It’s hard to tell who gets more out of the Blanche Sims Homework Club: The students or the adult mentors who work with them twice a week.
The elementary school started its club for fourth-graders last year, when it met three days a week.
This year, the Homework Club is being co-sponsored by Orion Area Youth Assistance, and is held Tuesdays and Thursdays at the school.
The club is for third, fourth and fifth-grade Blanche Sims students.
‘I think it’s fun,? said Kelsey, a fourth-grader who attended a recent club meeting to get help with her homework. ‘The mentors are fun and nice.?
Another student said sometimes parents don’t understand what the teacher is trying to tell them, so it’s good to get help from another adult.
‘It’s a nice giving back thing,? said Alan Johnson of Holly, who works with two third-graders named Carley and Sydney.
Johnson, father of Kelli Johnson of Orion Area Youth Assistance, was a teacher for 32 years.
Now, he comes to help with the Homework Club twice a week after getting off of work at Costco.
‘They kind of adopted me,? he joked of Carley and Sydney. ‘It’s been fun.?
The club still needs adult mentors to work with students. The club meets from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on both days, but mentors need only drop in when they have the time.
The club averages about 25-30 students per session, and has about 10 mentors who rotate during the week, including a couple of staff members from Blanche Sims.
‘We send permission slips home each time a student is going to stay after for the club,? said school social worker Sheri Kaplan. ‘If the student doesn’t have a specific assignment to work on, they read. It’s not play time.?
Youth Assistance has helped the club by providing trained mentors, snacks and transportation for kids who need it after the club meets.
‘The mentors are also good role models for the kids,? said Kaplan. ‘We have 2-3 kids working with one mentor.?
Some mentors are able to work with the same kids every week, such as Johnson, which helps build a role model relationship between student and mentor.
‘Our goal is eventually to have it be one-on-one, between mentor and child,? said Jill Verros, vice chair of Youth Assistance’s board of directors.
‘When there are lots of kids in one family, a lot of time they go home and homework isn’t always the first priority,? Kaplan said. ‘This is a chance for them to get caught up.?
So far, Kaplan said the kids are ‘loving? the program.
‘They are very focused,? she said.
Volunteers for the Homework Club can come through Youth Assistance or through Blanche Sims. Each volunteer is subjected to a background check by the school.
In the past, Youth Assistance has only provided mentors for junior high and high school age students through its Mentors Plus program.
‘We were having a hard time getting volunteers,? Verros said. ‘So we thought about moving down to the elementary age.?
Youth Assistance also offers the Extend Program, which matches high school students with junior high kids. This is Youth Assistance’s first time working with an elementary school.
‘It’s kind of a pilot program,? Verros said. ‘We want to find out if it’s actually helping the kids, and also to draw in more volunteers.?
Kaplan said teachers at Blanche Sims have told her the club is helping.
‘They have seen a difference,? she said.
Verros said Youth Assistance is considering expanding the program beyond homework, to include possibly a winter party in January, and swimming in the summer.
‘Maybe a school play or something,? she said. ‘Right now, it’s focused on the tutoring, but we want it to be more than that.?
Mentors can be from high school age and up.
High school students in the program, such as Lake Orion High School students Amelia Cortis, a senior, and Trevbor Biles, a junior, can earn service hours by volunteering.