“I hope students have more faith in the services we offer, and use them early and often,” College and Career Advisor Mai Nguyen said.
For decades, M-A has allocated money to academic support resources for students, from the Homework Center to the College and Career Center (CCC). Yet, these often don’t reach the students who could benefit the most.
Some teachers, across multiple subject areas, are paid extra to tutor in the Homework Center after school.
“On average, four or five students come to my workshop each day,” chemistry teacher Randy West said. “Some only need a quick 10 to 20 minute answer, others stay for up to two hours of in-depth review.”
The center is designed to ensure that all students who need help can get it. Activity spikes before tests and finals, when teachers would gather with students around a big table to work through questions, according to West.
Students are expected to check in through a Google form when entering the library, where the homework center is located. Data from those records shows that over the past 31 days, around 1,500 students signed in to the library during and after seventh period. Only 121 of them—about 8%—indicated that they stayed for help on a subject. “Sometimes no one comes, and I’m just sitting there, kind of biting time,” West said. “And then, in the last 30 minutes, a lot of students rush in. I stay until the last minute for them.”
Timing and logistics are common barriers. “Thursdays are tough,” West said. “With staff meetings, we can’t open until around 4:00 p.m., and fewer teachers are allocated.”
It’s also when sports, commutes, and schedules clash with after-school hours. “It depends on your schedule a lot of the time,” freshman Sophiann Lin said.
Lin noted she’s more likely to attend when friends go too. “When there are more friends, I’m more willing to go because I can do something productive while bonding with friends,” she said.
West emphasized the center isn’t just for students who are behind. “It doesn’t just help students who are struggling—in fact, most students who come are studiously driven or top students in class, looking for support from a teacher or peers who are also there,” he said.
Another academic resource being underutilized is the CCC. The center, staffed by two college advisors, provides essay workshops for those applying to colleges. They use weekly bulletins to keep students on track, drop-in hours, and college representative visits.
This year alone it has seen a noticeable drop in participation. Less than 10 students attended the CCC’s CSU application workshop, far fewer than last year, when extra chairs were needed to seat everyone. Even essay draft submissions through the center’s Google form have declined, according to Nguyen.
“Sometimes workshops are after school and I already have things planned,” senior Connor Pfaff said. “I also have a private counselor, so I have things planned beforehand, and by the time they host workshops I’m already done with the things they’re doing.”
Though Pfaff feels moderately confident with navigating the application process without the help from the CCC, he still benefits from it through college representative visits and essay reviews when he needs more perspectives. “The college visits are really helpful because then you show demonstrated interest, and you get to learn more about the schools, which isn’t really something a private counselor can do for you,” Pfaff said.
“I already have four people reviewing my essays, and I don’t want more cooks in the kitchen to make it messier,” senior Akemi Kwan said. “But it’s really helpful for state college applications like the CSUs, since they know those processes really well, and they are super helpful for first-gen students whose parents don’t know much about college.”
An anonymous student pursuing music felt that school advising didn’t fully match the niche guidance that the specialization required. They also linked the effect of caseloads to advising personalization. “One-on-one advising feels more tailored. If the counselors had fewer students, school guidance could be much more individualized,” they said.
Counselors also support students directly in AVID classes, visiting classrooms to help with financial aid, scholarships, FAFSA applications, essay revisions, and other personal narratives, and directing students to after-school and weekend programs for extra academic support.
“I wouldn’t have done it on my own without the CCC,” senior Zoe Ortega said. “I’m first-gen, and my parents are immigrants who don’t know anything about college. I needed a mentor. They open doors and make sure we’re not afraid to ask questions.”
“Schedule a meeting with us starting in junior year, and drop in whenever questions come up,” Nguyen said. “The more we know about you, the better we can tailor our assistance.”
