SOUTH HADLEY — Every Monday after school, a group of students at the South Hadley Public Library aren’t finished learning.
Instead, they go to the library prepared with math packets, ready for a tutoring session with 16-year-old Rainy Wortelboer — and they say their attendance at the sessions is making a big impact on their grades.
Since September 2018, Wortelboer, a junior at South Hadley High School, has led the weekly Math Homework Help Hour with help from her mother, Yanny Wortelboer, a certified math teacher. The group meets Mondays from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Storytelling Room of the South Hadley Public Library.
Wortelboer, who runs the free program on a voluntary basis, said that she has always excelled at math and would often help her friends with the subject at school. In creating the study group, she saw an opportunity to use her skills to help others in need.
“You get kind of a sense of fulfillment for helping others with their math work,” Wortelboer said. “It’s a fun way to use my skill in math to help people.”
The program is open to students in grades 1-12 and attracts an average or four or five attendees each week, Wortelboer said, including regulars and new drop-ins. Students from any town are welcome at the sessions.
Through the program, Rainy hopes to not only teach students how to complete specific homework packets or test reviews but to also leave them with problem solving-skills that will assist them with all types of math problems.
“In general their grades in school have all been improving as they come to tutoring,” Wortelboer said of the students. “But more importantly, you tutor them in ways to learn from themselves … so even when they see something new they haven’t seen before, they have new learning strategies for it.”
Nine-year-old Lainey Carey, who been attending the sessions since November, said that she has seen her grades rise since she starting going to the study group.
“They give us tricks on how to solve certain problems, so it helps me with math at school and math at home,” Carey said.
In addition to teaching problem-solving skills, Wortelboer and her mother also work to boost students’ confidence. Oftentimes, Yanny said, students already have the knowledge and abilities that they need to complete their math problems, but have been told by adults that they are simply “not good at math.”
“They start to kind of stereotype themselves,” Yanny said. “What we want to do is break that stereotype and give them confidence.”
Elena Kovalchik, 7, is one student who struggled with this label. Kovalchik understood math concepts, Yanny said, but struggled with completing math problems quickly due to self-doubt. Elena’s mother, Jill Kovalchik, also noticed this tendency, and said that she “wanted to have someone other than myself encouraging (Elena) and giving her confidence.”
Now, Elena says that she is able to complete her math work at a faster pace and is achieving higher grades.
“I had trouble doing my homework, and Mom found these nice people who help us do homework,” Elena said.
Jill added that the program, which begins shortly after the school day ends, also provides an opportunity to ensure that math homework is done early, freeing up the rest of the day.
“We can just get the homework done then do whatever we want,” she said.
Wortelboer and her mother will continue to host the program regularly for the remainder of the school year, and they also plan to host sessions as needed during the summer depending on student needs.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.