“Study @ Starbucks” is not only a chance for middle and high school students to get some help on their homework, but the weekly tutoring session also helps students stay in school. “There is a huge need for Study @ Starbucks,” said Warsaw Community High School teacher Jeanne McCormack. “First, I believe when students go home with homework and someone can’t help them, they quit.” The tutoring session from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursdays is a good time for students to get that help, she said. The orthopedic co-op students who serve as tutors in that hour have such good hearts and a vision to help the students, she stated, and she enjoys seeing the students work with the tutors week after week. Tutors tell the students they will come each week if they do, and the students want to work with the same tutor at “their” table every time. The tutors will even give students their cell phone numbers so if a student has questions throughout the week, they can call and get help over the phone, McCormack said. “It’s just building a beautiful chemistry,” she said. McCormack also likes the fact that the study session isn’t at school but at the Starbucks inside Martin’s Super Market. “It feels more collegiate, more at a higher level,” she said. “I really think it provides a positive homework experience, a good community visual and the kids leave here feeling good. We have so many kids that don’t do homework, don’t get the credit and have to take a class again. This is just one more point to intercept. It doesn’t build your self esteem if you have to repeat and it doesn’t build the budget.” The tutors include orthopedic company co-op students, teachers from the high and middle schools and National Honor Society students from Warsaw Community High School. The study session was started in February 2012 by WCHS Assistant Principal Amanda Scroggs and Alex Schutzman, a University of Cincinnati student and Zimmer intern. Schutzman is back in Warsaw on her fourth rotation with Zimmer and was helping with tutoring Thursday evening. Scroggs said when Schutzman isn’t here, she is always able to find other co-op students to help out. “This is a known entity now,” Scroggs said. “Martin’s has been great to let us do this. It’s a great way for new co-ops to meet and get to know each other, too.” “It’s amazing how the word has spread (among the co-op students),” Schutzman said. Not all the college tutors are orthopedic co-op students from universities outside of Indiana. Philip Reed is a Grace College freshman from Michigan, though he lived in Warsaw for five years growing up. He’s also studying to become a teacher. One Thursday afternoon he was trying to study silently at Starbucks for a chemistry test when a bunch of high school students “swarmed in,” he said. He wanted to know what was going on. When he learned about the free tutoring session, he wanted to offer his services as a tutor. “You kind of make bonds with them,” Reed said. “You see them as a person and it provides you with a mentorship.” Reed said other Grace students may not know about the program because it’s not widely known on the Winona Lake campus. He said he was going to talk to the dean of the School of Education to get more Grace students involved. “We should have more kids here,” he said. Scroggs said helping start Study @ Starbucks and seeing it continue has helped Schutzman take on leadership roles elsewhere in the Warsaw community. Schutzman agreed and said seeing everyone get involved is fantastic. “It’s given everyone a sense of belonging,” Scroggs commented. Every week, eight to 10 co-op students show up to tutor, and now since there are fewer school cancellations due to weather, more students are showing up to get help. “It’s grown and it’s been able to be sustained,” Scroggs said. The tutoring is not just for Warsaw students either. Scroggs said Wawasee, Whitko and Tippecanoe Valley students can show up Thursdays, too. “We want to help all students,” she said. Carol Daffre, WCHS senior and NHS member, was at Starbucks Thursday to help any student who needed it. “For National Honor Society, we need at least 10 hours of tutoring. Study @ Starbucks is a way we can be available every week and get our hours in,” Daffre said. Case Western Reserve University and Zimmer co-op student Jake Anna was helping WCHS junior Jasmine Mendoza with her studies Thursday. He said he found out about the tutoring through Schutzman. Being an engineer student, he said his primary areas of “expertise” were math and science, but he felt comfortable enough helping students with any area. “He’s really good,” said Mendoza. While she was studying with Anna for the first time yesterday, she complimented all the tutors she’s received help from during the sessions she’s attended. “They’re very helpful and easy to get along with,” she stated. Besides Study @ Starbucks Thursdays, there’s also Senior Success Saturdays, with the next one scheduled for May 17 at Starbucks. It’s the same thing as Study @ Starbucks, but for seniors on Saturdays.
