Homework Hotline Wfb Schools
Pamula Harrison
Did you leave your notebook at school? Were you absent today? Do you need a reminder about a special project? The homework hotline is here to help! Each day, the new assignments will be updated by 3:30 PM.
Students in grades six to 12 with questions about math homework or concepts can call and speak to a college student who is trained to tutor math and has acquired all of the required clearances to work with children. The hotline is open Sunday through Thursday evenings throughout the school year from 6 to 9 p.m. Tutors are available to assist with general math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus and statistics. The tutors will guide the students through the process of solving the problem, so that the students will learn how to complete similar problems on their own.
This method has been very successful at RHIT, with the website indicating that more than 98 percent of the students who call the hotline indicating that the tutors helped them understand how to complete the problems, and the same percentage would call the hotline again.
The following public school districts in the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 have elected to participate in the program: Blue Mountain; Mahanoy Area; North Schuylkill; Pottsville Area; Saint Clair; Schuylkill Haven Area; Shenandoah Valley; Tamaqua; Tri-Valley; and Williams Valley. Participating non-public schools include: Assumption BVM; Marian Catholic; Nativity BVM.; Saint Ambrose; Saint Jerome Regional; Saint Joseph for Special Learning; Saint Nicholas; and Trinity Academy.
"Oh yeah, all the time. All the time," said Diana Lin, a senior at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, of how often she is stumped when assisting high schoolers with challenging math or science homework.
The college student-run resource saw an uptick in demand during the pandemic, and even though nearly all K-12 schools are now back to full-time, in-person learning, the calls to the hotline keep coming, said Gabriela Gamiz, founding Homework Hotline staff member and the college's director of community engagement.
The Harvey Mudd Homework Hotline is just one of a handful of college-based free homework help services across the country. Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, for instance, runs an "AskRose" homework helpline. Texas A&M University in College Station hosts the on-demand "Aggie Homework Helpline" for Texas families with pre-K-12 students needing homework help, review for an upcoming test or even practice with reading skills.
While many of these college-run homework assistance programs got started before the pandemic, there's a renewed focus on the various resources available to elementary, middle and high school students as they recover from pandemic-related academic setbacks or even seek to accelerate their learning.
School systems are using American Rescue Plan funding to create or expand programs to address learning loss, including tutoring activities. An analysis by FutureEd at Georgetown University, using data collected by Burbio from 4,155 districts and charter schools, shows 1,131 school systems are investing ARP money in tutoring initiatives.
There are a variety of tutoring models school systems are turning to, according to Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education and economics at Brown University. They include districts creating their own programs, contracting with tutoring organizations for specific services, and using a service available to students 24/7, Kraft told K-12 Dive in February.
The Homework Hotline at Harvey Mudd College, a private college known for its science and engineering programs, took its first call in 2010. The tutors at the time had expected the inaugural call to be about algebra or even calculus, Gamiz said.
The hotline is open Monday-Thursday, 6-9 p.m. PT, and a typical evening has about eight to nine tutors on duty. Tutoring can be conducted in English as well as in Mandarin, Spanish and Tagalog depending on the tutoring staff at work each night.
Tutors at the hotline average 3,000 calls per academic year and most calls come from middle and high school students looking for help with trigonometry, geometry or algebra. But tutors also receive calls from younger students grappling with division, graphing, pre-algebra equations and other topics.
"I would just patiently walk through it, give examples, make sure that they understand the concept and can work through their homework problems on their own," said Lin, who will graduate this spring with a degree in engineering.
Alex Bishka, a Harvey Mudd senior, is another tutor at the Homework Hotline. His favorite call took place a few years ago when a frustrated student needed help with an algebra problem. Bishka's first attempts to explain variables did not make sense to the caller, but after rearranging the equation and explaining the information for the third time, the student finally understood.
"They kind of seemed to be really happy, and I think by the end of the call, they were just over the moon and being able to finally solve their homework assignment and actually understand what they're doing in class," said Bishka, who will graduate this spring with a computer science degree.
One big challenge for both tutors and callers is trying to explain math problems and solutions over a phone line. Callers can share the math or science problem with a tutor through a Dropbox link if needed.
But the inability to see the exact assignment that has a caller perplexed has helped Lin become a better communicator. "Being able to practice that [communication] skill and be able to understand how the other person on the line is grasping a problem, that's really helpful for me," Lin said. "I'm sure I'll be using those skills in the future as I'm working with people."
Tutors go through a training program that includes instruction on working with minors and using supportive language when guiding callers through equations. Tutors are paid $16 to $17 per hour and have flexibility to set their own schedule.
The Homework Hotline has agreements with four local school districts to conduct outreach, such as booths at back-to-school nights and football games, to let students' families know this resource is available.
Anthony Quan, STEM coordinator at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, has shared information about the program with district teachers. "Homework Hotline is a great resource that connects community to schools, college to kids and imagination to inspiration," Quan said in a statement.
In response to the wave of K-12 school closures across the United States due to COVID-19, a few concerned teachers of the blind and advocates got together to organize a free, homework help hotline for blind/visually impaired students. Check out the details below, and share with others.
Areas of hotline help include: navigating accessible websites with JAWS, Nemeth and literary braille reading and writing, navigating tablet/laptop using JAWS and Over, and using refreshable braille display.
Monique is a TVI and president of VISTAS Education Partners. She has 20 years of experience working with students in a range of K-12 public and private schools. Monique is currently a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University researching the intersection of disability, education, and diverse identities. She lives in Highland Park, NJ with her husband, three sons, two cats, and her faithful dog. She is an active member of her community who serves on the Board of Education and other local organizations.
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