Wilkes-Barre Academy offers a peer tutoring program allowing peer volunteers to assist other students in subjects where help is needed. Tutoring may be requested by the teacher or parent, however final approval must be by the classroom teacher.

Peer tutoring is an educational approach that joins students from grades K to 4 who are tutored by older students from grades 5 to 8. Our goal is to develop skills and confidence in the subject area where help is needed.

The research literature on peer tutoring is extensive and international studies have clearly shown that peer interaction is conducive to a host of important early achievements, such as:

• Children's understanding of fairness
• Their self-esteem
• Their proclivities toward sharing and kindness
• Their acquisition of role-taking and communication skills
• Their development of creative and critical thinking.

Research literature also shows that the gains for tutors often outdistance those of the students receiving assistance. These gains result from reworking what the tutors know in order to make it understandable to their students.

The benefits of peer tutoring include:

• Development of reading, writing skills and language development
• Development of social behaviors, interpersonal and communication skills
• Improvements in self-esteem
• Opportunities for leadership and social responsibility
• Gaining a heightened sensitivity to younger student's needs and concerns