Oak Grove teachers provide homework help

Oak Grove teachers

provide homework help

When teachers

at Oak Grove Elementary School started noticing that their students were

turning in either incomplete homework or none at all, they decided to

take a proactive approach to remedy the situation.

Teachers at

the school got together and formed a group called TIPS (teachers in place

for homework help).

Every Tuesday

and Thursday afternoon, teachers volunteer their time after school to

help students who attend Oak Grove's own after-school program and the

after-school program at the Harmony Village Apartments in Peachtree City.

Teachers selected

Tuesday and Thursday afternoons as the best time to offer assistance because

it would enable teachers to help students with all of their homework assignments

for the week. About 90 students from Oak Grove participate in Harmony

Village's after-school program.

Not only does

TIPS help students with their homework, but the organization has also

donated dictionaries and paper for the students to use.

"We had

surplus dictionaries that no one else in the school system wanted. When

we formed TIPS I got permission to take them to Harmony Village as well

as some older boxes of paper that we had in storage," says Debbie

Wheat, principal of Oak Grove.

Since implementing

TIPS, teachers at the school have noticed a marked improvement in homework

assignments. The two goals of the program were to improve the quality

and completeness of homework.

"Students

were either doing just part of their assignments or were not completing

them as well as they had the potential to," explains Wheat. "Now

the kids love to get homework and it's complete and of the quality we

want."

The program

has been a tremendous success for everyone involved.

According to

Wheat, the students are not the only ones who have benefited; so have

the teachers and staff at Harmony Village.

When TIPS was

just an idea, Wheat approached the staff at Harmony Village about the

possibility of having teachers from Oak Grove work with the students.

Wheat says the staff immediately embraced the idea.

"The people

who run the program have told me that they have learned a lot from the

teachers about how to assist students with their academic needs. After

we started coming over, they realized that sometimes they had been reinforcing

the wrong things," says Wheat.

In all, about

200 students from different grade levels attend Harmony Village's after

school program and receive homework help from the teachers at Oak Grove.

Wheat says one of the things her teachers like best about TIPS is that

they get to help students of all levels.

"I had

one teacher tell me that this is the best time she has ever spent,"

adds Wheat.

Parents at

Oak Grove have also expressed their appreciation for the extra time the

teachers are giving to help their students.

"I think

this has been one of the best decisions we have made. It shows that we

are willing to do whatever is necessary to adapt to our children and their

needs," says Wheat.