From January 23 to March 20, student volunteers from Cupertino High School will be going to Sedgwick Elementary school on Wednesdays at 8:00 am to tutor students in the english language development (ELD) program.
Tino Tutoring was founded by the Associated Student Body’s (ASB) Campus-Link commissioners two years ago and has continued for 3 months every year since. The goal of this program has been to help ELD students become more comfortable with speaking and writing English and to have them learn more about American culture.
A typical morning tutoring at Sedgwick begins with around 5 minutes of casual conversation, where tutors can get to know students. Then, throughout the rest of the session, tutors teach students about specific topics, such as families, foods and holidays. These lessons usually include a game or activity to keep students engaged, such as drawings and puppets.
Last year, there were 15 tutors, and this year the number increased to 32. One of these tutors is junior Brandon Wu, who tutored at Sedgwick last year as well.
“I believe it’s important to give back to the community and tutoring just happened to be a great opportunity to do so. The kids are so passionate and energetic that they really make your day,” says Wu.
Wu notes that although the program only runs for a few months, the opportunity to build unique relationships with students and witness their English abilities grow is extremely rewarding.
Says Wu, “I think it is an amazing opportunity and I’m grateful that CHS can offer this. It’s really enjoyable and highly suggest everyone to check it out!”