As third-grade helper Esther Nguyen leaned over the desk and adult tutor Kay Smith-Dechenne glanced over from one side, youngster Adrian Perez announced: “Seven times nine is 63.”
Laughter erupted as Perez, also a third-grader, beamed with pride at the correct answer.
Welcome to The Homework Club, which meets Tuesday nights at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Bothell. The club, which also offers a free meal to students and tutors, has existed for two years and has been a partner with next-door school Maywood Hills Elementary since last November.
“It’s been blossoming. We started out with eight children the first year,” said founder Smith-Dechenne, a Bothell resident who tutored for three years at the Edmonds United Methodist Homework Club. “I think it’s worked out because the kids have bonded with their tutors. The whole program is kid-driven because the kids want to be here.”
It is an independent outreach program, which is financed by donations from church members and the Lynnwood Emblem Club #366. Speaking of the church, in order to receive a grant to put in a kitchen during its remodel, members had to form a community outreach program — The Homework Club.
On a recent Tuesday, 16 child and adult tutors and 20 students were on hand to tackle math, spelling, reading and more. The students range from grades one through six, and the child tutors are in grades six through eight.
Best friends Jaiden Lemley and Mariya Astakhova, fifth-graders at Shelton View Elementary, said their adult tutor Julie Bukowski has helped them improve their multiplication and division skills at the club.
“It’s (helped) a lot — a lot,” Lemley said.
“It’s friendly, nice, kind and there’s awesome food,” added Astakhova.
Canyon Park Junior High seventh-grader Hank Melse tutors a second-grader in math, and his mom, Deb, is the liaison between the church and Maywood Hills and helps serve up the meals.
“It’s nice that you tutor one student every single time, so you kind of know them, and it’s easier,” Hank said.
Maywood Hills Principal David Wellington and the teachers and staff assist in recruiting students who may benefit from The Homework Club, which features four student tutors working for community service credits and/or honor-society awards.
“It’s actually a slam dunk. It makes a lot of sense for community members to gather around kids and help them with homework and give them a boost up,” Wellington said of the club, which will run this school year through May 22.
After their homework is completed, the kids — some low-income and English as a Second Language students — play education games and participate in crafting projects like decorating pots containing starter plants for Mother’s Day, Smith-Dechenne said.
“We just keep them busy.”
