation of a tutoring program led by special education teacher Amy Von Holzen, she and many of her student tutors plan to grow and help as many people as possible.  

“Personally, I know parents who have asked, ‘how do I get my child set up with a tutor?’, and there's never been an answer because there really wasn't any sort of a process and so I thought it would be a good idea to try to get something set up,” she said. 

The program actually began pre-COVID-19 but has opened again earlier this year. Before going virtual, Von Holzen had been preparing by sending out a survey and gathering student’s names.

“I then went through a process of checking transcripts to make sure that tutors had gotten good grades in classes they wanted to tutor for,” she said. “Then I got teacher’s recommendations who vouched for the students.”

Tutors themselves are not given formal training but are given access to textbooks, class schedules, and general advice depending on the teacher or subject. For now, the program holds six tutors, helping in a multitude of different subjects and classes.

“We have two different sessions for algebra one because that was the biggest area that students said they wanted to open,” Von Holzen said. “Other classes include geometry, world cultures, English, and biology. Generally what I found was it was mostly freshmen who were looking to receive tutoring which actually worked out kind of nicely since that's the target population right now.”

Especially due to the recency of the project’s re-advertisement, there have been very few students showing interest so far. 

“I think students should be willing to give it a go because I know it's hard to ask for help a lot of the time for a lot of students,” senior tutor Ben Kopper said. “It can be very difficult to do either because they don't want to ask for help because some feel that they should be able to do it on their own or they’re intimidated by their teacher. I want to be there if they can't ask their teacher or won't ask for help. “

Similarly, junior tutor Reese Gardiner is very willing to help, and it can be as easy as emailing Von Holzen and having her arrange it. Currently, it seems the only option to tutor would be during off hours because tutoring before or after school would require supervision, which is not possible as there isn't staffing set up for that as of yet.

“I feel like for this year people should come because we're all struggling in one way or another and people need to realize it's okay to be struggling,” Gardiner said. “Our tutors are here to help them pass those classes even if they just have one small question we can answer.”

Though the program is greatly beneficial for those looking for help with school, it also presents an equally excellent opportunity for those who are leading and teaching in the program.

“I'm likely going to write a letter of recommendation for them if they need something like that and they'd be able to put it on their resume,” Von Holzen said. “It’s also just the experience that they get from it which could be valuable for those who want to teach in the future. Some of them have even asked for volunteer hours for it too and I absolutely do if they do so many hours a week.”

With the audience that has tried the program so far, Reese finds that people usually think of subjects like math or Spanish when thinking of tutoring but emphasizes that other subjects are just as available and important. 

“I'm looking forward to actually helping people because I'm the world cultures tutor for drop-in tutoring and no one really thinks that they need it,” she said. “It’s different to tutor for a history class because in math you can work through problems together in steps. In history, it's kind of hard for you to work together to find an answer when there's just an answer that you can't really solve.”

Although some may be wary of the program because it could just be tutors giving students answers, Kopper reassures that he and others are doing as much as they can to educate rather than just reveal.

“There's an amount of interaction that you want to have with a student and any teacher could probably tell you that you want the students to be able to figure things out and you can't just sit them down and talk at them,” he said. “It's sort of a matter of ‘okay, how can we do this problem together and how can I know as a tutor that you are listening and understanding?’ In general, I am trying to pick up things that my own teachers have done and do and see if I can utilize some of those in tutoring.”

On the other hand, Gardiner does not want students to join the program without at least a little preparation and willingness to learn.

“They just need to make sure that they come to us with questions, otherwise we don't know what they're learning about or a direction to go,” she said. “If someone asks you a question, it can be hard to work through some things to the point where you're not just straight up giving them the answer so we need full cooperation on both ends to be able for them to truly learn.”

Principal Erin Kohl believes that a new model could speak to a larger, newer audience for the student tutors and invites all students to a program that holds a lot of promise.

“These are other students who are tutoring you who have signed up to be tutors and truly do want to help their fellow classmates,” she said. “You can sign up and try it a couple of times and if you don't feel like it's helpful or if it's not for you you don't have to continue to do it. I think oftentimes students are able to explain things in ways that other students can understand better than we as adults can do. There's no reason to not give it a try.”

By Javit Thao

February 26, 2021

Oshkosh West Index Issue 5 Volume 117