Back in April, three Shaker High School sophomores approached administration about their idea to create an online tutoring program for students in K-4. Shubham Yadav has a sister in third grade and noticed she was constantly asking their parents and him for help on homework and extracurricular work during the school closure. That is when the wheels started turning for Shubham and he decided he wanted to do more to help.
“I realized that many other students might not have a sibling or a parent who has the time to help their child,” Shubham said. “For that reason, my friends and I began bouncing ideas around and putting the hours into creating what is now the Shaker Helping Hands program.”
Shubham decided to enlist the help of his friends Ayaan Bargeer and Labesh Baral, and together the trio decided to create their own website called “Shaker Helping Hands,” which included daily tasks for students and links to helpful online resources. Additionally, the students generously volunteered their time to tutor students in need of extra help.
“The uncertainty of this virus took a heavy toll on our school system and became a burden to the families,” Ayaan said. “So, we wanted to provide an opportunity for the kids that may need additional assistance or wanted supplemental resources.”
The program launched in early May and parents could sign up for a time for their student to meet with one of the older students. The three sophomores would then virtually meet with the younger student and work with them on whatever subject they needed help with. Over the first few weeks, the program grew and it was then opened to grades 5 & 6 as well.
In total, 56 students registered for 217 sessions, which added up to 96 hours of tutoring completed by the three sophomores.
Shubha, Ayaan and Labesh were virtually recognized at the June 29 Board of Education meeting as the Kids Care recipients for the month.
Their hope is that the program will continue into the 2020-21 school year.
“We’re so thrilled that the program has done this well so far,” Labesh said. “For the future, we will continue to help students. We look forward to the future expansion of the program as well as doing our part in helping the community.”