Hope Tutoring

Tutoring-It’s fun!!!!

Well, it’s that time of year again, the time when loose leaf paper and bright sparkly pins are being sold by the bundle, when school busses stretch and begin to warm up their engines for another year, when eager teachers rusch to hang their final classroom decorations, and when fifteen some-odd students from Westside Elementary School in Roanoke, Virginia return to the place they love most-HOPE Tutoring at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Since when was tutoring fun?  I’d rather go to the dentist than do more school on Wednesday afternoons.  But not these kids.  They love going to HOPE tutoring because HOPE tutoring is not like detention with a cracky retired school teacher, it is a place where students are truly understood, listened to and cared for.

For eight years, Westminster Presbyterian Church has been taking students from Westside Elementary School, pairing them up with a tutor, and helping them work through the subjects they find most difficult.  When students arrive 2:45 every Wednesday afternoon, they are greeted with smiling faces and warm hugs.  The kids sit and listen to bible stories read from The Jesus Storybook Bible and then head off to snack time. There, they have the opportunity to share about the events of their day with adults who really care about them, over food and drink.  Then, they get their creative juices flowing by participating in group craft time where they learn to express themselves through art.  After letting off a little steam, the students are finally ready to work on their homework with the help of their own personal tutor in their own private room.  Finally, around 5:30, parents are invited to join the students and members of the church for a free meal and time of fellowship.

Since 2005, tutoring has been fun for kids at Westside Elementary School because Westminster took the time to stop and ask the question:  What can we do to minister the love of Jesus tangibly in our local community.  So, next time you see a Westside Elementary School bus stuck in afterschool traffic, don’t feel sorry for the kids.  If it’s 2:45 on Wednesday, they’re as happy as they can be.