Local students start their own tutoring program

Photo provided by Hwikeun Kim

A group of local students have started their own tutoring program in an attempt to efficiently help their fellow classmates.

Warren High School seniors Hwikeun Kim and Victoria Real are both tutors for the new Everyone Can Tutor service, which was put together and is run by students.

Kim, the founder and president of the program, says that Everyone Can Tutor is based off of student schedule and one on one help.

“We saw a flaw in our tutoring system currently offered at our school, which is done by our teacher,” said Kim. “We tried to figure out a way to make it better.”

That process started with a survey of other students.

The results of that survey showed that many students struggled finding the time to make it to tutoring.

“At Warren High School, we already have a tutoring program. But teachers have the fixed tutoring, so it’s based on their schedule,” said Real. “Sometime’s it will be in the morning, sometimes it will be after school.

“A lot of [students], especially student athletes, they have morning practice or they have practice after school. In general, life gets busy…just because you’re busy one day you might not get the right tutoring that you might need.”

Students also found themselves in a classroom setting as well, and one on one tutoring time was hard to come by.

“It’s like 15, 20 [students] to one [teacher],” said Kim.

“Our tutoring program…it would be based upon the students schedule, and they could work personally with their tutors to figure out what time works best,” added Real.

To become a tutor, students must apply on the website. While GPA doesn’t matter, to tutor in any given subject an applicant must have A’s in both semesters of the corresponding class.

“Someone could be really good at English but be horrible at math,” said Real. “So as long as you had, like two A’s in English 9 then you’d be able to tutor that.”

With around 30 tutors so far, the group also hopes that the tutor program can expand past Warren and into other Downey schools.

Now, Kim says that the group is meeting with local organizations - such as Stay Gallery and Kiwanis – and city and school district officials in order to try and get Everyone Can Tutor off the ground.

“They all agree that this is a needed program in our society or in our city,” said Kim. “They see a lot of positive outcomes could come out of this program.”

For more information, please visit www.bit.ly/everyonecantutor.