Best of West, West High’s tutoring club, offers students extra academic support during English teacher Kerri Barnhouse’s AFT in room 104. Tutors work one-on-one with students to facilitate a better understanding of school subjects. Senior tutor Gwen Smith explains how her time at Best of West has created an impact on other students’ understanding in subjects like math.
“My tutoring has helped impact the learning of other students by helping them get a better and more personalized experience,” Smith said. “About two years ago, I was helping out a student who had an intellectual disability [that] made it harder to learn math; we got together every day and went through trig functions, and then he was able to understand it.”
Asif Ali ‘26 emphasizes how Best of West’s one-on-one tutoring can help students learn a topic more effectively.
“I’ve been able to teach [the students] how different concepts work more [personally], because there’s only one teacher; we can help out the teacher, because they can’t get to every student at the same time,” Ali said. “I can sit down with [the student], talk to them and get them to understand the content.”
Kate Van Waning ‘26 explains how a crucial part of tutoring is encouraging students to begin their work independently.
“A lot of people need help starting the task. Making sure that we’re not providing the answers and encouraging them to keep trying [is] a big part of [tutoring],” Van Waning said.
Ali notes the methods he has used in order to understand each student’s individual needs.
“Getting to know someone and their strengths and weaknesses [is important] — understanding where they might have a lack of understanding and why. [In] math, if they’re struggling with a topic before the one they’re learning, and that one’s holding them back, you can just teach them that topic,” Ali said.
Van Waning reflects on how she was able to help a student with an AP English Language and Composition essay earlier this year.
“I helped someone with an AP Lang essay; that was really fun to help someone improve their essay,” Van Waning said. “Helping students be more confident with school is a big part of [tutoring], showing that if you put in some time, you can really achieve the things you want to achieve.”
Because of her positive experience as a tutor, Smith encourages other students to try tutoring, whether through joining Best of West or informally with their peers.
“To get involved, talk to Ms. Barnhouse [and] see if it’s the right thing for you. Even if you aren’t part of Best of West, you’re still able to help tutor your friends,” Smith said.
Ali also recommends that students join Best of West because of the communication skills one can learn.
“[Best of West] teaches you a lot of skills and how to talk to different people; being able to explain stuff to someone is a very valuable skill everyone should have,” Ali said.
However, a tutoring session isn’t only a learning experience for the tutee, but also for the tutor. Smith, who has tutored since her freshman year, describes how she will use what she has learned beyond high school.
“I’ve learned how to be more patient and understanding with different learning styles. I’ve also gotten to meet a lot of people and learn about everyone at West,” Smith said. “Beyond high school, I’m going to use my tutoring skills, like patience and adaptability, in job interviews [and when] talking to people, making sure I can communicate well with people.”
Ali echoes this, indicating that his skills in Best of West will help with his future career path.
“I want to be a doctor, so being able to talk to different people [and] explain complex stuff in a way that’s more intuitive is a very useful skill that I’ve learned,” Ali said.
Smith hopes that in the future, Best of West will continue to help more students and facilitate better understanding of school subjects.
“After I graduate, I hope that [Best of West] can expand to more subjects — not necessarily just math, because I know a lot of kids struggle in a lot of different subjects,” Smith said. “It’s important that everyone gets the help they need.”
Van Waning wishes that more students would take initiative and seek help.
“Having more students come to us instead of having teachers sending the students here would be really cool to see, because the students [would be] wanting to learn and get better at that specific subject,” Van Waning said.
Students can sign up for tutoring through QR codes posted around the school on bulletin boards or speak directly to Barnhouse. Those interested in joining Best of West can sign up at the club fair in September.
