Hundreds to attend 'TutorPalooza' at Wheeling High

Hundreds to attend peer tutoring event today at Wheeling High School

Given the choice, Wheeling High School Senior Lindsay Cichowicz would probably take the advice of her friends over her teachers.

"I talk to my friends all time, and they know me," Cichowicz said.

That's the thinking behind peer tutoring -- where high school students help each other through homework in a one-on-one relationship. Cichowicz is a peer tutor at Wheeling.

"I want to be a teacher when I grow up, and it's really been a fun experience," said Cichowicz, 17.

Wheeling High School will host "TutorPalooza" today, where more than 600 high school students will be trained as peer tutors. The event is hosted by the National Tutoring Association, which is based in Florida.

"Studies show people are more comfortable communicating with someone their own age," said Bob Lasiewicz, who is on the board of directors for the National Tutoring Association.

Wheeling Principal Lazaro Lopez is a huge fan of peer tutoring and pushed the National Tutoring Association to have TutorPalooza at Wheeling, said Steve Kellner, Wheeling's assistant principal for instruction.

"It's just a great event that will give students the tools and training they need to be a real tutor and coach," Kellner said. "Peer tutoring is not about finishing someone else's homework for them."

Students attending today's event are coming from all District 214 high schools. Other participating schools are Jacobs High School in Algonquin, Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Palatine High School, Erie Neighborhood House, Parkland College, St Francis University, BOTECH Program (Detroit, Mich.) and Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago.