With the start of a new school year, some students will face subjects they find difficult to master, but they are essential foundations for the rest of their educational journeys. Not every family can afford private tutoring for their child. Signal Hill Petroleum, the City of Signal Hill, Mathnasium and Kumon are teaming up to offer free services for roughly 50 students in grades 1-6 this school year.
Enrollment is now open for families whose child could benefit from small-group tutoring sessions and an individualized plan to improve math and reading skills. Students must attend a Signal Hill elementary or middle school to participate.
Signal Hill Petroleum’s Community Relations Manager Melissa Lynch said she and her team came across a Long Beach Press Telegram article from years ago about how post-COVID-19 test scores were dropping among local students.
“I thought, ‘Gosh, you know, it’d be great if there’s something that we could do that’s impactful and affordable,’” Lynch said. “And then it took several years of reaching out, looking at educational resources, working with the city, trying to figure out what a program would look like, where physically it would be, how it would be managed.”
The solution they came up with is that Signal Hill Petroleum subsidizes the services, Mathnasium teaches the students and the Signal Hill Public Library provides the space for sessions, which has helped over 300 Signal Hill students over the last three years. It’s a one-of-a-kind partnership, explained Andrew Boules, who heads the Mathnasium aspect, saying that out of the company’s 1,200 branches, he hasn’t seen anything else like it.
“They [Signal Hill Petroleum] kind of set a precedent for even public school partnerships and the right way to do it,” Boules said. “So it’s a cool, unique thing that I think could maybe be a little bit more widespread as we prove it has value.”
Boules said most of their students see jumps between 1 and 1.5 grade levels after one year with Mathnasium. Given the success of the math sessions, this year Signal Hill Petroleum has added a pilot program through a contract with Kumon to help 15 students with reading tutoring.
Both math and reading tutoring will continue once a week at the Signal Hill Public Library with hour-long sessions. For math, students are taught in groups of four with one teacher per group. Around 30 students will be accepted into this year’s math tutoring program.
Similar tutoring schedules range between $250 and 500 per child, according to several online estimates, making this free program typically out of reach for many families.
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The City of Signal Hill’s Library Department will lead the selection process, contacting teachers and families to make sure the kids who need the tutoring most receive it. Sessions will run throughout the entire school year, with monthly progress reports and quarterly benchmarks.
“I think math compounds really quickly and people usually understand that even if you’re trying to work on grade 3 things, we gotta go back and do this thing that you might have forgotten from 2nd grade, and I think that’s kind of the magic of the program,” Boules said.
Signal Hill Petroleum also throws an end-of-year graduation party for the participating students and their families, complete with food, prizes, a certificate and an appearance from the mayor.
“They [the students] accomplish something important. We want them to feel that, feel that it’s important and feel good about what they’ve done and what they’ve accomplished,” said Signal Hill Petroleum Chief Executive Officer Dave Slater.
Families interested in applying for free tutoring services can pick up an application at the Signal Hill Public Library (1800 E. Hill St.) or email SHPLtutoring@cityofsignalhill.org. There will be a waiting list once the available spots fill up, and kids may lose their spot if they are consistently missing sessions.
Reading sessions will take place Wednesdays from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and math sessions will take place Thursdays with options from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., or 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
