Partnership Makes Homework Club A Success

By Susan Coney

American novelist John Steinbeck said, “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”

With that in mind the Newtown community has welcomed the Homework Club, a thriving, cooperative partnership dedicated to teaching young people in our town.

The Homework Club is a joint effort by the Newtown school system and Newtown Youth Services to provide students in the intermediate and middle school grades with after-school assistance with their schoolwork. Educational experts agree that investing in children’s after-school homework clubs offer students a quiet, supervised location in which to complete their homework. That is exactly what the Homework Club is striving to do.

Retired teacher Win Brickmeier is the Homework Club coordinator for Newtown Youth Services at the middle school level. She interviewed 20 potential candidates for positions as tutors and selected and trained 12 high school students who are being paid with funds provided by Newtown Youth Services. Eight students are permanent tutors with four substitutes to assist when necessary. Mrs Brickmeier held an intensive training course for tutors on October 5 and tutoring sessions began on October 18.

Director of Newtown Youth Services Tony Tozzi said Mrs Brickmeier has “really put a bolt of energy into the program. She brings a part of the puzzle that we need to make the program complete. Mrs Brickmeier is the driving force making the program meet the goals and getting the results we are looking for; she can bring the program forward to the next level.”

Mr Tozzi noted that the Homework Club is a complete collaboration of town, school, and home.

The Homework Club is offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in the library of the middle school from 2 to 3:30 pm under the supervision of Mrs Brickmeier. At Reed Intermediate School the Homework Club meets under the supervision of sixth grade math and science teacher Jim Roodhuzen in his classroom. High school tutors work at both locations to assist the teachers in tutoring students.

Mrs Brickmeier retired from Newtown High School where she most recently worked in the reading/math center, which provided extra help for students in all subject areas. She said that as she worked with the students at the high school level she continued to pursue further education herself so that she was appropriately qualified to teach in all areas. She has studied Latin, French, and Spanish. She went on to get a master’s in reading for grades kindergarten through 12. In her last 12 years of teaching she went on to receive state certification in grades 7 through 12 in math, social studies, earth science, biology, English, and chemistry.

When she was asked why she would want to head back into teaching after retirement, she replied by saying, “Retirement brings you the gift of time and allows you to do the things you love. It allows you to continue to do the things you love the most.” For Mrs Brickmeier teaching is clearly something she loves. She said that she missed working with students and noticed that there was a need for math tutoring when speaking with teachers and staff at the middle school.

Mrs Brickmeier is enjoying her work with the tutors as well as the students. She impressed upon the tutors that every child they work with is a scholar in some way. She also provided a clever analogy by telling them that tutoring children is sometimes similar to the old fable of “The Tortoise and The Hare,” by saying that some students are like the tortoise, they work slowly and can never quite catch up with the rest of their peers, while others rush to complete their work much like the hare and miss out on important concepts. She instructed the tutors to help their students balance their rate of learning.

One of the high school tutors, senior Marisa Muraskiewicz, said that she has previously tutored students through Newtown Youth Services. She especially likes the subjects of English and history. “I like seeing the progress the kids make over time.”

Fellow tutor junior Jill Moses said, “I love to help kids. When I was younger I always felt intimidated by older students. I’m in a position to help younger students now.”

Eighth grader Gary Frey admitted that the homework club was a help to him. “Hopefully I will always get my homework done now,” he chuckled.

Reed teacher Jim Roodhuyzen has been involved with the Homework Club for the past three years. He said that Tony Tozzi from Newtown Youth Services has been providing support needed to develop a complete program. Mr Roodhuyzen’s only real concern is that because of lack of funds there is no late bus available to transport students home after the Homework Club meets. He said that typically he has between seven to 12 students come in for extra help but he could easily envision that number would double or even triple if a late bus could be provided.

Still Mr Roodhuyzen is upbeat about the difference that he and his high school tutors Kelly Murphy, Dan Bunger, and Kyrsten Johnson are making. “In the brief time I have worked with these tutors, I have been ecstatic with the assistance they have provided. Some have already seen a change in the students they are working with,” he said.

Mr Roodhuyzen emphasized that being part of the Homework Club should not be part of a punishment program. “It should not be punishment for students who just don’t do their homework. I was one of those students in the past. Many kids have hectic, turbulent lives and homework is way down on the priority list. I always tell the parents of my students not to ever fight over homework. It is not worth getting that upset about. Just let me know there has been a problem and we can work to help remedy the situation,” he stressed. Mr Roody, as the kids fondly refer to him, says, “The Homework Club is an hour and fifteen minutes twice a week where kids can come into my room, relax, and feel comfortable about getting some help. It should never be viewed as punishment, just a chance to get something done.”

The Homework Club will meet for the duration of the year. Both Mr Roodhuyzen and Mrs Brickmeier emphasized that there are still openings for additional students to attend the program. The students are recommended to participate in the Homework Club by their teachers and a signed parental form is required before a student is permitted to attend the after-school program. More students may be added throughout the year as teachers see a need for certain individuals to receive more assistance in completing homework assignments, studying for tests, or finishing projects.