Potomac’s three tutoring centers, the Math and Science Collaboration Center (MSCC), the Language Center (TLC), and the Writing Center, are supposedly cornerstones of academics at Potomac. But are these centers accomplishing all that they were created to do? As a leader and tutor for the MSCC and TLC, I’ve had a window into the inner workings of two of the centers—and why they might not be reaching their full potential. I also sat down with Ms. Williamson and Ms. Perry, the faculty leaders of the Writing Center, to learn how the Writing Center operates and why it seems to be experiencing more success than the MSCC and TLC.

Here are a few quick facts about Potomac’s tutoring centers. 

• The MSCC has 70 tutors (mostly sophomores, juniors, and seniors) for 21 different math and science classes. 
• The TLC has 18 tutors (juniors and seniors) for all world language classes. 
• The Writing Center has 40 tutors (all seniors) for support with writing in English and history classes. 
• The MSCC and Writing Center each have a physical room, but the TLC does not. 

The biggest challenge that we face in the TLC and MSCC is that students don’t come in to ask for help. In three years as an MSCC tutor, I’ve seen at most five people walk into the MSCC during their study hall to work with a tutor. At the TLC, we have a form on our website that students can use to “book a tutor.” This year, zero students have filled it out. At the Writing Center, on the other hand, Ms. Williamson shared that during the first semester, most of the 40 tutors reported having tutored between one and four students. A few had tutored more than four, and only one had tutored no students.

Maybe the lack of attendance at the MSCC and TLC means that students would rather seek help from their teachers than from older students. After all, we have a 25-minute conference block each day during which students are encouraged to meet with their teachers. On one hand, this makes a lot of sense. Imagine you have a question in your chemistry class. Would you rather get help from someone who is familiar with the material and used to explaining it, or someone who took the class a few years ago and only might remember how to answer your question? The answer seems obvious, right? In English and history classes, though, meeting with a tutor seems to make more sense because asking for help often means a one-on-one meeting with your teacher. Ms. Williamson said, “I think the best time to go to a tutor, as opposed to your teacher, is when you want confirmation that you’re accomplishing your goal, if you’ve already identified your goal.” She added, “When, if you go through the checklist, and you say, ‘Okay, do I understand the prompt? Do I understand my knowledge base?’ And if the answer to both of those is ‘yes,’ and you still have questions, those probably aren’t questions for your teacher and would be better questions for your tutor.”

 In STEM and world language classes, this distinction is a little blurrier. Maybe you’re confused about the passé composé, and you have a French quiz on Friday. Who would it be better to talk to: a teacher or a tutor? And, in STEM and language classes, multiple students can meet with their teacher at the same time. Walk into a math classroom during conference, and you’ll likely find students working on a problem set, reviewing for a test, or asking questions—all of which wouldn’t be as effective in the MSCC, where there isn’t a teacher around to answer questions all the time. 

In a small high school setting, it’s challenging for the MSCC and TLC to be as effective as we want them to be. However, after talking to Ms. Williamson and Ms. Perry about the Writing Center, I came up with four suggestions about how the MSCC and TLC could be changed to better serve the Potomac community.

• Assign one or two tutors to each block of a math or science (or language) class

Because there are so many tutors, students don’t seem to know who the tutors for their classes are. (I couldn’t tell you who more than one or two tutors have been for my math and science classes over the past four years.) If each block has a specific tutor, students can develop a closer relationship with this tutor and feel more comfortable asking them for help. And, the tutor can follow along with the curriculum more closely so that they’re prepared to answer questions. 

• Require freshmen to visit the MSCC and TLC

Requiring freshmen to visit the MSCC and TLC would mean that every freshman would know what the MSCC and TLC (and in the case of the MSCC, where it is). Ms. Williamson shared that, this year, all freshmen were required to visit the Writing Center during their Macbeth unit. Also, if the TLC and MSCC have tutors assigned to each block, students can begin to build a relationship with their tutor. If students don’t feel comfortable meeting by themselves with their tutor, they could meet in groups. This might seem like a lot of work for the tutor, but if students are putting “MSCC tutor” on college applications, shouldn’t it mean something?

• Have review sessions once a week during conference, not just before tests

Having MSCC tutors attend teacher-sponsored review sessions before tests has been one of the most successful initiatives of the MSCC this year. Students can come to review with their teacher; however, if their teacher is busy, a tutor is there to help them. And, if the tutor is confused, they can seek confirmation from the teacher that they’re explaining something correctly. If tutors develop a regular pattern of review sessions, students will know that their tutor will always be free at a certain time. These review sessions could be held in the classroom if teachers are available, or in the MSCC if the teachers are not available. Having regular sessions with an MSCC tutor would allow students the chance to build a habit of asking questions and working with a tutor.

• Have a more in-depth training at the beginning of the year 

At the beginning of the year, MSCC and TLC tutors have a very short, informal training. As a result, I’ve found that tutors aren’t prepared to help students when they ask questions. A more in-depth training would help tutors feel more confident in their ability to help students and help students feel more confident that a tutor could help them. 

The MSCC and TLC do more than just tutoring—this year, the MSCC hosted celebrations for Pi Day and Mole Day, and the TLC hosted a multicultural food exchange and a lunchtime conversation with a Potomac alum. Into next year and beyond, I hope that our three tutoring centers will continue to support students, teachers, and learning at Potomac.