The Paws for Pupils program allows Rogers State University faculty, staff and students to provide one-on-one assistance and small group support to students at Claremont Elementary. This program focuses on tutoring, study skills, and mentoring and strives to help enhance academic achievement for students. RSU’s partnership with Claremont allows RSU college students to be involved in the community and use their skills.
“My time at Claremont was very rewarding. The teachers and staff were wonderful and extremely helpful. It was great to be with the kids and help them with their work or the ones struggling and watch their eyes light up when they finally understood.” – Tammy Cunningham, RSU Student
Math Tutoring
All students in the Math Structures I course are required to do a minimum of 8 hours of tutoring at an elementary school which is factored into their grade for the course. Tutoring also provides students the opportunity to put into practice things that are discussed in the course. It helps prepare them for their future profession; almost all of the students taking the course are pursuing a degree in Elementary Education.
Because of our partnership with Claremont, our students are encouraged to do their tutoring with them, and the majority do, while others tutor at elementary schools closer to their homes. RSU students are able to apply what they are learning in class and Claremont students benefit from the tutoring. The feedback I received from the teachers is overwhelmingly positive. This is true service learning for our students.
“All of the tutors were very professional and showed up on time each week. Our students looked forward to spending time with them each week! The RSU tutors gave small group help to our students and assisted on any math topic we were covering. Thank you so much for the opportunity!” – Cheryel Prebble, 4th grade Teacher/Department Head
RSU Honors Program
Because of the program’s focus on service learning, the Honors Program has partnered with Claremont Elementary to provide tutoring assistance in several different academic areas. This allows them to use their skills they have developed and more importantly impact the life of a child in a positive way.
The Honors Program at Rogers State University provides an atmosphere where our best and brightest scholars can challenge themselves academically to maximize their college experience. Honors courses at RSU are specifically designed to challenge students, as well as provide a supportive learning environment for this community of scholars. The honors courses are designed to integrate curriculum, develop and integrate learning communities, and assist in the integration and oversight of service-learning opportunities.
The Honors Program requires that students engage in at least 25 hours of service per semester with government agencies, social service agencies, or non-commercial entities. Service learning projects will be “real world” experience directly relating to the student’s area of academic or professional interests. All projects are approved in advance by the faculty advisor and director of the Honors Program.