Students Helping Students: Tartan Tutors Program Brings Academic Assistance and Peer Connections to Community

Middle School writing teacher Owen Beitner wanted his students to feel confident in their writing. He thought Upper School students could help.

Mr. Beitner tapped into St. Margaret’s Upper School Peer Tutoring Network, or Tartan Tutors for short, in search of Upper School tutors specializing in writing and editing and available during his needed blocks.

It led to a great cross-divisional connection. As Mr. Beitner’s students wrapped up their personal narrative writing assignment in class, several Upper School students came by during grade 6 writing class to review student work, offer feedback and give encouragement. 

“By collaborating with Tartan Tutors and using our rubric as a metric, I found that my students gained the confidence they had in them all along,” Mr. Beitner said. “The fresh perspective of a new reader, especially an older Tartan, is both educational and special.”

The Tartan Tutor network is an Upper School leadership group that launched in 2019 as a way for students to help other students with their academic work and study strategies. Learners gain both knowledge and confidence through the peer relationship, while student tutors experience the inherent benefits that teaching others provides.

Upper School assistant principal James Harris, who oversees the Tartan Tutors, said the program has served three main purposes:

Like other leadership groups on campus, students express interest in being tutors during the spring heading into the following school year. This year, 20 sophomores, juniors and seniors are serving as Tartan Tutors. Most of their work is with grade 9 and grade 10 students, but Mr. Harris is noticing an increase in requests from Middle School students and Lower School families. Families and teachers can request tutoring through PeerKonnect, a technology partner which manages the website where learners, tutors and teachers register, connect and make appointments.

 

“Once a learner or teacher registers, they are able to review all the available tutors, the subjects they are adept at tutoring in and the times they are available, whether in person or virtually,” Mr. Harris said.

 

In Mr. Beitner’s classroom, the value of the program was clear. One grade 6 student visited the tutor set up in the corner of the classroom, asking for clarification on the use of punctuation and italics. Another asked for advice on the introductory paragraph. One just wanted the tutor to read the narrative and share feedback.

It was exactly what Mr. Beitner was hoping for, and he was grateful the Tartan Tutors were there to help.

“I love St. Margaret’s for many different reasons – one of which is the ability to connect with different divisions,” Mr. Beitner said. “I find that our community is based on love and kindness and have found that the Tartan Tutors brought exactly that to our grade 6 community.”