Peer Tutors 101

• How to start a peer tutoring program at your school.

• Presented by the staff of Alexander Graham Middle School.

The Administration Perspective

• Beth Thompson• 6th Grade Assistant

Principal• AG Middle School

Parent Perspective

• Amy Karnes• “Sam’s Mom”

Parent Letter• The peer tutor program at AGMS has been a

tremendous benefit to my son Samuel. He loves the one on one attention and the “positive” peer pressure encourages him to try new things. He loves learning to dance with the peer tutors and play games. He wants to please them and mimic them in many ways. For an Autistic child, responding socially to peers is never easy, but the peer tutors made it something that was fun for Sam.

• He looked forward to their visits to the classroom. He was hardly interested in his clothing or style of dress before meeting these boys. After interacting with them; he wanted to dress in the style they wore and he wanted to be smart with his overall appearance. They made such an impression on him, it began to matter to him what shirt or shorts he wore a given day.

• I am sure it’s hard for a parent of a typical twelve year old to understand, but to have your child begin to respond socially in a significant way to other children is the equivalent of having your child win an award. Through this program, Sam, even though he is almost non-verbal, began to express his feelings and thoughts with picture symbols. I believe it was the unrelenting perseverance of Ms. Caudill and his wonderful peer tutors that helped Sam make a leap forward socially and expressively.

• I would highly recommend the “Peer Tutor” program for any Autistic child no matter what type of school setting they are involved in. Learning is always a puzzle for Autistic children and those that teach them. I am so glad Sam has had the opportunity to have peer tutors in his life. I hope he will continue to have these special young people as his “friends” through high school.

Parent Letter• The peer tutor program at AGMS has been a

tremendous benefit to my son Samuel. He loves the one on one attention and the “positive” peer pressure encourages him to try new things. He loves learning to dance with the peer tutors and play games. He wants to please them and mimic them in many ways. For an Autistic child, responding socially to peers is never easy, but the peer tutors made it something that was fun for Sam.

• He looked forward to their visits to the classroom. He was hardly interested in his clothing or style of dress before meeting these boys. After interacting with them; he wanted to dress in the style they wore and he wanted to be smart with his overall appearance. They made such an impression on him, it began to matter to him what shirt or shorts he wore a given day.

• I am sure it’s hard for a parent of a typical twelve year old to understand, but to have your child begin to respond socially in a significant way to other children is the equivalent of having your child win an award. Through this program, Sam, even though he is almost non-verbal, began to express his feelings and thoughts with picture symbols. I believe it was the unrelenting perseverance of Ms. Caudill and his wonderful peer tutors that helped Sam make a leap forward socially and expressively.

• I would highly recommend the “Peer Tutor” program for any Autistic child no matter what type of school setting they are involved in. Learning is always a puzzle for Autistic children and those that teach them. I am so glad Sam has had the opportunity to have peer tutors in his life. I hope he will continue to have these special young people as his “friends” through high school.

Peer Tutor Perspective

Moriah Kimel• Learn about people with

Autism• Learn ways to interact with

all kinds of people• Surprisingly, Students with

Autism sometimes miss the details in the surroundings.

• Understanding this helps to avoid “the awkward”

Education Community Perspective

• Jeff McGunegle• Students with Autism are

great teachers.• "The weak need the

strong (intellectually, economically, physically), but the strong also need the weak (for their hearts). paraphrased from Jean Vanier of L'Arche

Educational Community

• Peer Tutors: Allows those who desire to have the experience of interacting with those who have autism. To teach them and be in community with them

• Transformative Experience for All: Allows students with autism to be recognized and be part of the community. Allows peer tutors to open their hearts and helps them learn through teaching which brings mastery.

Educational Community

• Hemby/Siskey Y Team Building Experience: What I saw! What parents saw!

• Pup Tent (School Store): Transformative Experience for Parent Volunteers. Patience of Customers.

Watch it, Learn it, Live it

• Peers create ways to make a lifelong impression by “thinking outside the box”.

How to get started• Schedule a meeting with your

administrators.

• Discuss your options at the school level.

• Meet with your scheduling person in January or February to put choices in the rubric.

• In the Spring plan for next school year.

• Go with a plan. Be specific about the number of students, days of the week or any other details.

• Short term rotation, long term rotation, elective class (all year).

• Plan to put these choices in the rubric.

• Plan to meet again in the spring to evaluate, review what worked or didn’t.

It is that simple

• Peer tutoring has many many benefits.

• With a little pre-planning, you can be up and running by October of that school year or sooner.

Questions?