Peer tutoring is a student-to-student teaching system that helps students on their homework, study skills, organization and other areas in which students need improvement. Students can become a tutor by filling out an application, which includes teacher recommendations. Their job is to help and teach other students.

Peer tutoring is open to everyone from Monday to Thursday. On Mondays, tutoring is open during period 8; on Tuesdays from 3:40-4:40; on Wednesdays during period 8 and 3:30-4:30 and on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30. Peer tutoring takes place in the ASB room near the student union. Counselor Melissa Gibson is the facilitator of peer tutoring, while a teacher supervises each peer tutoring session. One such supervisor is the French and drama teacher Megan Kirby.

“We have a lot of students that just need a little bit of extra help, and then we also have a lot students that are very good at the subjects that they tutor,” Kirby said. “So we thought it would be nice for students to help teach each other, because that’s one of the ways that we learn best.”

Portola High drew inspiration for peer tutoring from other Irvine high schools.

“I think it’s [peer tutoring] going well. There is a lot of students that get a lot of good help from other students that are really good in the subjects,” Kirby said.

Currently in peer tutoring, there are not very many students. This means that tutors can offer one-on-one help for students and any new students can get help quickly.

“I think that peer tutoring is pretty successful because there have been a lot of students that have been coming in, maybe there is 2-6 students so far,” peer tutor Tianxin Guo said. “I want to do peer tutoring because you get volunteer hours and it is also a good time to connect other people and teach people things, because when you teach others, you will learn, yourself.”

Tutors can earn community service hours if they come to peer tutoring. Guo said that community service hours motivated her to become a tutor

“The tutors come in, and you just help with any students that need help,” Guo said.

Students can always get work done correctly and fast.

“I get time to review my notes, and I can ask [my] teacher [tutor] whatever I do not understand,” sophomore Jason Yang said. “I can get my homework done correctly and get all the other knowledge I need.”