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58 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, March 18, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 23, 2005 Students study at South Medford High School�s new Homework Hut, which has become a popular hangout for students needing help and those who just want a social place to do schoolwork. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell ‘It’s kids helping kids’ The Homework Hut at South Medford High School brings student tutors together with classmates in a casual learning space By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune South Medford High School students have a new place to turn for help with assignments. The Homework Hut opened this month to help kids, especially freshmen and sophomores, succeed in school. Staffed by student tutors and community volunteers, it strives to provide a helping hand even as school budgets tighten and class sizes rise. Senior Dan Waters, who took on the Homework Hut as his senior project, said he knows students can have trouble getting scholastic help if their schedules don’t fit their teachers’ office hours. "This is a way to get extra help every day," Waters said. Advertisement School officials and students started work on the venture in October. They transformed the school’s former day-care center into a gathering place with a tropical mural, comfy couches and bean bags for reading, and tables for homework and tutoring. Top students, mostly juniors and seniors, applied to be tutors. The 35 tutors selected underwent brief training on how to help their peers, Waters said. They can earn academic or community-service credits by tutoring. "This is my favorite type of program," said Jerry Hagstrom, activities director at South. "It’s kids helping kids." Larry Osborn, the school’s volunteer coordinator, schedules when the tutors and their adult volunteer advisers will work and tracks the students coming in for assistance. The center is open from 2:45 to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It debuted Feb. 10 with ice- cream sundaes, a coffee cart and crowds of students checking it out. The first day of settling down to work, however, no one showed up for homework help, said tutor Sahmura Gonzalez, a sophomore. Since then, numbers of the studious have grown and some students are returning regularly, Osborn said. Eight students dropped by on the center’s busiest day so far. Hoping to boost participation, Waters and Hagstrom are planning an incentive program that will offer students prizes for seeking help at the Homework Hut. Tuesday afternoon, two students zipped through an assignment and sauntered from the room, leaving five tutors with just a single student. Freshman Cathy Garote doesn’t even need help with her math assignment. She just likes the casual atmosphere at the Homework Hut. "This is better than support," a study period held in regular classrooms, she said. "You can talk here." As she calculates her way through a set of problems, the tutors at the opposite end of the table discuss their last chemistry lesson. She joins them as they chat about favorite teachers and extra-credit worksheets that feature lame jokes, unveiled when students solve all the algebra problems correctly. "It’s not just a spot to do homework," Waters said. "It’s kind of fun to interact with someone who is helping you." Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s