Unlike in a classroom where one teacher advises numerous students, FC’s chapter of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF) provides tutoring where students can receive one-on-one help with academics. This way, a student’s chance to comprehend the material increases due to the extent of attention. For four years, experienced peers from CSF have taught those in need of help.

As a free service, CSF offers tutoring every Wednesday after school in room 621 and to any student in need of academic assistance. If someone wishes for more time, they can schedule sessions with a paid tutor for further aid.

Tutoring commissioner Danielle St. Marie, ’12, notes how instructing students gives her a sense of accomplishment when the people she’s helping improve and acquire achievements.

“I tutored Lexie [Ellis, ’13] last year and in one class she improved by 30 percent in a semester,” St. Marie said. “And so, for me as a tutor, that?s really great. I’m really proud of Lexie’s hard work and in myself for being there to help her because I see her excitement and that makes me happy.”

Junior Lexie Ellis states how tutoring gave her one-on-one assistance she greatly needed, which is something she says only tutoring offers.

“I was in CSF tutoring because I was not doing too well in school, and I needed help big time,” Ellis said. “I went every Wednesday for a while and then I needed more help, so I got help from Danielle St. Marie and she started to help me, and she’s still my tutor today. My grades raised a lot; I went from a low GPA to a 3.5, which is really good for me. I think Danielle being there and giving me one-on-one time helped a lot, instead of working in class where everyone gets attention.”

According to St. Marie, tutors benefit by reinforcing old content they had previously learned.

“I started tutoring to help other kids, but also for myself to become better in academics,” St. Marie said. “It?s actually a great way for studying and reviewing for SAT prep, especially if you?re helping someone in math and you kind of relearn things from old math classes.”

Not every student who attends tutoring is struggling in school. Elora Hargis, ’14, takes advantage of CSF tutoring to get an outside view and advice on her school work from those who may be more experienced than her.

“I was getting tutored because I wanted a second opinion on a lot of my English essays and input from students who have gone through [Greg] Stobbe’s class or Senora’s [Beatriz Foth] class,” Hargis said. “And they know who they are and what they expect, so we’re on the same page. It’s good when you have a firsthand interaction with a upperclassman who knows what you’re going through and how to work through the process of doing an essay, or Spanish homework. I’ve been going since freshmen year, and I’m still doing it.”

CSF Adviser Molly Sargent claims tutoring is beneficial for every student, not just those who struggle.

“Of course, most of the students involve themselves in CSF tutoring because they are doing poorly in a class, or they don’t understand a math concept, or a paper coming up.” Sargent said. “However, even very capable students come to CSF tutoring because they hit a chapter in calculus they just don’t understand, and they can get some other person’s perspective to help them work through it.

Although some use tutors strictly for school assignments, Bible teacher Robert Foshee recalls receiving tutoring to improve SAT scores.

“Well, I had a tutor for taking the SAT, I took it once and I wanted to do better on it,” Foshee said. “So the tutor knew tips and skills how to study better. I was studying hard, but they taught me how to study efficiently and look at things better. After working with the tutor for about four weeks, I retook the test and raised my score like 300 points. It got to the points I wanted for schools and colleges.”

Overall, Sargent believes that tutoring gives students the opportunity to view things from an outside source.

“Tutoring is good for everyone,” Sargent said. “I mean, do you know anyone that can actually be successful completely on their own? We all need other people to give us a different perspective because we all get stuck in one way of thinking.”

CSF tutoring is available to anyone in need of support on every Wednesday from 3:05-4 p.m., with the exception of half days. For more information, read the Nov. 21, 2008 article, CSF initiates complimentary tutoring service.