A statewide homework hotline is getting nearly $3 million to cover the costs of offering free math and science help to students.
The Lilly Endowment awarded the grant to the Rose-Hulman Insitute of Technology, which runs the hotline. It offers free tutoring by phone, email or chat to middle and high school students. The grant will fund the service through 2020.
Susan Smith Roads is the Senior Director for Student Learning Resources at the Institute. She says the hotline provides additional help for students who may be struggling or have questions.
"What we're really doing is just reinforcing what's going on in the classroom particularly in the evenings when maybe someone isn't available to assist them," Smith Roads says.
Smith Roads says about 130 Rose-Hulman students serve as the tutors.
"Rather than giving answers we make sure that students understand the concepts and, hopefully, can work similar problems on their own," Smith Roads says.
She says the grant will allow the institute to collect data about knowledge gaps in students. They plan to share that information with teachers and administrators.
Smith Roads says colleges in California, Pennsylvania and Illinois have used Rose-Hulmans' homework hotline as a foundation for their hotlines. It provided close to 34,000 tutor sessions last year.