Moorestown students are now learning entirely remotely, and with students no longer in the classroom, they may not have the same tools to ask for help. So a group of Moorestown High School sophomores decided to create a program to ensure the district’s youngest learners don’t get left behind.
Adam Connor, Dylan Mies, Evan Schaffer and Lucas Megill created Homework Helpers, a free, virtual tutoring program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The program connects Moorestown High School student volunteers with younger students in need of tutoring via a Zoom video call.
Kate Mies, parent coordinator for Homework Helpers, said she was seeing her fellow parents post on Facebook to ask where their students could receive tutoring. She mentioned the service to the four sophomores — friends who are also co-founders of the nonprofit organization Lions Heart Moorestown — and they decided if there wasn’t a free resource for students to get help, they would create one.
Connor said the four put the word out on social media and through the high school-bulletin, to let students know about Homework Helpers. Since its creation, 36 students have signed up for tutoring and 26 high-school students have signed up as tutors.
“We’ve really been happy that we’ve got the word out as much as we have,” Schaffer said.
Parents can sign up their students via the Homework Helpers website, which asks parents what area their child needs help in. High school volunteers can also sign up via the website. Students are asked what subject they specialize in and what age group they would prefer to tutor. From there, tutors are paired with a student and set their own schedule. Volunteers are asked to commit at least one hour a week to the program.
Moorestown parent Rachel Licausi is a parent to three. She learned about Homework Helpers on Facebook and signed up her son, Jamison, a first grader at George C. Baker Elementary School. His tutor is helping him with his reading skills for two hours a week on Zoom.
Together, they practice using flash cards and read books together. Licausi said not only is her son enthusiastic about learning with his tutor, but his teacher noticed an improvement in his reading level within two weeks.
“This is an extraordinarily difficult time for parents juggling work, remote learning and worrying about the health and safety of our families,” she said. “We are grateful to the high-school students for designing this mutually beneficial program.”
Fellow parent Winnie Jiang has two children, one in fourth grade and one in fifth. She said online schooling has come with its challenges as children try to navigate learning at home on their own.
As a parent, Jiang revealed, she was losing quality time with her children because she was using family time to check their homework. She said it’s helped her family’s daily routine to have someone else the kids can turn to for assistance.
“Children are more comfortable to talk to their tutor about their homework; tutors (are) definitely more familiar with the school subjects,” Jiang added. “This program is beneficial for both parents and children.”
Dylan Mies said there’s a different type of connection that forms when a student is tutored by a fellow pupil instead of a parent or teacher.
“It’s easier for a kid to be engaged when they’re being taught by a kid instead of a teacher or parent,” he said.
Homework Helpers plan to continue tutoring even after the pandemic ends, with the hope of one day transitioning the program to in-person tutoring.
To learn more about Homework Helpers or to get involved, visit https://homeworkhelpersnj.wixsite.com/mysite.
