Academic Support
From daily faculty office hours to our helpful librarians and the academic support professionals in our ASSIST (Academic Success Strategies through Inquiry, Self-Advocacy, and Technologies) Learning Center, there is always someone to turn to for academic advice.
ASSIST
Professionally managed, our ASSIST Center offers skills based, individual academic support. The team is qualified to manage students with formal learning plans, and extends their reach through the coordination of our peer tutoring program. Peer tutors are available to lend a helping hand throughout the academic day in the ASSIST Center. Additionally, students can request a one-on-one peer tutor match that meets weekly during an agreed upon time. They can also utilize EAST (Evening Academic Support Team) appointments for half-hour tutorial sessions in math, writing, and research.
Faculty Office Hours
Faculty members are readily accessible to students throughout the day, offering support and guidance in various aspects of their academic journey. From 1:35 PM to 2:00 PM each day, faculty are available in their offices, providing a dedicated window for students to seek assistance on projects or homework, or for further discussion of a class topic. They are also available to students during their free periods and during evening study hall by appointment.
Structured Study Hall
In their first trimester at Tabor, ninth grade students participate in structured study hall sessions held in the Academic Center. As they transition into the second trimester, they move on to reduced support study/prep periods, following a customized approach designed to enhance their academic performance. These sessions can take place in their dorms or the library. In grades 10-12, students have Evening Prep. Boarding students can decide to spend this prep time in the dorms, or join day students who opt to stay on campus in the library or Academic Center. Peer tutors have on campus privileges to tutor during Evening Prep hours, as well.
How May We ASSIST?
A cozy and bright office in the new Travis Roy Campus Center, with comfy, cool furniture awaits the brave-hearted learner. The ASSIST Center, staffed by Kerrie Husband-McGregor and Susan Kenny, is the place to be for students who want to do their best at Tabor academically.
ASSIST is ready to help with organization, listening and note-taking skills, editing thoughts on that final paper or college essay, or even proven ways to remember those pesky things you need to get done! Their individual approach to academic support is what makes their methods so successful. ASSIST Center staff partner with classroom teachers and support our Peer Tutoring program as well.
In addition to ASSIST, Tabor recently instituted an additional program for subject specific appointments which has rapidly become popular. EAST (Evening Academic Support Team) is staffed by veteran teachers from each department, offering 1:1 subject-specific appointments.
Working with my peer tutor in Physics helps improves my confidence in the concepts that I didn’t fully grasp in class.Gavin, Peer Tutoring Program Participant
ASSIST Services:
- Strategies to support executive functioning, i.e. time management, organization, planning/mapping out assignments, being more efficient with your time, etc.
- Incorporating new study strategies/skills into your daily routine, with a particular emphasis on chunking vs. cramming
- Developing test-taking strategies
- Getting started on a paper, organization within your paper, proofreading for grammar and word choice
- Support with reading comprehension and developing strategies for reading comprehension
- Assistance with the research process
- Math extra help
- Collaborating with faculty to support students in closing gaps with missed work
- Peer tutoring
- Use of assistive technology
- Proctoring extended time tests
- Teaching seminars to facilitate the transition process and to foster executive function development of incoming ninth graders
- Providing a life skill "toolbelt" with lessons about prioritizing, planner use, time management, academic choices and effective communication
- Subject-specific help via 30-minute 1:1 appointments with Tabor faculty (through EAST)
EAST helped me and continues to help me elevate my writing... Now, I go to EAST every time I have an essay, which has increased my grade by around ten percent! Additionally, I really enjoy having another set of eyes on my work to make sure everything makes sense, peer-reviewing in a way, but with a veteran teacher!Cameron Martin ’24
Peer Tutoring Program
Tabor’s peer tutoring initiative, coordinated by ASSIST, offers a multitude of advantages for both the students seeking guidance and those providing assistance.
- Tutors support students by helping them with their homework, test prep, and study skills through modeling learned academic skills.
- Peer tutoring, available before and during the academic day, is offered for qualitative and quantitative disciplines as well as modern language. (Evening prep available with prior approval.)
- Coaching, matching, and training provided by the learning specialists in the ASSIST Center. ASSIST supports elected Peer Tutor Leaders with the cohort management responsibilities of the program.
- Peer tutors host drop-ins during most blocks of the school day, in addition to creating one-on-one matches that foster both routine and relationships between the tutors and tutees.
- Serving as a peer tutor allows students who are excelling academically to develop their soft skill set and enhance their college resume.
