HS tutors make their mark in NR schools

• PHOTO: Tutors

Photo by Jackie Grumish Fourth-grader Austin Fischer, left, and Collin Lieffort, a New Richmond senior, work through a math problem March 5. Lieffort is just one of several New Richmond High School students who work as student helpers in the elementary schools.

Talk about it

Collin Lieffort didn’t want to sit around during his study hall so he signed up for an independent study to work with students at Hillside Elementary.

“I started it because I didn’t want to sit in study hall, but now it’s something I look forward to every day,” said Lieffort, a New Richmond High School senior.

And he’s not the only one who looks forward to it.

Several fourth-graders in Bill Knutson’s class at Hillside Elementary said they also look forward to seeing their high school helpers.

“They’re funny and nice and make us laugh,” said Hunter Moody.

“And they help us with math and show us how to do the problems and then correct them,” said Austin Fischer.

Fischer said having Lieffort and Jared Kidder help him with math has improved his grade from an F to an A+ in accelerated math.

High school students work in several classrooms at the elementary schools, Knutson said.

Patrick Meath, a senior, has been working with third-graders in Karen Pape’s class since the beginning of the school year.

“I’ve always planned on doing something in education,” Meath said. “But this (experience) has really sealed the deal for me.”

Meath said he used the independent study as a test to figure out whether he’d like working at a school.

“It’s been amazing to watch them learn and see something click,” he said.

For Kidder, the experience has been similar.

“I want to do math of some sort, but I’m not sure what,” he said. “After this I could see myself teaching math.”

The high schoolers’ presence alone has made a huge impact on the students, Knutson and Pape agreed.

“They’re just great role models,” Pape said. “The students love them. Whenever we go on field trips we have to draw names for who can sit by (Meath) because everyone wants to.”

The high schoolers help out wherever they’re needed, they said. Sometimes that includes one-on-one tutoring and other times it means taking a small group of students to discuss a particular lesson.

“It’s great because they come in with different (teaching) strategies,” Knutson said.

“It’s about helping them work through the problems,” Kidder said. “Not just giving them the answer.”

For fourth-grader Dillan Thompson, the help he’s received from Lieffort and Kidder has increased his grade to beyond a standard A.

“I have an A++++++++++++++++ in accelerated math,” he said with a grin.

Being able to talk to the high schoolers about more than school lessons is also something the kids enjoy.

For example, Kidder plays on New Richmond High School’s basketball team. When he walked into the classroom on March 5, the students wanted to hear all about the regional game against Osceola (which the Tigers won 40-31).

“All of our high school helpers have had a huge impact on our students,” Knutson said. “In my classroom alone the kids are going to end the semester with A’s and B’s in accelerated math and that’s thanks largely to the work they’ve done.”

Tags: new richmond schools, education