Oberlin College Students Help Ninth Graders Prepare for State Proficiency Exam

Photographs and text by Sue Kropp
AUGUST 19, 1999 — Oberlin students Amy Marquardt, Nicole Palmer, and Michael Reavey are spending their summer with the staff of Oberlin Community Services (OCS). As interns, they help give emergency assistance to members of the Oberlin community. And as three of the 25 tutors with the OCS summer Proficiency Intervention Workshop, they are helping 44 local high-school students prepare for the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Exam through repeated math drills and practice tests that will culminate with the official exam.


Ann Fuller, executive director of Oberlin Community Services, works with ninth graders Alexandria Allen and Christina Wetzel.

"The tutoring they receive here reinforces what they learn in school," says Ann Fuller, OCS executive director, "Students who take our practice test after this workshop show a 30 to 40 percent improvement in their scores."

Amy Marquardt, a rising senior from Coalinga, California, became involved with the OCS after she was contacted by Booker Peek, associate professor of African American studies. Already a tutor with Peek's Words Are Very Enjoyable (WAVE) program, Amy had few difficulties participating in the workshop.

"I like working with the older students," she says; "usually I tutor younger kids. But the older ones know the basics and can do the work if you encourage their self-esteem."


Oberlin College students Michael Reavey, Nicole Palmer, and Amy Marquardt coordinate activities at the OCS and tutor students as part of the summer Proficiency Intervention Workshop.

A rising junior from Thompson, Pennsylvania, Michael Reavey is familiar with the techniques needed to gain a young student's attention and respect. As a music-education major, he has previously worked with children. But working with a group of high-school students proved more challenging.

"I had a rough time in the beginning," he says, "but I'm starting to develop a good relationship with these kids."

Nicole Palmer, a rising senior from Wilmington, Delaware, helps coordinate the center's gardening projects and tutors mathematics.

"At first, I didn't want to tutor kids in math," she says; "I'm an environmental-studies major!

I was really nervous about my abilities, but it worked out." Nicole enjoys getting to know the students she tutors and says it's the most satisfying part of her job.

When summer is over, the interns plan to volunteer regularly at the center. "This center is a tribute to the community," Mike says, "I know a lot of places that need a center like this."

OCS has offered area high-school students a program to reinforce math skills tested by the Ohio Proficiency Exam for eight summers. The program, a collaboration between the OCS and the Oberlin school district, is funded by grants from the Nord Family Foundation and the United Way of Greater Lorain County. Many of the center's volunteers are recruited through the Oberlin College Center for Service and Learning and the Bonner Scholars Program.

"In general," says Ann Fuller, "Oberlin College students contribute to the agency by demonstrating intelligence, enthusiasm, creativity, and commitment."

Copyright 1999 Oberlin College. Article courtesy oberlin.edu.

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