Pre-college programs

8 | FEATURES

Seniors explore on-campus pre-college programs, sample student life

Toby Goldfarb ’23 Web Managing Editor

During the pandemic, many colleges closed their doors to prospective applicants, limiting in-person tour groups from viewing classrooms and other campus buildings. Despite online o erings, such as Q&As with admissions o cers or “virtual tours,” it has become increasingly di cult to understand life on campus. In order to remedy this issue, seniors such as Analise Vega ’23 indulged in on-campus pre-college programs, like Duke University’s Medicine and Health Care program. “I was literally sleeping in one of Duke’s freshman dorms, living and eating on campus,” Vega said. “It was so fun to feel like a student there.” In addition to the opportunity to explore Duke’s campus, Vega’s program exposed her to advanced educational content. “I feel that this program prepared me for the intensity and rigor of the career I am getting myself into,” Vega said. “ is is really important for students our age to experience since [the pre-med track] is not something you entertain if you are not truly interested.” Similar to Vega, Ariston Liu ’23 participated in the Cornell Summer College Experience (SCE) for high school students. At Cornell, Liu explored the fundamentals of engineering and programming, navigated a work-life balance and strengthened his self-dependency. “ e program made me like Cornell a lot, as it immersed me into their style of teaching,” Liu said. “It also helped to change my outlook on other schools geographically similar to Cornell.” Regardless of participants’ target school, on-campus offerings provide students with an opportunity to determine their priorities in selecting a college. Tavan Bhatia ’23 attended the Garcia Program at Stony Brook University, a seven-week program focused on independent research. “Because I’m not really considering Stony Brook to attend, the biggest future clarity this program provided me with wasn’t in terms of nding a speci c college,” Bhatia said, “rather a general sense of what to look for in other colleges.” However, students like Claire Sandhaus ’23, who attended the Broadcasting and Digital Journalism program at Syracuse University, were able to view a school of interest in a new context. “When I was on campus back in the winter, I got a real taste of what Syracuse was like,” Sandhaus said. “Living on campus this summer gave me a completely di erent view on what the school looked like.” Overall, the on-campus component of the programs was bene cial to the participants, providing a low-stakes introduction to college life. Whether students are left with more academic knowledge or a strengthened sense of independence, living on campus was a necessary adjustment, according to Bhatia. “It was a really new and meaningful experience for me,” Bhatia said. “Living in dorms full-time is a huge shift, and I’m really glad I got to live that before I go to college.”

Photo contributed by Ariston Liu ’23

Photo contributed by Tavan Bhatia ’23

FUN WITH STEM Ariston Liu ’23 visits Cornell University in Ithaca, New York to parti cipate in their Summer College Experience Program.

MOLECULAR RESEARCH Tavan Bhati a ’23 operates a C. W. polymer blender to blend graphene nano-platelets and various biodegradable polymers at the Garcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces program at Stony Brook University.

BOUND FOR MEDICINE Analise Vega ’23 parti cipates in Duke University’s Medicine and Health Care program where she prepares for the rigorous pre-med track.

Photo contributed by Analise Vega ’23

features | 9 Benefi t of tutors rests in not overstepping

Lucy Dockter ’23 Editor-in-Chief

Upon entering Panera Bread at 4 p.m., one can nd students and tutors bent over computers and study packets, mumbling loudly. Some of the tutors are from outside the school, some are Staples teachers, some are students themselves. Although many Staples students hire private tutors at various times throughout their schooling, many wonder whether the help is necessary or even helpful. Others ponder the ne line between extra help and maintaining academic integrity.

According to the Staples academic integrity policy, cheating entails “using the services of another person (family member, tutor, etc.) inappropriately [or] having private tutors draft, dictate or otherwise do work that the student should be completing themself.” Consequences include some form of a lowered grade.

“We’ve seen [tutors] edit and change and write parts of student work, which is clearly plagiarism,” English teacher Brian Tippy said. “And it’s not even the student that initiates it necessardent that initiates it necessarily, but the student still has to ily, but the student still has to own the consequences, and so own the consequences, and so they miss out on the learning they miss out on the learning opportunity, and they run afoul opportunity, and they run afoul of the academic integrity rules.” of the academic integrity rules.”

Some academic departments Some academic departments take measures to prevent cheattake measures to prevent cheating and spreading of class mateing and spreading of class materials to other students and tutors.

“Some of our interventions in the bio dept include [...] not giving back tests to students to take home (we keep them), if students review tests, they turn in electronics to do so,” biology teacher biology teacher Kayla Iannetta said. Kayla Iannetta said.

But when done correctBut when done correctly, outside tutoring can o er ly, outside tutoring can o er struggling students an avestruggling students an avenue to success. Mili Green ’23, nue to success. Mili Green ’23, president of Top Hat Tutors, president of Top Hat Tutors, does this with peer tutors, ensuring that their tutors, who have taken the classes that they tutor and often with the same teacher, are not just tutoring for a grade, but for learning.

“When we are introducing our tutors to the school year and are giving a brief introduction of how to tutor,” Green said, “we do have to say, ‘Make sure you’re making them learn and you’re not just making them reliant on you.’”

Graphic by Allison Cancro ’25 & Shivali Kanthan ’24

InfographicbyAlexGaines ’25

While some districts do not allow teachers to tutor students in the same school system, Westport Public Schools only mandates that teachers cannot tutor current students in their class. Many students claim there is distinct value in Staples teachers’ rst hand knowledge. “I think that the bene t comes from the fact that the Staples teachers do know the curriculum and do know the pacing and the depth of understanding that’s expected,” Ann Didelot, math teacher and a tutor outside of school, said. Outside tutors often provide a di erent perspective and help students understand the material through a lens they don’t get in the classroom. “It’s hard to make really strong connections when you have a lot of students at once,” private tutor Jessica Goldberg said. “Creating an environment of learning that’s more connected helps more productive learning to take place and more sustainable progress in a subject matter.”