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Free Tutoring Offered at Highland High

Apr 08, 2016 10:07AM ● By Elizabeth Suggs

By Elizabeth Suggs | [email protected]

Sugar House - From Monday through Thursday between 2:30 and 4 p.m., students at Highland High have a chance to make up homework and assignments through the school’s free after-school tutoring. 

This program is a chance for students to take care of their homework and assignments, as well as eliminate potential problems with homework, according to Collette Cornwall, science teacher and head of the tutoring department. 

“The kids we most often see are students who need to use the computer for some reason or if they have time between school and athletic practice,” Cornwall said. “A lot of kids come in for math.” 

Highland High has been doing free after-school tutoring for almost four years, according to Cornwall, who has been a part of the free tutoring program for about two years. While Cornwall is the overseer of the tutoring, she still makes time to help students in both science and low-level math. 

“I know enough about stuff that I can help,” Cornwall said. 

Even without her help the tutoring department, according to Cornwall, has enough heads to help students. Generally there is a science teacher, math teacher and an English teacher. Students who most often take advantage of the free tutoring are those who need help in math, or are students in ESL and just need clarifications on concepts and words. 

Tutoring eliminates procrastination and helps students to understand questions, Cornwall said. She added that having a tutoring department prevents students from not understanding a problem so much so that they don’t work through the homework.

Other students may even take part of the National Honor Society and will sometimes help in free tutoring because of the hours they need. 

“Many NHS chapters regularly engage in tutoring, whether for their peers in high school or at the middle/elementary schools in their communities,” David Cordts, associate director of the National Honors Society, said. “We don’t have any good data on the number of chapters that engage in this task but are aware of it being fairly common among chapters.”

The tutoring program, according to Cordts, supports “scholarship” as one of the four pillars in the NHS, with the other three being service, leadership and character. All four set the basis for students to take part in NHS and to continue any ongoing membership. 

“Tutoring is but one aspect of the service that all NHS chapters complete on an annual basis,” Cordts said. “The national guidelines do not stipulate the type of service that chapters must do, only that they are expected to complete one chapter service project each year — and then members are asked to complete additional individual service projects each year as well.”

According to the NHS, during the 2014–2015 school year, students who are part of the NHS were making a difference in their schools and communities by way of showing support through different student activities like tutoring. 

While tutoring is one of many different ways NHS students can get involved with their local schools and communities, it can also help out the schools and students. It gives students an opportunity to learn from fellow students who may or may not be in their age range. It helps, according to Cornwall, to have the students engage in tutoring with each other because it shows support. For Cornwall, having student-on-student support gives students positive reinforcement. 

The daily average fluctuates between 15–60 students, with many students coming in before the end of the term to ensure passing grades. 

“This is a safe place to be,” Cornwall said. “Students have a chance to work together and have access to the school’s technology.”