It’s mid-August. The beach beckons.
So — how did this happen?! — does school.
The first day is August 27. Time to buy new clothes. Pick up supplies.
And find a tutor.
For a decade, parents unwilling (or unable) to fork over thousands of dollars — or whose kids don’t really vibe with another adult teacher type — have had an alternative.
Top Hat Tutors — originated and still run by Staples High School — is a team of 60 juniors and seniors.
They offer tutoring and support in a wide range of academic subjects. This year they’re adding SAT and ACT prep, and (in partnership with Staples National Music Honor Society), lessons on a variety of instruments.
Top Hat is not limited to Staples. Tutors come from Weston and Wilton too. They tutor in Fairfield also — and at the middle and elementary school levels.
Rates are $50 an hour for an individual student. Group sessions add $25 per student. Reduced rates are available, upon request.
A special program matches low-income students with a tutor for a free session every other Sunday.
Tutoring takes place in students’ homes, libraries, book stores — wherever there is little distraction. Online tutoring is also available.
A key to Top Hat’s success is that every tutor has taken the classes they tutor. Some even had the same teacher as the student they work with. So the tutors not only understand the content; they’re intimately familiar with the actual course.
Vice president Megan Sargent and president Ryder Levine lead this year’s Top Hat Tutors.
Some clients are tutored weekly. Others call for one session — when, for example, a big test looms.
Clients tip their hat to Top Hat. In the dog-eat-dog world that is school today, it’s nice to have young pups around.
(Click here for the Top Hat website. To request a tutor, click here. To apply for the free tutoring program, click here. To apply to become a Top Hat tutor, click here.)
(Here’s another smart move: Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to “06880.” Thank you!)
My Jr. has used Top Hat for foreign language tutoring since we aren’t French speakers at home and has always truly benefitted from working with other high school students! They know the material and the teachers well, so they have a lot to offer. Love Top Hat.
Brilliant ‼️🇺🇸
I am the mom of two staples HS graduates, the older of which, Charlie Jersey, created Top Hat Tutors in 2013 because he was passionate about helping other students with their class work and college exams. His business purpose was to create a student community, not a capitalist enterprise. Indeed, one of the founding bylaws was that each President would sell the business at the end of the year to a rising senior for $1. Each time I hear about the success of THT, I want to congratulate Charlie for having the foresight and dedication to pursue his passion and create a legacy to support SHS students long after he graduated.