On November 7, the first term ends, and for many that means facing a “D” or an “F” in one or more classes.  Many students struggle to find tutoring options that work with their schedules. This year, the National Honor Society has created a program that provides tutoring services on Wednesday and Thursday during PREP . Students can receive assistance from a huge selection of content areas, including basic subjects like English and math along with many electives.

During PREP, the tutoring center is located in the cafeteria. Tables are set up with honor society tutors assigned with a specific day and a specific student. Mrs. Durann Ecalano and Ms. Jessica Baker (advisors of NHS) are organizing the tutoring and provide answers to questions. 

In the first month of the program, many students have chosen to take advantage of it. Anybody can easily sign up outside of classroom C121.  All teachers can recommend students.  

“The tutoring center is a great environment that bonds the students at Linganore,” said Gerald Fattah, Class of 2020.  “I have been tutoring since the start of the program and have seen improvement in the student I have been working with.”

For the past few years. Mrs. Mary Jo York has had after school tutoring in her classroom right after school until 3:30. This year, Mrs. Toni Shiderly has taken over the program. Similar to the PREP tutoring center, students from several honor societies, including the National English Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta, tutor other students and earn volunteer hours. 

“It is great to have all the different tutors come from different honors societies to help. I wish more students would take advantage of this program. Sometimes we will have 4 tutors but only 2 students show up.”

Along with Linganore’s tutoring options, Dual Enrollment students in classes like English 101 and History 202 have access to tutors online and on the Frederick Community College campus.  They also have virtual and on-campus library access.

“The online tutoring is great and available for anyone in the class to take advantage of,” said Class of 2020 member Bailey Spore, who is currently in English 101.

Many dual enrollment students don’t  use the online tutor because they don’t know about it or the results aren’t what they expected.

“I have not used the online tutor much because I do not feel like they understand my writing style and I work better with tutors in person.”

Online tutoring is not just limited to students participating in the Dual Enrollment program. Free study and tutoring software includes Khan Academy, Coursera, Open Course Online, Stanford Online, and iTunes U.

For specific standardized tests like the SAT and ACT, there are even more tutoring programs. Some students use Kaplan for the ACT.  On Kaplan, they have scheduled live sessions where students can ask a tutor questions as he or she goes through ACT or SAT subjects.   A 3-month live session fee was $75.  

For many people, though, online help isn’t the best option.

“It’s hard for me to ask questions and understand the content when the person isn’t there with me to show me in person,” said Class of 2020 Jacob Wilhelm.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to take advantage of the tutoring options available.