A new model for tutoring at SSHS

There are numerous ways South Side High School students can obtain academic assistance during school, but many students struggle to find academic support after school hours. Having tutored students at SSHS, 17-year-old Michael Spelfogel had an idea: he would create an online, interactive peer-to-peer tutoring website. Michael, together with friends Matthew Giovanniello, Thomas Keady and Anthony Lai, collaborated to create the website SSHStutoring.com, which provides unlimited free tutoring to any SSHS student. The four seniors, all honor students taking the most rigorous classes, also serve as the website’s tutors.

“It’s a win-win for everyone who participates,” Spelfogel said. “We’re students too; we understand the challenges other students face. When a student is struggling, having someone his or her own age demonstrate problem-solving techniques enables the student to relate on a different level than with an adult teacher.”

SSHS students can receive help in 18 subjects, with more subjects and tutors being added. The tutors are available via live-chat Monday to Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m. Spelfogel, Giovanniello, Keady and Lai, are eager to help other students learn what they know. The feedback has been tremendously positive, with students thanking the tutors for explaining complex calculus and physics problems from a different perspective than they learned in class. By explaining material in ways students can relate to, the peer tutors believe they can connect with that student. Each tutoring session brings the tutors closer to their goal: to help students develop the skills and strategies needed to be successful in their classes.