On February 7, 2022, Marian University’s student-organized volunteer group, Students Taking Active Reflective Roles (S.T.A.R.R.), will resume their service with the Indianapolis School on Wheels program.

S.T.A.R.R. has had a partnership with the Indianapolis School on Wheels program for 5 semesters. There was a brief hiatus in volunteering for School on Wheels due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Marian students are ecstatic to have the opportunity to be back in the schools tutoring once again.

Educating young minds is not the sole motivator for tutors, in fact, it’s the young students and their stories that really draw tutors back every week. Sophomore nursing major and School on Wheels tutor, MaryClare Swick said, “It is a way for me to give but I am also receiving a lot from it too.”

School on Wheels is driven by its mission of providing educational support and advocacy for students involved in homelessness. Tutors play a valuable role in providing consistency on a weekly basis to students who are otherwise battling with inconsistency in other serious matters of their lives. The 45-minute tutoring sessions are an invaluable source of support for students experiencing homelessness.

School on Wheels is not a traveling bus that provides aid for students involved in homelessness. The program specifically works in the schools that homeless students are enrolled in to provide them services. The school offers books, educational games, worksheets, and other materials to guide the tutoring session. Alyssa Newell, an Education Support Coordinator at School on Wheels said, “We also recognize the importance of going beyond academic needs to reach the needs of the whole child. Social-Emotional learning activities are also incorporated into the tutoring session to help students regulate their emotions and teach them how to handle difficult situations that they may experience.”

Currently, tutors are in great need in the School on Wheels program. Because tutors are provided with all of the necessary materials for their tutoring session, they do not need to have experience in teaching or tutoring; although, students studying education would greatly benefit from becoming a tutor.

Senior elementary education major at Marian University and School on Wheels tutor, Patrick Scheidler, learned many valuable lessons that he will incorporate into his classroom as a teacher. “Patience,” Scheidler said, “is a virtue that every educator should learn. It helps you understand where your students are coming from.”

Students interested in becoming tutors are encouraged to join S.T.A.R.R. and learn more about homelessness in Indianapolis. Contact Alyssa Newell at [email protected].