By Brandon Nguyen
The Homework-N-Help program returns back to Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) in the library to provide students with additional tutoring from FVHS teachers. While still tentative, the program is from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday except on holidays. Students can find which specific subjects are available each day on the school website.
This service is available to all students, but there is a special emphasis on students with D’s and F’s to take advantage of this. Teachers and parents who would like their students to go can assign a verification sheet to make sure their student is utilizing the additional support.
“We continue to look at our students that are getting D’s and F’s. We know we have a number of struggling students,” Principal Paul Lopez said. “We want our students that are struggling a little bit in class to get the support they need to do better in the classroom.”
The program originally started during the 2019-2020 school year, but was sidetracked due to the Coronavirus. Now with FVHS having a Title 1 status, the federal government has provided additional funds to help relieve part of the socio-economic struggle. Having a Title 1 status means that at least 40% of the students are from low-income families.
“The day I worked Homework-N-Help, there were only three students that asked me. I hope we get double that [next time],” chemistry teacher Michael Olsberg said. “I think that the students knowing that there is someone there, more than an ICHAT bot, that can provide face to face instruction is comforting to the student population.
This program is expected to be different from the paper.co, the 24/7 online tutoring service the district provides because there is personal interaction and students are working directly with FVHS teachers who may be more familiar with the curriculum.
“We anticipate that [paper.co] will continue to be used. It’s pretty frequently in English and Math classes right now,” Head of Homework-N-Help and Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction Jon Hurst said. “We think that Homework-N-Help can offer students more in other subjects where students need more support. We want them to take advantage of the opportunity to get one-on-one help with teachers because it’s more effective.”
So far, there hasn’t been any changes from the 2019-2020 Homework-N-Help program except that only teachers are tutoring students. Previously, students who were taking a high level course would tutor students in a lower level course for volunteer hours. Teachers who decide to tutor in the Homework-N-Help program are receiving additional payment for their service through the Title 1 funds.
Both Lopez and Hurst expressed that currently, the biggest challenge is getting students to attend Homework-N-Help in the first place.
Lopez explained that everything is still tentative and that the program is still new. They will collect data from the sign in sheets and feedback from teachers to use as data to see where they can best fit the needs of students.
“We are willing to look at it to see if we can make tweaks or changes to make it better for students. We know we have students with extracurricular activities right after school,” Lopez said. “We’ll talk about it at our department coordinate meetings.”
The school also wants to do a stronger advertising campaign through having teachers talk about it in their class, Parent Square, Baron Broadcast News, ASB and other avenues.
Overall, Homework-N-Help is part of a larger program at FVHS known as multi-tiered-support systems of support (MTSS). Hurst explained that in the first tier, there is good instructional teaching in the classrooms and coordinating with parents. In the second and third tier, there are more individualized interventions such as Homework-N-Help and the Advancement Via Individual Determination program.
“We’re still transitioning back to school and being in person. Having Homework-N-help is another opportunity to interact with teachers and develop a relationship,” Hurst said. “Whether it’s academic or you just need someone to talk to, that’s a great resource.”
The administration was pleased that they were able to get teachers from all departments, but are still hoping to recruit more, whilst being respectful of the teachers’ times.
“We’re fortunate that they’re willing to give their time outside of school to help students outside their typical hours,” Hurst said. “But we’re going to continue to reach out and recruit teachers and hope that we can get as many subjects covered as we can.”
For students who are struggling or would like better understanding in their school work, they are encouraged to attend Homework-N-Help. The school is making an investment in this program with the hopes it raises students’ grades and sets them up better for success.
“We always want students to have options when they graduate,” Lopez said. “We all know if things aren’t going well in the classroom, sometimes those doors close and we want the doors to be wide open for all of them.”
