
After
school
hours
on
a
weekday
afternoon,
Charles
J.
Colgan,
Sr.
High
School
senior
Joshua
Forgas
and
junior
Kesa
Hamner
are
meeting
over
Zoom
with
a
Coles
Elementary
School
kindergartener
and
a
first
grader.
One
of
the
high
school
students
is
counting
while
another
is
drawing
a
visual
representation
of
addition
problems
on
a
whiteboard.
The
Coles
Elementary
students
are
actively
engaged
in
the
lesson,
and
when
they
grasp
the
math
concept,
all
four
students
smile
and
become
excited.
This
is
an
example
of
the
successful
tutoring
program
created
through
a
partnership
between
Colgan
High,
Benton
Middle
School
and
Coles.
The
partnership
started
when
Tara
Hamner,
English
to
speakers
of
other
languages
(ESOL)
teacher,
reached
out
to
the
National
Honors
Society
(NHS)
club
members
at
Colgan
and
the
National
Junior
Honors
Society
(NJHS)
club
members
at
Benton
Middle,
in
search
of
math
and
reading
tutors
for
her
students.
Eighty-eight
middle
and
high
school
students
responded
within
a
week
with
offers
to
help.
"The
NHS
and
NJHS
students
are
outstanding
students
who
know
how
to
learn
and
have
proven
to
be
academic
leaders
in
their
schools,"
Hamner
explained.
The
Coles
tutoring
team
includes
Julie
Keaney,
ESOL
teacher,
Kathy
Miller,
reading
specialist,
Heather
Mainwaring,
school
counselor,
Kathryn
Forgas,
principal,
and
Hamner.
They
identified
students
who
would
benefit
from
tutoring,
then
Veronica
Mejia,
school
secretary,
called
the
families
of
the
students
to
offer
the
service.
Over
90
students
at
Coles
are
now
receiving
weekly
tutoring
for
30
minutes
to
an
hour
and
a
half
from
Benton
and
Colgan
students.
Hamner
explained,
"The
Coles
students
and
their
tutors
have
been
matched
for
academic
continuity
and
to
help
form
positive
relationships.
Each
tutor
was
supplied
with
appropriate
academic
material
for
their
specific
student
to
help
them
grow.
The
tutors
have
added
their
own
creativity
and
energy
to
their
sessions,
which
has
been
amazing
for
the
Coles
students."
Helping
with
the
tutoring
program
has
become
more
than
just
earning
service
hours
for
the
NHS
and
NJHS
students.
"My
favorite
thing
about
tutoring
the
kids
is
seeing
them
grow.
Within
a
few
weeks,
they
are
making
progress.
I
love
the
eagerness
to
learn
and
complete
assignments.
Tutoring
makes
my
day,"
explained
Mogale
Stewart,
a
junior
at
Colgan.
Colgan
junior
Steven
Gestrich
shared,
"When
I
got
into
my
first
tutoring
session,
the
third-grader
I
was
teaching
was
so
energized
and
I
could
tell
that
they
were
going
to
be
fun
to
work
with.
We
had
our
first
session
and
when
I
returned
from
the
zoom
breakout
room,
I
still
saw
the
energy
and
happiness
of
the
children
and
thought
to
myself
that
this
was
going
to
be
an
awesome
experience."
The
Coles
students
enjoy
receiving
praise
from
their
tutors.
Emerson,
a
third-grader,
said,
"I
like
tutoring
because
I
learn
new
words
and
I
like
the
books
my
tutor
chooses
for
me
to
read.
He
knows
what
kind
of
books
I
like."
The
tutoring
sessions
are
scheduled
on
Mondays
and
Wednesdays
using
Zoom.
The
Coles
tutoring
team
observe
the
sessions.