Image by Gabriella Carli
In an average classroom at Malden High School, a teacher is not always able to sit down and explain everything to every single student. Sometimes it is because classrooms exceed 30 students and sometimes it is simply because some students have their own unique learning methods.
As an alternative, a Peer Tutoring Program was offered where students can go after school and get help from other students. In 2013, Malden Teen Enrichment Center Coordinator Cathy MacMullin and former teacher at Malden High School Arlene Ceppetelli took the initiative to make a change by working together to create the Peer Tutoring Program.
MacMullin realized that, although she was already involved in local teen engagement, she wanted to create a program that emphasized in academic “enrichment.” That is when she asked Ceppetelli to start the tutoring program at the High School.
MacMullin wanted students as well as student athletes to ¨not only strengthen their academics but to also understand the importance of education in their success.¨ MacMullin emphasized that ¨student athletes tend to think just about the athletics¨ but through this program she wanted to ¨create an environment where student-athletes can seek the help to keep their grades up.¨
According to Arlene Ceppetelli, they run a ¨very easy system.¨ The peer tutoring sessions are every Tuesday and Thursdays and students are able to request help on any subject they would like assistance on. The tutors come in and sign in for anything they have knowledge on and if there is a specific subjects no one has signed in to tutor, they are able to reach out to the high school and request for some student help.
The Program was first ran at the Malden Teen Enrichment Center for the first five years but ¨since there are so many different activities going on in the MTEC the noise becomes unbearable which is why in the past year it was moved over to the high school library.¨
Library Supervisor Mary Liberge thinks ¨it is a great environment for students to get together to do school work without any distractions¨ and ¨Ms. Ceppetelli has done a great job putting the program together so that when students step into the room they know what they are here for.¨
Last Year, the program had about 25 tutors. ¨ There are about 12 tutors every single meeting after school¨ Ceppetelli said. ¨[They] understand that the tutors are involved in different things such as sports which is why [they] really try to be flexible and work with peer tutor´s spare time.¨
Ceppetelli, MacMullin, and Liberge all agreed that this program is a benefit for both the students who need help and the peer tutors. ¨Tutors not only get community service hours but also get to build budding friendships and strengthen their own skills in being an educator.” As for students who seek help ¨they are able to get that ´Aha-moment´ when they finally get what was confusing them.¨
Daniel Augustin, a peer tutor who has been tutoring since his freshman year, and he has tutored Spanish, Geometry, and French. He explained that ¨the process of becoming a tutor is really simple but something he faced a challenge with was finding a way to explain a topic or subject to their peer in a way they can understand it.¨
Augustin initially started the program because ¨[he] wanted to be a helping hand because [he] recognizes the the frustration in not understanding something.”
The Peer tutoring program will launch on October 29th and will be held in the library after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Ceppetelli invites everyone to join and reiterates that ¨there is not a limit to what [they] can help students with.” In the past they have helped seniors and juniors with their college essays, with applying for scholarships and with skills on how to improve scores on the SAT.
Ceppetelli and MacMullin have expressed that ¨[they] would love to see more students become tutors and for more students to seek help.¨ All there is to it is for students interested in becoming tutors to contact [her] through her email: aceppetelli@maldenps.org and she will share all the details.
