Helping Hands Ridgewood is a math tutoring group formed during the peak of the pandemic in May. This group of volunteers figured that some elementary schoolers were falling behind due to the sudden transition to virtual learning. Since many teachers have been required to cut down on their lessons, students have not received as much practice as they need. The tutors of Helping Hands figured they could help in lightening the load by offering some extra help in math. This not only allows students to catch up with their curriculum, but also allows parents to remain stress-free, as they do not have to worry about scheduling due to the flexibility of the tutors.
The group consists of mostly RHS students, and a select few high schoolers who live in Ridgewood and attended Ridgewood Public Schools up until middle school. They tutor year-round, completely virtually.
Within the first few months, Helping Hands was receiving excellent feedback. “We are extremely grateful to Helping Hands for the time they gave to our 3rd grade daughter, Georgia, this past spring. As a math tutor, our tutor was incredibly pleasant and instructive for Georgia to work with. Our tutor demonstrated professionalism and a keen ability to teach math concepts that could have been challenging to convey online. We would highly recommend our tutor and Helping Hands to other parents,” wrote Deborah and Dana Glazer, Ridgewood citizens.
Navya Gupta, a freshman at RHS and the current Vice President of Helping Hands writes, “I personally love working with kids and I’m glad that Helping Hands has given me an opportunity to help them out and also make a difference in the community!”
Saachi Patil, a sophomore at RHS and the current PR Manager of Helping Hands writes, “I love how students started the initiative in these tough times and how we emerged and grew so quickly with so much support! I also love how we started a new idea which serves as a period 9 for younger students who need a little bit of help!”
Recently, Helping Hands has also begun their new concept of “Office Hours” rather than traditional tutoring. Office Hours can be described as a Period 9 for elementary schoolers; tutors sit on an open Google Meet or Zoom, where students can drop in for questions while doing homework.
Shriya Dani
staff writer
Graphic: Shriya Dani