HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED — Steubenville High School junior Hannah Martin is one of five pupils who interns in the school’s new writing lab. She assists her peers with assignments, which helps to improve students’ grammatical skills on cross-cultural projects. -- Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — Steubenville High School is now offering its students some help in making better grades in a variety of subjects, thanks to a new writing lab located in the multipurpose area outside of the guidance counselor’s office.

The lab was begun late last year by English teachers Shannon Bednar and Whitney Boni. It operates during first, second, third and fifth periods throughout the week, and during fourth period on Fridays.

Hopes to expand the lab are in the works. Student interns work with their peers to help guide one another through assignments. The program extends beyond English, and includes the subjects of science, history and more.

The intent is to assist with drafting and rewriting essays, completing missing or incomplete work, English and reading remediation and ACT prep in English or reading.

“We put the idea in place two years ago when we saw a need for a space to collaborate,” said Bednar. “We just saw a need for writing help and a lot of students turn to their English teachers who may not have the time. We have strong writers and they give the correct support. I wondered why not use them as peer-to-peer tutors.”

Bednar said officials learned of the Jefferson County Educational Service Center’s annual Best Practice Grant program and applied for funding. The school received $660 to help procure a printer, computer charging stations and resource guide manuals. Transitions delayed the start of the writing lab until last year, however, and although student interns were trained last spring, efforts officially got underway this school year.

To date, there are five juniors and seniors participating on the team, including Hannah Martin, Gabriel Martin, Jayden Cooper, Taylor Moss and Holden Mason.

“Students who were strong writers could be in the lab and we met during Maymester,” Bednar explained. She noted Steubenville High alumna and University of Cincinnati creative writing students led a discussion in one of those sessions. E-mails were sent to each teacher in the building, along with parents to inform them of the program. Students could be referred to the lab for assistance, while the help is cross-curricular and can include reports or other related work in science to history.

Students who are in need of using the lab can bring their Chromebooks to the area where desktop computers are available. It is the teachers’ hope the lab will expand in hours and in the number of students helping in the future.

“Our goal is to have a student on hand every period,” Bednar said. “We want to potentially train strong sophomore writers during their junior year.” To take part, students must have completed English 101 and 102, in addition to British Literature in the College Credit Plus program. They must be familiar with the American Psychological Association and Modern Language Association citation styles.

“By having that, they know they can literally help any student in the building,” Bednar continued. “The students receive service hours to include in their portfolio and there are even personal rewards to helping others.”

Hannah Martin, a junior at the school, said she enjoys being able to assist others. She said the program allows her to do just that.

“I like being able to help people when the teachers are busy, plus I can help explain it a different way,” Martin stated. “I enjoy writing and being able to help others is very rewarding.”