Middle school students provide academic help at elementary school.
By: Jeff Milgram
Like any good big brother, Matthew Smith, 13, has to set some rules.
"Work comes first," Matthew tells his "little brother," Gordon Jacksom, 8. And so the first order of business is homework.
Matthew is one of more than a dozen John Witherspoon Middle School students who give up an hour every Monday to help tutor youngsters at Riverside School.
"It’s a great way to change someone else’s life," Matthew said Monday.
And Gordon gets help with his homework and the companionship of a slightly older student.
Nearby, Jessica Goodman, 14, is helping Madison Provorny, who is "almost 8," with math and Max Woolley, 13, is helping Emma Wingreen, 7, with cursive writing.
"It’s hard," Madison said of her lesson.
The Riverside mentoring and tutoring program, which began in January National Mentoring Month is part of the YWCA after-school program and it is working so well that it has added a second day and may be expanded to the other three elementary schools in the Princeton Regional School District, said Nancy Jones, the parent coordinator.
"The kids are very excited," said Naila Dablan, the YWCA’s after-school supervisor.
The program has been more successful than anyone thought.
"We started a new community-service program at Riverside that has exceeded expectations," Mrs. Jones said. "Tutoring elementary school children was a good concept, but the success was the result of a highly motivated and committed group of JW students. The children are learning, having fun and making new friends," she said.
All Witherspoon students must perform four hours of community service and the tutors do much more than that, Mrs. Jones said.
"At first it was a small challenge to face, trying to keep Gordon on task, but we came to a compromise," Matthew said. "We sit down for a few minutes at the start of each session to review his assignments and plan our afternoon. Sometimes we work for 15 minutes and then play for 15 minutes. You have to present children with a reward as a result of their hard work."
It’s a win-win situation for all the students.
"I look forward to Monday afternoons at Riverside where I help younger students and I have made new friends," said Christina Jones, 13, Nancy Jones’s daughter.
Mrs. Jones also credits Christina with helping her develop the program and giving weekly feedback and support.
In fact, some of the tutors and Riverside students swap phone numbers and keep in touch outside of school, Mrs. Jones said.
The idea of mentoring goes back 3,000 years, Mrs. Jones said. "Kids can learn best by being taught by other kids," Mrs. Jones said.