Homework Help builds skills, brings students together
Nearly every Monday, 11-year-old Emmanuel and 9-year-old Jeremías Tacuri come into Cleveland Branch with their backpacks and folders.
They sit down with the tutor at the Homework Help table. On this particular day, it’s 18-year-old America Juarez.
The boys get help with their math or English homework. Their mother, Maria, stands nearby and doesn’t have to stress. She knows they’re getting the support they need, even if she can’t understand all that’s being said.
Elkhart Public Library’s Homework Help pairs National Honor Society students and younger students inside library branches to assist with school assignments. The long-running program creates social connections and bridges gaps across schools and languages.
Language of support
Maria doesn’t speak English, but even without a language barrier, Emmanuel and Jeremías aren’t turning to her for help.
“Normally, they don’t want my help,” she says.
But asking for help from an older peer is easier for some students.
“This has helped because (the boys) and the tutor understand each other, both in language and support,” Maria says.
The tutors understand the value of being there, too.
America, who is bilingual, says she’s happy to assist parents when there is a language gap, too. She volunteered for sessions at Cleveland and downtown during her senior year at Elkhart High School.
“I know one of the families, their mom needed help translating,” America says. “I could help her understand what her son is working on.”
Ashley Padilla, an 18-year-old junior at Concord High School, volunteered for a Homework Help session at Pierre Moran. She also put her bilingual skills to use.
“There was a kid named Chris who needed help reading. I think it helped that I could speak English and Spanish,” Ashley says.
Plus, students recognize the relationships and social skills they build through the program, too.
Building ties
Mateo Reimon started coming to Homework Help in third grade. He’s entering sixth grade this fall.
During the last school year, he made frequent visits to Homework Help sessions downtown and at Pierre Moran.
Mateo says his mom speaks English, but his dad, Adrian, speaks very little English. Combining his mom’s long hours as a lawyer and his dad’s work schedule, it means they often aren’t available to help him with schoolwork.
“I have a lot of tests in fifth grade, and I like to study for them,” he says. “I like that people have the time to help me here.”
Over his many visits, he got to know the tutors pretty well.
“Here I have more time and more interaction with other people,” he says.
He and one of the tutors, Sahara Smith, even ran into each other at a bowling alley. Sahara, a senior at Concord, says building peer relationships between older and younger students is an additional outcome.
“I was able to talk to and connect with him in a unique way,” she says.
Mateo’s dad, Adrian, sees the benefits for kids, too.
“It’s helping him build a social life. To socialize, interact with other people, with other kids who are even older than him,” says Adrian. “He gets to know more people. Now in the city, he sees them and greets them, and I think it really does a lot of good for the kids.”
Adapting communication
Each Homework Help volunteer signs up for a four-week session. The different tutors broaden students’ interactions.
Maria Tacuri, Emmanuel and Jeremías’s mom, says with the tutors changing every few weeks, it pushes kids to learn to talk with others.
“They learn to adapt to different people, because that is the real world. We cannot keep children isolated,” Maria says.
And the student volunteers say the experience is beneficial for them, too.
“I always had to talk with adults and people my age, so this was a great way to connect with other, younger kids. It will help me to communicate with people of all different backgrounds,” Sahara says.
And that’s not the only thing the high schoolers gain from the program.
Skills for college
Most of the volunteer tutors are high school seniors, with eyes on their next chapter. But they say Homework Help gives them lessons they’ll carry with them.
America Juarez is heading to Purdue to major in global studies. She says between Homework Help and her Elkhart Area Career Center internship at a preschool, she will use her experiences in her future work.
“I’m thinking about how I’m going to apply that to the work I’ve already done and how I help kids,” America says.
Ashley Padilla, a junior at Concord, says she plans to return as a Homework Help volunteer during her senior year.
“I know I am making a difference because I’m helping (kids). It’s something new, I’m glad I signed up for it,” she says.
Sahara, who plans to major in chemistry on a pre-med track at Indiana University, says she found helping others made her feel good.
“I liked helping Mateo understand the concepts of math and reading,” Sahara says. “It was a great experience to get to know the kids. I was really happy I was able to offer my services.”
Homework Help will return for the 2026-27 school year Sept. 21. Click here for the up-to-date schedule.