• Allderdice students launch virtual K-5 tutoring service,
If you’re the parent of a K-5 student who’s been struggling in online school during the COVID-19 pandemic, you should probably know about Children of Steel. This free virtual tutoring service, created and run by Allderdice High School students, offers support in elementary school subjects such as math, reading and science, as well as an opportunity for young kids to connect with their older peers.
“It’s hard for us high schoolers, so we’re imagining how hard it is for elementary-level children who aren’t as understanding of what’s going on,” said sophomore Arina Sokolova, Children of Steel’s co-founder and assistant director. “What we’re doing is trying to help these kids understand their lessons and do the best in school they can do.”
Children of Steel was the brainchild of Ms. Sokolova, 15, and fellow Allderdice sophomores Jennifer Lin, 16, its founder and executive director; and Eli Half, 15, its assistant director. Ms. Lin got the idea for Children of Steel when she saw how much trouble her 9-yearold sister, Angie, was having with both the academic and technological aspects of online learning.
She realized Angie was missing out on some formative experiences and wanted to do something to alleviate that burden for her and others.
“Children of Steel is [connecting] those elementary and high school students together,” Ms. Lin said. “The whole focus is on them, and the whole intention is on them.”
Ms. Lin categorized Children of Steel as a “community service organization” rather than an official nonprofit or a school club. It recently launched a
Allderdice students launch K-5 tutoring service Children of Steel
donations page to help fund its education efforts and potentially apply to become a full-fledged nonprofit.
Parents can sign up their kids through Children of Steel’s website (https:// thechildrenofsteel.godaddysites. at which point they will be assigned a tutor based on their needs. Students can attend a few sessions via Zoom each week, including both one-on-one tutoring and group sessions for children who need help in the same subjects.
Both the kids and the tutors get a lot out of the Children of Steel experience. That’s how it’s been for Jules Smalis, a 15-year-old Allderdice sophomore who began as a tutor before becoming the school’s chapter president.
She has been tutoring three kindergarten girls since the fall on their spelling and reading skills. On one Tuesday Zoom call, Ms. Smalis had her students begin their hourlong session with drawing time before transitioning into a video that illustrated what sound the letters “t” and “h” make when put together in a word.
Ms. Smalis played snippets of the video and asked the kids to spell out and say each word. Five-year-old Alaya Banks mastered the “th” sound right away. Her classmate, 5-year-old Emily Huang, was accidentally on mute but also proved she was a quick study after fixing that technical snafu.
You may think kids that young could test a high schooler’s patience, but as Ms. Smalis put it, “If you make it fun for them, they’ll actually want to learn more.” That theory is demonstrated through the educational videos and interactive activities Ms. Smalis provides for her pupils.
“COVID has been really, really tough on everyone, especially kids,” Ms. Smalis said. “K-5 is when you make your best friends in school. I can’t imagine doing that online. If this brings a smile to their face in any way, that’s what I want to do.”
Parents seem pretty happy with the deal so far. Amanda Banks, Alaya’s mother, appreciates how patient the tutors are and says she’s seen “significant improvement” in Alaya since she began working with Ms. Smalis in August. Jenny Liu, Emily’s mother, said her daughter’s school hasn’t started much reading instruction, and Children of Steel has been “really helpful for her to get more advance learning ahead of other people.”
That sort of statement would be encouraging for Maya Zimmerman, a 16year-old Allderdice sophomore and vice president of the Dragons’ Children of Steel chapter, who’s been working with two secondgrade girls to help improve their math and reading skills. She emphasized the type of kid she believes Children of Steel can help the most.
“Children of Steel is really aimed at children who don’t have the resources and aren’t as affluent in the public school system,” Ms. Zimmerman said. “An outreach for them where they can make connections with older students and learn academically and socially ... is just an amazing thing to look at.”
The organization has 125 tutors working with 85 studentsand has chapters at local high schools such as Allderdice, Winchester Thurston, CAPA, North Allegheny, ShadySide Academy and City of Bridges. Children of Steel is working on launching chapters at other Western Pennsylvania schools such as Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional and Oakland Catholic, as well as expanding its reach outside the state to New York, Virginia and Mississippi.
“How many chapters we have isn’t the most important thing,” Ms. Lin clarified. “How many students we’ve met and helped are our most important goals.”
This humble initiative is growing so rapidly that other chapters are beginning to start projects totally independent of the main organization, such as the Winchester Thurston group partnering with Open Field — a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that promotes youth sports in central Africa — to donate soccer materials to Cameroon.
Everyone involved hopes Children of Steel will be around in some form after the pandemic is stabilized and even after its founders graduate high school. Ms. Lin certainly thinks Children of Steel is too valuable an educational tool to give up on that quickly.
“Academics isn’t only through textbooks but also through leadership,” she said. “You learn from the community around you. If you’re surrounded by all these hard-working tutors ... it’ll promote curious, confident children.”