Alongside junior counselor Alex Ip, Mira Dedhia ’21 has been working on contacting and organizing upperclassmen who are willing to set aside time after school to tutor other NC students for Peers Helping Peers

“We are trying to focus more on one-to-one support,” Ip said. “It’s almost like a role model.”

After two years, PHP started up again the week of Oct.14 in the NC libraries after school, Monday through Thursdays Ip said . The program is reinstated every two years when Ip returns to NC as part of his counseling duties. This year there are approximately 14 peer tutors ready to be placed into their designated partnerships. Dedhia has recruited students who are willing to give up an hour or two a week, typically for a six-to-eight week period, to work privately with a student who is struggling in one or more academic areas, usually in the preparatory level.

Ip refers to this program as an “academic intervention” that will not only promote success for those being tutored, but hopefully lead to some of the tutor’s models behavior to rub off on other students, he said

“We want to make sure that a student that is [receiving] this [tutoring] doesn’t feel like this is another detention or that they are in trouble,” Ip said. “It’s because [the student is] showing that [they are] maybe academically at risk. We want to offer extra help that they can get that’s free, that’s right here, right after school.”

Ip wants to make it clear to both parties that this is absolutely voluntary, he said. He encourages that if tutors have the opportunity to be a part of any other extracurriculars then they should make that their priority. However, they do ask that once a partnership has been formed, both parties fulfill their commitment. If they do not fulfill their commitment then the adult counselors will get involved and dissolve the relationship.

 Dedhia, Ip, and the other junior counselors work to set up the partnerships for success, typically by pairing students of the same gender together, as well as accounting for the specific subject areas the student will need tutoring on along with collaborating personality traits.

“I thought it’d be a cool opportunity,” peer tutor Sam Linares ’21 said. “It’s nice to help people out. I feel like if you can explain things and teach things, then you have a good knowledge and understanding of a certain subject.”

Linares has been tutoring people on her own time. Therefore, when informed about this opportunity by a fellow tutor, Ella Fix’21, she felt like this opening was no different from her usual doings and proceeded to contact Dedhia. Though currently occupied due to her involvement in cross country, Linares will help with math and Spanish homework after the season comes to an end.