Hot line hot-tips for Indiana kids

The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will kick off another year of its toll-free math and science homework hot line Sunday.\nAt 7 p.m. the hot line, 1-877-ASK-ROSE, will start its 14th year of providing tutoring to Indiana's sixth through 12th graders.\nSusan Smith, the hot line's founder and director, said as math and science standards in schools increase, the hot line is trying to continues to provide assistance.\n"The reason I started the hot line was because Rose-Hulman was looking for a way to connect with the community," she said. "At the time, there was a need for student tutoring of math and science."\nThe area of expertise of the Terre Haute-based Rose-Hulman Institute is math and science.\nSmith said when the program began, everything ran smoothly, and the hot line has continued success ever since.\n"It started in 1991," she said. "It was not until 2002 that we started the statewide expansion."\nKathryn Rademacher-Smith, Assistant Director for the hot line, said all of the tutors are Rose-Hulman college students who go through an interview process.\n"The tutors are recommended by faculty and selected for their technical knowledge and their ability to communicate clearly," according to the hot line Web site. "Tutors complete a training program to learn how best to answer questions over the phone and how to use their experience to help younger students."\nThe program doesn't allow tutors to just give students answers; it aims to help students learn more about the subject and find the answers themselves.\n"Tutors guide students in learning more about a subject but do not do the work for them," the Web site states. "Tutors are trained to ask the right questions to help students analyze the problems and find their own solutions."\nRademacher-Smith said the program's success has grown continuously throughout the years.\n"We have seen a marked growth in our program usage," she said. "A program like this needs a lot of support."\nFunding for the hot line comes from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., 3M and the Rose-Hulman Institute, Rademacher-Smith said. \n"We have had positive comments from students, parents and educators," Smith said. "This past year, we conducted tutor focus groups. Many of the tutors said being with the hot line has helped with communication skills as well as problem-solving skills."\nSmith said the hot line has had more than 29,000 calls during its existence.\n"The hot line focuses its tutoring on different areas of the state each year," Smith said. "This year the focus is on the northwest part of the state in Lake, Howard, Tippecanoe and St. Joseph counties."\nTutors use current, state-adopted math and science textbooks and the Internet to help students, according to the Web site. \nThe free hot line asks students to provide the name of their school when they call.\nAccording to its Web site, the hot line operators are available from 7 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday from September through May. The hot line will be closed for Thanksgiving, the winter holidays and spring break.\nFor more information see www.askrose.org/info.shtml?calendar.\n-- Contact staff writer Karen Yancey at kaeyance@indiana.edu.