By Carolina ’21
During the spring of 2019, our learning specialist, Grace Brown, worked to create the Upper School’s first Learning Center. The space is designed for students to be able to work with Ms. Brown and other teachers who offer writing, study skills and organizational support. Beyond the support that teachers provide, Peer Tutoring also takes place in the Learning Center. Peer Tutors are a group of Upper Schools students who help fellow students study for tests, understand concepts, and work through problems together in science, math, history, or language classes.
The Learning Center space is very welcoming and productive. The room is covered in white boards to allow students to write out their work on something larger than just a piece of paper or draw diagrams for enhanced visual learning. Furthermore, the space includes tables, couches, beanbags, and offers lots of comfy places to do your work and take a breather. There is even an awesome snack bar to help us refuel before studying! The Learning Center has all the resources you would need in order to complete your work including a printer, commonly used textbooks, paper, and a quiet space to work alone or with peers. Christian Becerra ‘21 said, “The Learning Center is such a helpful and inclusive environment where students can seek any kind of academic help. While I use the Learning Center as a place to do work while enjoying snacks, students and teachers are right around the corner to lend a helping hand on anything you bring their way.”
Within the Learning Center, there are three librarians who can help students manage their time, help guide through the research paper process, and provide organizational support. There are also two writing support advisers who will help you achieve your goals as a writer at HW whether it be for English assignments or for personal statements. Recently, more teachers have joined the Learning Center including a history teacher in order to help students more specifically with claims or topics for their history research papers.
Even online, the Learning Center Team has been there to support all students. Their support has proven to be even more valuable during online learning. Each week, someone from the Learning Center will email us to check in and support us. Furthermore, kids who tend to work in the Learning Center and have struggled with online school have connected with our learning specialists to be able to go back to school and work from school.
The Learning Center has been so successful and filled with so many students that next year Harvard-Westlake will be creating a separate Writing Support Center in addition to the Learning Center in order to best help accommodate the students and provide all the support they need.
