Skyline Baptist Church volunteers help students with tutoring program
MADISON – Does your second- grader scratch his head about math problems? Does your sophomore wince at dangling participles? Their solution may await at Skyline Baptist Church with its tutoring program, Skyline Student Center.
Tutoring and homework help are free at Skyline, located at 536 Slaughter Road, and available for grades K-12 on Tuesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The center opened Oct. 14.
“We decided to offer the tutoring program because we want to serve our community. It’s our hope that our community and families in it (can) see God’s love through our actions,” Laura Hester said.
Hester and Nancy Hartfield are coordinators and tutors for Skyline Student Center. Hester, a National Board Certified Teacher, teaches kindergarten at Columbia Elementary School. Also a National Board Certified Teacher, Hartfield teaches calculus at James Clemens High School.
“We’re offering tutoring free of charge because we want to minister to the community’s needs. We have a loving church with many people capable of helping students with their academics,” Hester said. “We want to volunteer our time to help children in our community because we love the Lord.”
For grades K-5, tutors can help with reading and math. For grades 6-12, tutors can assist with math, English, chemistry, physics, history, government and economics.
Students don’t have any requirements to attend. Any K-12 student is welcome.
Other tutors for Skyline Student Center are Skyline’s pastor, Rev. Matthew Bentley, a certified teacher who taught history, government and economics in Mobile; Carolyn Daniel, retired English teacher; Ira Dunn; Jordan Fulmer; Gary Garrison; Stuart Hartfield; and Jim Stone. Greeters are Barbie Breen, Linda Hawkins, Darrell Hutson and Mary Ann Walker.
“If a student is struggling with a particular concept, we can provide extra support. Sometimes, students need to hear a topic taught in more than one way,” Hester said. “We can help do that while reinforcing what’s being taught at school. A student might need support that a parent doesn’t feel able to provide.”
Teachers do not have set lesson plans. Students bring questions from class or homework.
For example, a student struggling with stoichiometry in chemistry can request help with that topic. Skyline’s science tutor can help the student.
Another example . . . “a student that struggles with graphing the slope can bring specific math problems from class, or just tell us they would like to work on graphing slope,” she said. If a student is preparing to take the ACT but is struggling with questions in the ACT Prep Guide, the student can bring those questions to Skyline’s math or English tutor for help.
Skyline Student Center follows Madison City Schools’ calendar with the following exceptions: The center will be open on Veterans Day and closed the week of Thanksgiving. Also, if MCS closes for severe weather, the center will close.
Skyline Baptist Church opened in Madison 60-plus years ago. In early years, the congregation met in members’ homes because they didn’t have a building. In 1963, the congregation began meeting in the former site of American Legion, Post 37.
In 1964, the congregation bought two acres on Slaughter Road; that year, the mission was organized under a new name, Skyline Missionary Baptist Church. Currently, Skyline Baptist Church is a growing, multi-generational congregation with people from various walks of life. The congregation is united in its love for Christ and His mission to seek and to save the lost. (skylinebaptistchurch.org/ our-history).
For more information, visit skylinebaptistchurch.org/skyline- student-support.
