Students Teaching Students is a nonprofit organization co-founded in 2023 that serves as a resource that students in select AP and advanced classes can use to help with assignments and test preparation.
Every week, most often on Wednesday evenings, Students Teaching Students hold meetings in the Savage Library and through google meet, showing slideshows dedicated to specific classes. Student volunteers create these slideshows.
The classes provided include AP Human Geography, AP World History, AP United States History, AP Biology, HHS Chemistry, and AP Physics. As for the math courses, which do not have weekly meetings and are more focused on homework, they include AP Pre-Calculus, and AP Calculus AB as well as BC.
Science-related courses run from 4-5 pm, and social studies courses run from 5-6 pm.
As the organization grows, the specific classes available are planned to expand as well.
“We have been trying to add them as we take the AP classes,” said Olivia Zirbel, co-founder of Students Teaching Students.
It is not just the co-founders who are making these classes happen; volunteers play a crucial role as well.
“Now we are taking more volunteers to run those meetings and help create new materials as they change the curriculum for the younger classes, and we will add senior classes too next year,” said Madelynn Banas, co-founder of Students Teaching Students.
People can volunteer and get hours for organizations such as the National Honor Society and Junior Optimists by making the slideshows presented at every meeting and posted online. Volunteers can also present the slideshows at each meeting, helping with understanding and further explaining the course material.
With AP test preparation already underway, students need to study. With the resources provided by Students Teaching Students, learners receive a simplified look into the things they may have missed the first time around.
“With the resources, I am able to reaffirm what I know and what I don’t know,” said Ella Osthimer, a student who has used the resources provided, specifically the slideshows.
Ella first heard of the organization last year during AP World History and now uses the slideshows provided for AP United States History as a study tool.
“For the timeline (APUSH) it goes over different aspects and different overarching themes in a period. Instead of the minute details, you see the bigger picture,” Ella said.
With the majority of meetings being on Wednesday evenings, attending in-person meetings is not always possible. This is the case for many students with after-school extracurricular activities.
“I know one of the big conflicts is a lot of our meetings are on Wednesdays, but then there’s Wednesday church,” said Liv. “So a lot of people have church, or sports, or they didn’t have a ride, so it was just better to add a Google Meet option. And then also if they couldn’t make it to either of them, we just post the materials in our Group Me too,”
Students Teaching Students is a non-profit organization, meaning that Liv and Madi buy the materials supplied at the meetings. With the increase in students at the high school every year, donations are especially appreciated in order to supply the new classes.
“Thankfully kids are typically pretty grateful, and they’ll give us a few bucks or something when they come to the meetings,” said Liv. “Which is nice, and we put that towards advertisements, brochures, snacks for the meetings, and whiteboards,”
