With so many students involved in extracurricular activities around school — such as sports, theater, stagecraft, and more — it becomes difficult for them to keep up with their individual classes. The routine of seven hours at school followed by hours of extracurricular activities and homework is just not ideal for a teenager.
However, this issue can be reasonably fixed with the right help. Dos Pueblos student Kaitlyn Marden (10) expresses this sentiment by promoting the Balanced Tutoring Center, a place for students to catch up on school work while improving their mental health.
Marden’s idea for the Balanced Tutoring Center came from the fact that at a young age, she struggled with personal mental health issues. As Marden grew up, she noticed many of her friends struggling with the same problems, and it heavily affected their ability to perform well in school. This motivated Marden to create a system that would prioritize student mental health while also helping to improve their grades.
“[DP] didn’t offer any materials or resources that would help us keep up with school while also helping us balance our mental health,” Marden said. “So, that’s why I was like, okay, I’ll make something.”
Marden’s hope for this program is to give students a “sense of support” and easy access to mental health resources with the goal of enhancing DP’s community. Student Leo Carlton (12) expresses some of his thoughts on the possible benefits of Balanced Tutoring.
“I think it would be helpful [for] kids who may be dealing with some problems at home, or mentally, to get support and feel supported while they’re doing their homework,” Carlton said.
Additionally, student Nicole Barger (11) believes that the connections made through the Balanced Tutoring Center can lead to a more unified DP community.
“I think by having tutors to build that connection [with] and to have a place for you to feel safe to like, check in with them and share how you’re feeling will absolutely bring the community [together] and make it stronger,” Barger said.
Marden’s plan for this program is to offer personal one-on-one support with flexible tutoring. Tutors will be assigned to students, and they’ll be trained to help with their class work while also keeping track of their mental health.
“This isn’t a short term solution where [it’s like], oh, I’m struggling one day with homework, I need to go to the library for tutoring,” Marden said. “This is more long term; you’re assigned [to a] tutor and they [will] really work on helping you create a schedule so you can get your grades up.”
Marden has faced multiple challenges while creating the Balanced Tutoring Center, but now that she’s finally traversed all the obstacles, such as getting through admin and gathering qualified tutors, she hopes to make a significant change to DP’s community through the Balanced Tutoring Center.
“I think it’s important to let teenagers know they’re not alone, and that there’s other people dealing with [similar] problems,” Marden said. “There’s help out there.”
