C A M P U S C U R R E N T

HMC Answers Calls for Homework Help

“Tutor was great!”

– 10th grader from Chino High School in Chino

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology enabled the successful start of the program, which began Feb. 1 with HMC undergraduates standing by to provide free math tutoring for local students in grades 6-12. The program’s mission is to help students reinforce math concepts, develop problem-solving skills and become independent learners. The Homework Hotline employed 39 HMC students and had about eight tutors available each evening. Claremont and Pomona Unifi ed School District students call the Homework Hotline toll-free at 1-877-8 ASK-HMC, Sunday through Thursday, from 7 to 10 p.m. and speak to HMC’s high-achieving

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math and science undergraduates, who are trained in over- the-phone tutoring. Tutors have access to district-adopted mathematics textbooks, as well as supplemental math resources. During the opening

month, February 2010, the Hotline had 107 successful

tutoring

KEVIN MAPP

Mentor tutors Andy Kearney ’13 and Elly Schofi eld ’13 answer Homework Hotline calls.

sessions with 73 students from grades 7-12 and 19 students in grades 4-6. The top three subjects were Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2. During the second month of operation, tutors handled 318 calls—97 students in grades 7-12 and 83 students in grades 5-6.

The top three subjects were Math 6, Algebra 1 and Geometry. The HMC Homework Hotline is based on the successful

Homework Hotline model at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, an Indiana college that also specializes in engineering, science and mathematics education. Rose- Hulman’s Homework Hotline, started in 1991, reinforces math and science concepts and helps students develop better

long tradition of service to surrounding communities continues with Harvey Mudd College’s new Homework Hotline. Generous funding from donors James and Marilyn Simons and a successful collaboration with

C o l l e g e N e w s

“I like it when they help me with my

problem-solving skills through tutoring via a toll-free phone call, e-mail and online resources. Its staff and students see HMC’s new program as an open partnership and are supporting the development by agreeing to share training materials, promotional strategies and other resources. A $125,000 grant from donors James and Marilyn

homework.”

– 5th grader from Arroyo Elementary in Pomona

Simons, ardent supporters of advancing research in basic science and mathematics, provided the necessary funding to launch the Homework Hotline. HMC President and Math for America Los Angeles board member Maria Klawe visited Rose-Hulman, located in Terre Haute, Ind., in 2008 and met with the institution’s Homework Hotline director. Darryl Yong, associate professor of mathematics, also visited Rose- Hulman Homework Hotline staff, to study the program and determine how it could be implemented at HMC. Yong is co- director of the HMC Professional Development and Outreach Group, which supports middle- and high-school mathematics teachers in the Los Angeles area. Homework Hotline administrator, Gabriela Gamiz-

Gomez, a Pomona native and former administrator of Upward Bound, a program for fi rst-generation, college-bound high school students, draws from a wealth of experience in the local community. The Hotline concluded May 7 and will reopen in the

fall. For more information, call 909.607.4015 or go to the Homework Hotline website www.askhmc.org.

Happy and we know it

Harvey Mudd College is one of the Happiest Colleges in America according to the Daily Beast blog. In a March survey, HMC ranked 5th out of 100 U.S. colleges, joining No. 1 Claremont McKenna and No. 3 Pomona College to round out the top fi ve.

See www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-04-11/the-100-happiest- colleges/#

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