Skidmore Student Volunteers Tutor Local High Schoolers

(Reprinted from the Saratogian, November 6, 2006)

Skidmore students tutor math at YMCA

By Margarita Raycheva

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Every time Saratoga Springs High School junior Danielle Pacelli has a problem with her math homework, she brings her books and questions to the YMCA on Broadway.

The tutors there are only a few years older than Pacelli, but she doesn't mind, as long as they guide her through her brick-size algebra textbook.

"Here you can actually get somebody to explain things on one-on-one basis," she said.

The YMCA's free tutoring program is taught by Skidmore College volunteers and aims to help local children battle difficult homework assignments.

Fifteen Skidmore students are participating in the program this year. The program is open for students of all ages, but it tends to attract students from Maple Ave. Middle School and Saratoga Springs High School, said Mika Laudicina, youth and sports director at the YMCA on Broadway.

The idea for the program was had by Anna McGlynn, a Skidmore student, who graduated last year.

"We have tried to start it for five years," Laudicina said. "We finally got it off the ground last year. We are trying to get more students to see that this is a free program and it is available to them."

About 25 students from Saratoga Springs schools come for the sessions at the YMCA on Broadway each week.

Pacelli has been a regular at the tutoring sessions since the program started. Getting help with a specific algebra problem is not always easy at school, where the teachers get bombarded with questions after the class is over, she said. Private tutoring is just too expensive.

"Math tutors charge $50 an hour," she said.

Volunteers in the program come from different Skidmore College majors and provide help with a range of subjects.

But so far math-related questions have prevailed. One 10-year-old Maple Avenue sixth-grader had so much trouble with math that she was assigned a tutor, who works solely with her, said Cassandra Allen, who is in charge of the Skidmore volunteer team.

Allen, a junior majoring in math, looks at the sessions as a fun way to get teaching experience.

"I want to be a math teacher, that's why I am doing it," she said.

Whether they go over functions or health class handouts, tutors and students seem to enjoy their time together.

"They explain things differently than our teachers," said Kristen Burt, a senior at Saratoga Springs High School.

Burt and her tutors have a lot to talk about - from Burt's pending college application, to relationships and cell phones. In between all that, finding the answers to a math problem gets easier, Burt said.

"Here you can do math, but you are not forced to do it," she said.

Tutoring sessions are held at the YMCA on Broadway Monday, Tuesday and Thursday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

©2006 the Saratogian