Cypress High’s Helping Hands Club, as the name suggests, “lends a hand” to students.
As school budgets become more limited, students in cramped classrooms suffer. Helping Hands attempts to fix that problem. After school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, members of the club tutor students at Arnold Elementary School who need help in academics.
“We, as a club, are endeavoring to raise the general educational level through further reinforcing the academic curriculum. We hope to provide equal educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds,” said club president James Oh.
The club consists of members who have strengths in different subjects. A student can find a specific tutor based on the subject in which she needs help.
“Not all members are good at teaching all subjects, but we all have different subjects we excel at so we’re able to equally help all the students,” commented member Yash Rattanchandani.
Sam Choi, the club’s vice president, said, “What we learn from elementary leads up to high school. Elementary education is the foundation. But not everyone can fully understand what they learn in the classroom. If that foundation is unstable, then it’s going to be much more difficult for these kids later.”
Students tutored by Helping Hands have shown improvements in school grades. The public has become more aware of the club due to the praise it receives from parents.
“A student’s mom came once and thanked me so much that she offered a Starbucks gift card. I refused, of course, and told her that this is a volunteer club for the community’s good, not for my personal gain. But it felt nice knowing that someone is thankful,” said Oh.
Helping Hands is currently only active at Arnold Elementary, but has plans to expand to other elementary schools in the district.
