For fourth grader Ophelia Dong, the program bridges
the gap between learning concepts in class and
remembering how to apply them on her own. Fourth
grader Aniyah Hatcher-Scott says the extra help has
helped raise her grades. And fellow fourth grader
Erin Saye just enjoys the chance to work with “the
older kids.”
Feedback from parents has also been positive. For
parents who have struggled to understand newer
approaches to teaching math, the club is a welcome
opportunity for children to learn from peers.
But for Holy Cross principal Maureen Ward, who
began the program in October 2017, Homework Club
also takes on a deeper significance.
“It’s special to see former Holy Cross students coming
back to be a part of it,” Ward says. “My favorite part
is the interaction of the older students with the
younger students.”
One of those returning students is Devon Gannon,
now a junior at Bonner & Prendie.
“I attended Holy Cross and loved it there,” Gannon
says, “so I was super excited for the opportunity to go
back, see my old teachers, and help out.”
McShane says the program has been a learning
experience for both the students and their
older tutors.
I’ve seen the student volunteers gain
a greater appreciation of the teaching
profession, as well as a greater
understanding of patience and kindness
as they work with younger kids,” McShane
says. “It also gives Holy Cross students the
opportunity to see older students from a
local school doing good in the community.
The club’s leaders hope to expand the program to
more Holy Cross students and Bonner & Prendie
volunteers. Coordinating schedules and participants’
transportation has proven to be the biggest
challenges. But participants say the reward of seeing
students grasp new concepts is well worth the effort.
“I helped one student who kept saying her addition
homework was too hard, and that she couldn’t do
it,” Gannon says, “But I kept encouraging her, and
it finally clicked. She was so proud of herself, she
started telling everyone around her that now she
knew how to do it.”
The collaboration between schools began after
a chance conversation with Bonner & Prendie
admissions counselor Sr. Anne Christine Kalbron
and Ward. She referred Ward to Matt McShane,
Bonner & Prendie’s Community Service Club
moderator and a teacher in the mathmatics department.
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