Knightly News

On Friday, September 4th, Mrs. Sutcliffe and the Academic Resource Center (ARC) hosted its annual tutoring retreat. At 7:50 am, we opened our doors to tutors, new and old, some ready to jump into the school year and others hesitant to take on this new responsibility. Some were a little rusty on their tutoring skills, and others were ready to live, breathe, and eat tutoring. We welcomed all to learn as tutors and to take on the name of Fellow, to be a helping hand in our Episcopal community. Together, we rallied to make this year’s ARC Retreat a soaring success and welcomed students from The Brighton School, led by 2016 Episcopal alumnus Jackson Davis, to learn about our tutoring center as they build the foundations of their own, the Brighton Academic Association.

Together, we hope that this year we may advance our mission to see that every student receives the academic support they need. 

The Academic Resource Center has held this retreat for as long as there have been Fellows to attend it. Even though we do this every year (especially through the eyes of a returning tutor), it’s always a nice refresher to gather with all the other Fellows and share our tutoring experiences. As it turns out, one of the first things on our to-do list was listening to an article published in a peer-reviewed academic journal–The Journal of Peer Tutoring in Secondary Schools–by one of our 2026 graduates, Jordan Harvey. Ms. Harvey wrote about an experience while tutoring middle schoolers, in which she had to decide how to balance her client's individual needs during group study sessions. 

One of the following activities hosted by our more experienced Fellows from the class of 2027 was a performance in which they demonstrated positive (but mostly unhelpful) tutoring habits. Through their illustrative presentations, Kate Bernard, Harper Inzer, Diana Olinde, and Madeline Greene showed our Brighton friends and us that, as tutors, we want to foster a friendly and supportive environment when welcoming our clients.

“I thought it was really helpful and fun to have the performances,” said Jillian, a junior who is in her second year as a Fellow.

Another student mentioned how engaging it was to watch the awkward interactions between an inattentive tutor and a hesitant student. Seeing the older Fellows demonstrate bad tutoring practices helped many of the watching tutors gain a better understanding of the types of habits they should model and those which they should avoid. This activity allowed us to put into perspective how different actions make potential clients feel, and how far a friendly hello can go to putting a fellow student at ease. 

By 9:45, all the Fellows broke into groups to discuss AI in academics, share tutoring experiences, and participate in mock tutoring sessions. Junior Ada Mere remarks on practicing a mock session with a Brighton student.

“Our mock session was very helpful because I played a student who was not on top of their work, was using unreliable sources, and had assignments due the next day. My hope was that [the Brighton tutor] would be able to remain calm and maintain a professional character.” 

Curry, the Brighton student paired with Ada, shared, “One thing that stood out about the tutoring center at Episcopal was that all of the Fellows were extremely welcoming and eager to get to know each and every one of us.”

Brody, another Brighton student, reports a similar learning experience: “I learned how to better form a relationship with the client when tutoring them.”

“One thing that I learned about tutoring while at the center was to ask specific questions to help the client without fully giving them the answer,” said Brighton student Marley.

Sam remarked, “I learned that you should sit next to them rather than in front of them, so it feels like you’re not being taught by a teacher, but guided.”

Mr. Davis, likewise, reflected on his time at Episcopal, not only whilst participating in the retreat but also as a student here from 2013 to 2016. He remembers how supportive his teachers were–in particular Ms. Kirschner, Ms. Spaht, and Ms. Duke–and how the academics and opportunities offered helped him realize his passion for English. 

“I had the idea a few years ago to start a student tutoring center at The Brighton School based on Episcopal’s,” Mr. Davis wrote, “I met with Mrs. Sutcliffe last March, and she answered every question I had and allowed me to observe some tutoring sessions with her Fellows.”

As we delved deeper into discussions about teaching and learning as tutors, time ticked slowly towards the moment when we waved goodbye to our new tutoring buddies. We continued with a few more discussions and a big group rally, and then it was soon time for us to disperse and journey into the wide world of wisdom, taking what we’ve learned to share with our community.

As much as we hope for the success of Brighton’s tutoring center, so too do they hope for the strengthening of their alliance with Episcopal: “I truly hope we can continue our partnership and that it will be beneficial for both parties; so far it has been particularly beneficial for us at Brighton.”

Reina Dukes is a Fellow in her junior year who tutors in writing, math, and Spanish. She is on the Episcopal golf team and loves to read and write in her free time. In school, she participates regularly in the literary magazine, Troubadour, and is an executive member of the club Unknighted Against Hate. She also played on the junior’s Powderpuff team. 

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2025-2026 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.