Tutors

Synergy may be one of the more overexposed buzzwords of our era. But it's an inescapable theme in the story behind Workstream, the online-tutoring app that won first-place honors - and $5,000 in seed money - for a team of high schoolers at Tuesday's Switch Philly. First, put six students in a Saturday program at Temple University designed to stir their interest in math, science, and engineering. Then invite them to brainstorm for a "hackathon" focused on developing apps or other products addressing problems in our educational system.

Debra Kohn of the Center City law firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrew and Ingersoll, talks yesterday with Shonte Valentine, 6, a first-grader at Waring Elementary School, in Kohn's building on Market Street. Kohn and Valentine are linked by Philadelphia Reads, a program to help students with their reading. Kohn's firm will read to students every Tuesday during the school term.

WANTED: At least four state-certified teachers willing to take on an unusual challenge - teach MOVE children state-approved curriculum 5 1/2 hours a day for 180 days a year. Write or apply in care of MOVE at 1630 S. 56th St. Such an ad might appear in a newspaper these days as four mothers and a lawyer scramble to find tutors to meet state requirements to teach nine MOVE children. The mothers - one MOVE member and three sympathizers of the cult - asked for an extension to Thursday of a hearing in Family Court so they might submit three or four additional names of tutors to the School District for approval.

Starting next month, Chester County's juvenile-court master will have a new weapon against delinquency: tutors. Susan Gilhooly will be able to order troubled teenagers into a tutoring program designed to improve their school performance. Her theory is that many youths get into trouble or drop out of school because they have gotten behind and no one bothers to help them catch up. "For the kids we have, half the time there's no place to study. When there's a question, there's nobody to ask," she said.

With 300 students enrolled and 56 on the waiting list, the Adult Literacy Program at the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library is a success. But, organizers have found, success brings added challenges. "We would love to have 56 tutors," program coordinator Sue Calio said. "I would say [that] at any given time we're looking for 50 tutors - that would be our dream - but the waiting list would continue to grow. We have an ongoing need. " Calio said that the program, which helps Spanish-speaking residents learn to read and write English, has become much more popular in recent years and that requests to enter it are not slowing down.

In a noisy, cheerful junior high school cafeteria, where youngsters worked with donated materials and their tutors showed no tolerance for unruliness, a 9-year-old girl chortled, "I beat you, I beat you," as she rolled up points in Scrabble that put her far ahead of her tutor, Gail Johnson. Nearby, a 13-year-old boy who came with no books debated Black History Month with his tutor, Roderick Blair. And three other tutors quietly discussed how to handle an 11-year-old girl, who had been upset by a fight at school and cried on the bus. What the children have in common is the absence in their lives of anything remotely related to stability.

Because of lower state funding, the Avon Grove Area school board is expected to reduce the number of hours tutors may work with students needing remedial help. The state reduced the amount of money the school district will receive for its TELLS program this year from $28,878 to $19,183. At a meeting Tuesday, the school board said it was committed to continuing the program despite the budget cuts. "You can always use more money, but we will do the job we can with the money provided," Superintendent Ronald J. Ferrari said.

Defending national champion Tennessee, which in recent years has uncovered cheating in its advanced-degree programs and a telephone card-fraud scandal among its athletes, is now investigating whether tutors did schoolwork for football players. Tennessee president J. Wade Gilley, who started his job last month, said yesterday the school is following "normal procedure and has turned this matter over to the [university's] general counsel's office for review. Once this review is complete, the university will announce its findings and, if necessary, take appropriate action.

The Volunteer English Program in Chester County will sponsor a three-session, nine-hour training workshop for those who wish to tutor English as a second language to an adult immigrant. The workshop will be at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 200 S. Church St., West Chester, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 16, 18 and 23. Prospective tutors must attend all three. For more information or to register, call 610-640-4699. TRIBUTE Beth Israel Congregation, 385 Pottstown Pike, Eagle, will honor Herbert Baer, a longtime member of the congregation active for many years in the Coatesville community, at special Shabbat services Friday at 8 p.m. Baer is moving to the Boston area.

Doreen Johnson sat in the third row of a Villanova University biology lab bent over her textbook. To her right sat Sandra Zeigler, who offered a few words of encouragement and help with Johnson's math problem. Johnson, in a navy blue Villanova sweatshirt and dark blue slacks, and Zeigler, dressed in a sweater and jeans, looked like typical college students helping each other study. But Johnson is a high school student being tutored by Zeigler, a Villanova sophomore.

