St. Albert’s public library has teamed up with some local online tutors to give high school students free help with their homework.
St. Albert Public Library announced Jan. 6 that it has partnered with Discover Prep to offer free online tutoring to Grade 7 to 12 students.
Discover Prep is an Edmonton-based non-profit that sees recent post-secondary graduates offer free one-on-one homework help and mentorship to junior and senior high students.
Applying for post-secondary is a stressful time for most students, and many could benefit from having a recent grad help them through the process, said Celeste Trottier, teen services librarian at the St. Albert Public Library. The COVID-19 pandemic has also made it tougher for many students to keep up with their education.
“At these times students need these kinds of educational supports more than ever,” Trottier said.
The library’s announcement coincided with the launch of the province’s new e-Tutoring Hub the following week, which offers Grade 4-9 students free pre-recorded lessons on literacy and numeracy to help bridge educational gaps caused by the pandemic. Trottier said this was a coincidence and that Discover Prep is unrelated to the e-Tutoring Hub.
Students helping students
Discover Prep co-founders Nawreen Hena, Justin Co, and Rishi Durupala said they came up with the idea for Discover Prep in 2019 while at the University of Alberta.
“We came to realize our transition into university was not as smooth as it could be,” Hena said, and they wanted to help other students more easily make the jump from high school.
High school teachers must focus on the curriculum and often don’t have time to teach students proper study habits or independence, Hena said. Many are also decades removed from their university days and don’t remember what their freshman experience was like.
Durupala and Co said university throws a million new challenges at students at once, including grade curves, making their own schedules, and a massive workload, all of which they must face without the help of a teacher to stay on task. The mental health of many suffers as a result.
Hena said Discover Prep is backed by a corps of recent grads with passion for education. High school students can pop into one-on-one tutoring sessions from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays to get advice on various subjects and university life. These sessions are online for now, but the group hopes to resume its in-person sessions at Edmonton libraries and start them at St. Albert ones soon.
St. Albert resident Elsa Amaya said she teaches students Spanish, social studies, and life skills such as scheduling and holding yourself accountable as a tutor with Discover Prep — skills she struggled to learn during her first year at the U of A.
“The experience of going from high school to university was huge,” she said, and her grades suffered as a result.
Amaya said she enjoys tutoring through Discover Prep because it gives students help they might not otherwise be able to afford. It also helps her practice online instruction and relationship building, which will be useful for her teaching degree.
Hena and Co said Discover Prep is looking for more tutor volunteers, as it has seen an uptick in demand during the pandemic.
Trottier said Discover Prep sessions are listed on the library’s event calendar and are set to start Jan. 12.
Visit www.mydiscoverprep.com for details.
