Academic Assistance Alert!
The progression of the average American school system goes like this: elementary, middle and last but not least: high school. As students progress throughout their academic journey, homework and studying only become more difficult. Nowadays, students have trouble keeping up with their lessons while simultaneously balancing sports and extracurricular or at-home activities.
Fortunately, a new system has been established at GlenOak to help students combat academic anxiety. This new invention has been dubbed the Soar Labs, a peer-tutoring complex that has been reserved to take place during school hours instead of after.
Having been a long-term plan devised by principals Gayle Kimbrough, Brett Niarchos and Tyler Adkins, the Soar Labs have become a place for students to focus on bettering each other academically as well as socially.
“It creates a different environment from a classroom,” Soar Labs director Aaron Sommers said. “I think when students are in a classroom it can be stressful and when students are confused on certain topics they may not want to actively say that because they’re afraid of ‘stopping the class’ or being embarrassed for something they don’t get.”
In the Soar Labs, student tutors are usually assigned to one student to look after, regardless of what subject they are struggling in and what grade level the tutor or tutee is in.
“Math is one of the major areas that we have decided is a priority for GlenOak in general,” Sommers said. Because of this we commonly help with developing the students’ math abilities so that they can have higher scores on tests and on their OSTs. We also branch out to other subjects like history and science if needed.”
Any student can volunteer to be a tutor, regardless of grade level. Whether it be for service hours or just wanting to help other students, tutoring is always open to anyone who is willing to try it.
According to Sommers, evidence shows that it is more helpful for students to be on level with each other in order to guarantee the best outcome. A student does not have to know everything about something or have straight As in order to be a tutor. Having an advanced understanding is great, but it is not required.

“Imagine if you asked Albert Einstein for help on your geometry homework,” Sommers said. “He is going to explain everything in such a complex manner, whereas when you are asking a friend to help you with a math problem, they are able to explain things in a simpler way that makes it easier to understand.”
“Imagine if you asked Albert Einstein for help on your geometry homework,” Sommers said. “He is going to explain everything in such a complex manner, whereas when you are asking a friend to help you with a math problem, they are able to explain things in a simpler way that makes it easier to understand.”
A lot of students are volunteering to be tutors in order to gain more service hours and receive the academic letter.
While academics is one of the primary goals in the Soar Labs, being able to reach out and talk with a student or teacher about confusing material can help decrease a student’s stress level and allow them to gain more confidence while doing their work.
The Soar Labs also provides a golden opportunity for students to learn more about each other as well as the topic at hand. This type of experience can be seen with fellow peer tutor: Angel Price.
“I have a lot of compassion for people, so I think helping others will help me understand that side of me more,” Price said.
“When I’m explaining to someone how to work out a problem, it’s us working together,” Price said. “It’s not just me explaining to them how to solve the problems but it’s us working together, if they know something that I don’t then it would be a great learning experience for the both of us.”
What is impressive is that the Soar Labs is still a new adjustment, yet has already been getting lots of positive feedback from both students and teachers alike.
“It helps me understand things better as I’m not a big fan of in-person or big-class teaching,” sophomore Hunter Chikosky said.
Sommers has stated that there has been tremendous growth from the beginning of the year compared to today. Many students’ grades are improving because of the tutoring, and the Soar Labs are gaining more volunteers as the days go by.
“I definitely feel like a one-on-one environment gives a student a better focus and a better efficiency, as well as giving them more time to think about things,” Chikosky said. “It definitely improves my grades and helps me quite a lot.”
While there is not a lot of data yet to support the Soar Labs, a lot of the students are beginning to recognize it and are considering contributing to it more.
The Soar Labs are open for every period (except fifth) on both A and B days. If a student would like to become a tutor or tutee, then they must have a free period or study hall and reach out to their counselor or Sommers for approval.
Grades are rising and so are the numbers for this new change in GlenOak. If a student needs any help with anything, especially with grades, they should not hesitate to reach out to the Soar Labs. Participation within Soar Labs could just be the golden ticket for success and newfound confidence.