School aims to open tutoring center after school

Principal Greg Louie’s goal for the beginning of November is to open the tutoring center until 5 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. As of yet, this has not been possible due to a lack of staffing. 

So far this year, the tutoring center has only been open during tutorial, whereas it was open from 9:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m. every school day during the last school year. 

The reason for this change is that staff member Marina Barnes, who oversaw the tutoring center last year, has moved to work as the coordinator the Student Wellness Center in the remodeled 800 wing this year. During tutorial, special education aide Michael Morosin is supervising the tutoring center but not after. 

On Oct. 14, Louie posted the available tutoring center position on EdJoin, a nationwide education job website. The job will be part-time with an average annual salary of $31,403 to $45,560. The administration has not yet hired anyone to replace Barnes in the tutoring center during class time or after school. 

On Oct. 16, Morosin restarted the student tutor and tutee system that last year’s tutoring center offered. Willing tutors write their name, time availability and subjects they want to tutor in a binder, and a tutee does the same in a different binder. Two students are matched together if their free times and subjects coincide. 

No students have yet signed up to tutor or be tutored, but Morosin said it does not mean that students will not sign up when the tutoring center is open during the school day and after-school hours. 

“I see a big need for tutoring during the day when students aren’t scheduled to be in class,” Morosin said. “I believe the students that would visit the tutoring center would be more prone to wanting a particular tutor if it were open during the school day.” 

This year, along with student tutors, Louie said four community members have volunteered to aid students in subjects such as math, chemistry and physics when the center opens after school. None of the community members are parents of students at the school, and some are affiliated with tutoring organizations in the area. They are signed up to be in the center on different days — for instance, there will be two tutors on Monday and three on Thursday. 

Although the tutoring center’s primary purpose is to provide academic assistance to students, Morosin said that the atmosphere in the tutoring center is relatively relaxed during tutorials.

“Compared to the library, the tutoring center is very casual,” he said. “Students can eat and socialize, and for the most part, people are adhering to the general ethic of being calm and composed and doing something purposeful.”