Afterschool program at Blind Brook aims to give students a helping hand
April 18, 2024 at 2:00 a.m.
Getting kids to sit down and do their homework can be a chore. As a mom of two Blind Brook students, Allison Conte has certainly experienced that difficulty.
“Sometimes trying to get them to work with us adults can be tricky,” she said. “They’re better at listening to different things from parents. When I tell him that it’s time to do homework, it’s a whole different story.”
On top of that, she’s found that her son Christopher, a Ridge Street Elementary School fourth-grader, is starting to have schoolwork that she had long-forgotten how to do.
“I haven’t been a student in a long time,” Conte laughed. “There’s a lot that he brings home that they taught me differently.”
To help families like the Contes, a fellow in the Blind Brook Schools community created an afterschool program providing homework assistance from those who may know it best—other students.
Every Monday and Thursday, high school sophomore Austin Frankel visits the Conte home on Rock Ridge Drive to help Christopher with math and reading homework for an hour each day.
“It’s not too much time, but not too little,” Conte said. “Christopher gets help, and he actually finds it exciting. He’s getting to work with a bigger kid.”
During their session together on Monday, Apr. 8, Frankel guided the fourth-grader through his math and spelling work. He offered tips to the youngster on how to remember the spelling of “fearless” by thinking of the two words it’s comprised of.
Conte said it’s something that she’s been looking for since the start of the school year, having brought up the topic at the Supporting Every Individual Difference (SEID) committee meetings.
When the request reached the ears of Blind Brook High School student Noah Becher, he took it upon himself to solve the problem. Thus, the Homework Helpers program came into being, bringing high schoolers to the homes of younger pupils to provide free after-school support.
The student running the show
As a sophomore, Becher keeps a full schedule. The Primrose Lane resident runs track, plays soccer and volunteers with the Port Chester-Rye-Rye Brook EMS on top of his academic responsibilities.
It’s a point of pride for him. “I firmly believe the busier you are, the more you can get done,” he said.
When his mother told him about the request for student tutors, he decided it was another project he wanted to add to his plate.
“My mom came home from a SEID meeting and said a parent was requesting some kind of system because sometimes parents can’t really work with their kids on homework,” he said during an interview at his home on Apr. 5. “It gave me the idea to start this tutoring program between high school and elementary school kids.”
Becher said he was called to the idea because he already had the tools of experience—previously having been a peer mentor.
“I used to tutor inner-city kids through an organization called The City Tutors, and I really enjoyed it,” the 16-year-old said. “I just like helping people in general. I want to study pediatric medicine one day, but I enjoy tutoring kids as well.”
Though he started the process of creating Homework Helpers at the start of the 2023-24 school year, it wasn’t until January that tutors were being sent out. Becher said he spent a lot of time preparing so he could run the program effectively.
“I sent out forms to families and students to make sure I could make pairs that fit as best as possible,” he said. Each form allows parents to select focus subjects for their child, schedule availability and provide any other information about their elementary school student they’d like to include.
Students interested in tutoring receive a similar form, which gives them the chance to tutor in their strongest subjects during times that fit in their weekly schedule.
Becher created a variety of spreadsheets to find the best matches. “It takes a lot of time,” he laughed. “I have to look through everything manually to see who fits who best.”
To focus on running the group, Becher isn’t a tutor parents will see in their home. “I’m only on the management side now,” he said. “I’ve really learned by being in this more administrative role.”
Giving Homework Helpers time to grow, Becher elected to start off small. “We’re doing a pilot program right now,” he said. “For the start, we sent out our form to just the SEID community.” He said that of the 100 families that were sent the form, 18 expressed interest in joining.
Now that Becher has found his footing with Homework Helpers, he’s looking to gradually expand.
“This month, we plan on rolling it out to at least one whole grade,” he said. “But it’ll be a slow growth. I’d rather be small and have a good reputation with families than be a big group that I can’t manage.”
That increase will require Becher to find more tutors. A prospect which he believes may be difficult.
“I’m definitely going to have to send more emails to recruit people,” he said. “It’s something I’m going to need to work on.” To attract more tutors, he’s worked with Blind Brook High School Assistant Principal Mark Greenwald to ensure they can be granted community service hours.
Any student interested in tutoring can email the sophomore at [email protected]
Characteristically, Becher only requested that the tutors receive that benefit.
“I’m not getting any hours right now,” he said. “I haven’t asked for any, I’m honestly just doing it for the community.”
He said the time he spends managing the program depends on the number of new signups. “If we get eight or nine new families interested, I put in about an hour or two each night,” Becher said. “But sometimes it’s slower and I just have to work for a handful of hours a week.”
During the slow weeks, he checks in with families to ensure they’re working well together.
According to Becher, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
A well-liked service
“Parents have said it’s really helped their kids,” Becher said. “They really like the fact that it’s a near-peer relationship. There’s an improvement in grades, but they’re socializing, too. With one family, if the pair finishes early, they talk and draw together.”
Conte’s feedback is in line with what Becher has seen.
“I completely recommend this to every parent,” she said. “I’m signing him up for it again next year, even if it’s not Austin (Frankel).”
In the three months that Frankel has worked with her son, Conte has seen a relationship build between the two.
“They’ve really developed how they work together,” she said. “Austin’s learned when Christopher needs a little break, but he knows how to get him to focus again. It’s a good relationship.”
Frankel agreed, saying he’s seen the fourth-grader come out of his shell.
“It’s really been a big difference from when I met him,” he said. “He was shy at first, but now he’s not afraid to ask any questions. It’s been a pretty good tutoring relationship.”
When asked which person he’d prefer to help with his homework, Christopher said Frankel with no hesitation.
“He understands me better than you do,” he said to his mom. He proudly described the improvements he’s made in his weekly spelling tests. “I used to get 10 out 14 on my tests, but now I’m getting 14 out of 14.”
Becher said getting such feedback has been “amazing,” and he hopes to keep Homework Helpers active as long as possible. “I’d like for someone else to keep it going once I’m not here anymore,” he said. “I just started it, but in a couple of years, someone can make it bigger and better.”
Comments:
You must login to comment.