Freshman Brandon Powell used to go to the library or straight home after school, but now he goes to Homework Club.
“[I go] to get some help on work that I don’t understand,” Powell said, as he stood up to get a Chromebook in Room 282 after school.
At Homework Club, he gets help with geometry and biology homework, a resource unavailable at the other after school school-sponsored option, the Media Center.
Homework Club is not a traditional “club” with a student president and registered members.
“It’s an opportunity for kids to work on homework and to get specific help on assignments,” club supervisor Jeffrey Steinbach said.
Homework Club was given that near-misnomer to promote an informal setting and “encourage as many students as possible to take advantage” of the club’s resources, according to Steinbach.
These resources, available Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Room 282 after school until 4 p.m., include Chromebooks, a quiet place to work and tutors. Homework Club has a partnership with the National Honors Society in which tutors from NHS can come get volunteer hours while the students who come to Homework Club, like Powell, can get help.
“My main objective is it for not it only be a study hall but also a place where students can come and get specific help in certain areas,” Steinbach said.
What differentiates Homework Club from other places to study like the library and other tutoring opportunities like going to an honors society at lunch is that it combines both the after school time and the availability of tutors. This is what ninth grade administrator Jane Cocker values about it. “Homework Club can offer you the space and time to do [work] but also have somebody there to help,” Cocker said.
Cocker sees Homework Club as part of a larger student learning and support system here. “It’s another part of the jigsaw in what we offer—supports and backups to students,” she said, including the honors societies, teacher tutoring at lunch and one-on-one help from teacher to student.
Cocker wrote and submitted the proposal to get funding for the club, which is what is new to the club this year. According to Steinbach, this was part of former principal Dr. Michael Doran’s plans.
By guiding Cocker in the application process, “Ms. Boldon transformed it into what it is,” Steinbach said.
The club is heavily advertised on the morning announcements.So far, the Homework Club has had a steady flow of students coming in to work or get help. “We get five to seven kids each of the three days till 4 [p.m.] or a little thereafter,” Steinbach said.
Mollika Singh
Staff Writer
