Tutoring with a Purpose: The East for Excellence tutoring program has helped students improve their academic performance and contributed to recent school rankings

East was recently ranked second as one of the best high schools in Kansas, just below Sumner Academy of Arts and Science according to the updated 2023-2024 US News and World Report list. Teachers and staff believe that the East for Excellence program greatly contributed to East moving up from third place last year and sixth the year before.

East for Excellence is a free tutoring program, where students receive feedback and extra guidance from teachers in math, science, social studies and foreign languages. 

The program is designed to help address students’ struggles one step at a time and give them support at whatever level they need. According to Principal Jason Peres, the readily available assistance that students receive in the program helps prevent students from falling behind.

“Absolutely without question, the program is a reason why our rank is so high,” Peres said. “It’s a tutoring program that we offer to support kids who just need a little extra support. We do have a lot of kids who have started to take advantage of it and I just have to think in some way that makes a difference when they take those objective measures.”

East for Excellence takes place in the library from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. after school every Wednesday and Thursday — with the exception of school breaks and parent-teacher conferences. Students can use the time to work one-on-one with teachers, ask questions and complete missing assignments.

World language teacher Gina Halksworth has been helping students with French and Spanish through the program for two years. In her previous schools, there was no tutoring program like East for Excellence, and she thinks that the extra support students receive makes a difference inside the classroom.

“Students have seven different classes with seven different types of teachers and seven different Canvas setups, and a lot of information going in in not a great amount of time,” Halksworth said. “I’ve noticed a little bit of reinforcement is super useful and goes a long way for some students.”

Though East for Excellence has gained more attention, there is still room for more students. Some days, teachers like English teacher Samantha Feinberg and Halksworth, end up using the time to plan and grade papers, because no one came for their help.

Last year sophomore Maile Tormohlen struggled with understanding the concepts in her geometry class, so she started going to East for Excellence when a friend recommended it during class. After receiving help in the program at least once a week regularly, Tormohlen was able to grasp the units better.

“You can choose your own pace and if you don’t understand it, you can ask the teacher to explain it and it’s one on one, so the explanations are a lot more in-depth and helpful,” Tormohlen said. “And since all the students work on different assignments I think it just allowed me to take more time and focus [on] doing things right instead of just fast.” 

According to the 2023-2024 US News and World Report, not only did East rank second overall in Kansas, but East students’ proficiency in mathematics, English, and science, are on average 20% higher than the state average.

Programs like East for Excellence are not available in every school in the state. With students attending the program, they have access to an opportunity that others in Kansas do not.

“I think [students] definitely should take advantage of [East for Excellence] because it’s free tutoring, other people in my math class are paying for tutors,” Tormohlen said. “You literally have teachers right here who can help you get your grade up. I’m not going to pay for a tutor when I have one here.”