Synergy may be one of the more overexposed buzzwords of our era. But it's an inescapable theme in the story behind Workstream, the online-tutoring app that won first-place honors - and $5,000 in seed money - for a team of high schoolers at Tuesday's Switch Philly. First, put six students in a Saturday program at Temple University designed to stir their interest in math, science, and engineering. Then invite them to brainstorm for a "hackathon" focused on developing apps or other products addressing problems in our educational system.

Besides what culinary schools are offering this fall, restaurants, kitchen stores, and even supermarkets are offering cooking classes on topics ranging from the yummy (cupcakes) to the sensible (healthy eating). Local food bloggers are getting in on the action by passing their niche expertise on to students, at both regional venues and in-home events. Also of note is a new Rittenhouse spot called Cook, where students get to interact with their favorite chefs, while getting fed.   Teaspoons & Petals is a blog that was founded by Alexis Siemons in 2008.

When Shirley Wang Ling made her New York recital debut in June 1978, a New York Times reviewer wrote that he was touched. In her performance at Carnegie Recital Hall, the writer stated, Mrs. Ling "impressed as a player with distinct interpretive talents, particularly in music that is gentle or introspective. " And, he wrote, she "extracted more sweetness and charm from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 than many other performers do. " The reviewer noted that, though this was her New York debut, "she has frequently been heard in the Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia areas.

The first child to sit down to read with Prudential analyst Vinina Hawkins at her Dresher office was the tallest first grader Hawkins had ever seen. Then came a stubborn student who called reading a bore, and there was the little actress who read aloud as though she were auditioning. "I would say, 'There's no exclamation point there,' " Hawkins said. "And she would say, 'But there should be. I'm so excited.' " At lunchtime Tuesday, Hawkins was coaching her eighth West Oak Lane Charter School student in eight years - 6-year-old Moriah Taylor.

Question: The daughter of a friend tutored my son in SAT prep. She does not have professional credentials, but she tests very well and we thought she might be able to help him. His score actually dropped the second time he took the test. We had put our trust in this girl and paid her hundreds of dollars. She is now trying to get more tutoring gigs and asked if she can list me as a reference. I don't want to hurt her feelings (hence I haven't told her about my son's lower score), but I can't in good conscience tell another parent that she knows what she's doing.

DEAR ABBY: I would like to comment on your reply to "Helping or Cheating?," the young lady who has been helping her boyfriend with his homework. I can see where someone might find this a problem. I retired a few years ago after 35 years as an educator and still substitute-teach three to five days a week. I feel I can speak for many teachers on this matter: For years, teachers have used a method called "peer tutoring" in and out of the classroom. From the information given, what that girl is doing sounds like textbook tutoring.

DEAR ABBY: I'm an "A" student, but my boyfriend, "Rory," has a difficult time in school, so he often comes over for help. We work at the computer in the room my sister and I share so she listens to everything we discuss. She says we are cheating because I'm doing most of his homework for him. I don't give Rory the answers to questions, but I do give him "hints" and tell him where he's likely to find the answers in the textbooks. I always check that the answers are correct. With his math homework, I tell him each step he needs to take, but he actually does the math himself and then I check for accuracy.

The results are always more important than the reasons and if Ryan Howard had his way, he'd probably let his white-hot start speak for itself. After his sixth two-hit game of a season in its embryonic stage, Howard didn't have any desire to get overly analytical following the Phillies' 7-4 win Monday in their home opener against the Washington Nationals. "My focus at the dish is just trying to hit the ball where it's pitched," he said. With a .375 average, four doubles, a triple, three home runs, and 11 RBIs, it's obvious Howard's focus and approach is working better than it ever has at the start of a season, which brings us to the possible reasons why. We already knew that manager Charlie Manuel had encouraged Howard to move closer to home plate this season.

When she was growing up in Fairfax, Va., mentors helped Halima Ali stay focused and positive. They encouraged her to do well in school and become the first in her family to attend college. Now a junior at George Mason University, Ali, 21, is spending a week in Philadelphia doing the same for students here. Yesterday, Ali stood in a South Philadelphia High hallway, dipping a paintbrush in a cup of gray paint and dabbing it onto a mural of Cesar Chavez. She's one of 14 students participating in Alternative Spring Break, a program that brings college students to the city to spruce up schools and help middle and high schoolers.

They've tutored young children, raised money for charities, worked toward a cleaner environment, shared their knowledge of animals, and launched blood drives - all while still in high school. In a ceremony at the National Constitution Center, 122 outstanding high school seniors from throughout the Philadelphia area were honored yesterday morning as recipients of the fourth annual Inquirer Student Citizenship Award. For Justin Pergolini, 18, of Haverford High School, who tutors children from Anna B. Pratt Elementary School in North Philadelphia, good citizenship has been a matter of sharing knowledge with younger people.