Knightly News

Imagine being stumped on a math problem at 10 pm on a Thursday or struggling to find the right words at 10 am on a Saturday. Homework assignments can be stressful, and students can frequently use a little extra assistance. With that in mind, Episcopal administrators launched a partnership with the online tutoring platform Paper earlier this school year. While the partnership only just started this fall, students and teachers are already reaping the benefits. “I have used Paper to review my personal narrative draft that we wrote in English this first semester as well as using the math tutors to help me work through problems I am struggling on,” says ninth grader Ella Stephens.

Here are four ways Paper is reducing stress for Middle and Upper School scholars and educators.

1.       Academic support 24/7

Paper tutors are available 24 hours a day/seven days a week. That availability means a lot to students like Ella. “Paper has helped me this school year by providing access to tutors which is extremely helpful for studying over the weekends,” she says. “I would tell my classmates that Paper is extremely helpful for when you cannot see your teacher in person and need a little extra help. Knowing that I can get help on something at any time takes off a lot of stress about homework and learning new material.” Paper tutors are accessible on any device, and assistance is provided in English, French, Mandarin and Spanish.

Middle School English teacher Katy Valentine says there is tremendous value in having a second or even third pair of eyes on school assignments. “I believe this will help alleviate the anxiety that can sometimes happen around homework, especially since our students tend to work independently later in the evening after sports and other activities,” she says.

2.       Paper tutors are educators

Paper tutors are specialists in the Socratic method, which means they guide students by asking questions to help clarify points rather than simply providing answers. The tutors are educators and content experts, and they know how to support learners.  “The Paper tutors are helpful, and they do not make me feel bad for not knowing the answer or not knowing how to figure out a question,” says Ella. “For English, I was really struggling on my outline for our literary analysis and the Paper tutor helped me for around an hour to come up with the best possible ways to look at and approach what I wanted to write about.”

Paper tutors provide support in more than 200 subjects, including math, science, history, English, world languages, economics, computer science and business. Tutors also provide feedback on written work within 24 hours of submission.

3.       No cost to families

Private tutors can be pricey. The Paper tutoring program is no additional cost to Episcopal students and families, regardless of how many times the student accesses a tutor. Paper online tutoring is one of several no-cost academic support resources available. Teachers provide assistance to students during flex and office hours. Peer tutoring is offered in subjects like math, and writing assistance is provided by Writing Fellows in the Writing Center.

4.       Integrated with the classroom teacher

Paper tutoring interactions are shared with teachers so that they know what concepts students find challenging. This insight can inform the teacher’s classroom review. “Paper can act like a teacher’s assistant,” says Valentine. “My students have used it already in our short story unit to get additional feedback. I can see their conversation on my Paper.co dashboard and follow up with any questions that the student may have for me.” Valentine says she plans to have students use a Paper tutor when the class begins practicing paraphrasing and summarizing to avoid plagiarism. “This way they each have their own helper to check and offer suggestions,” she says.

Episcopal administrators are pleased that students and teachers are using this new academic resource. Assistant Head of School for Academics Dr. Sara Fenske says, “The response from our community has been overwhelmingly positive and usage continues to grow. During the day, our students have so much access to their teachers, but this provides another resource during study hall, after school, and at night when they may not be able to ask their teachers. Whether it’s for a quick question or assistance getting started on a paper or math problem, having access to content area experts at their fingertips, night or day, is an incredible boon for our students!”

Paper Resources

For Parents/Families:

Parents can learn more about how Paper tutors assist students by participating in a parent webinar. Click the link to register: https://pages.paper.co/webinars-for-parents-and-guardians.

For Students:

Logging into Paper is easy. Students should visit https://app.paper.co/login/student, type in the school's name and log in via Google using school credentials. 

Paper Pointers™ for Teachers: 

Paper shares more with teachers on how to get started and integrate Paper tutoring through a series of Paper Pointers™ webinars. The 30-minute sessions are delivered multiple times a week throughout the school year. Click the link to register: https://paper.co/teachers/pointers#calendar.

Paper's Youtube Channel:

To learn more about Paper, check out the company’s Youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/c/PAPERLearning

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.