SHINE tutoring program draws previous students back to become teachers

Inside a room at the Halifax North Memorial Public Library, a flurry of students find their tutors, toss bookbags on the floor and settle into study.

A familiar hum stirs the library every Wednesday when students and teachers connect at SHINE (Supporting, Helping,and Inspiring through Non-profit Education).

The volunteer tutoring group's co-founders, Chloe Zinck and Loran Morrison, began the project in 2013 as a way to provide 10 north-end kids with free math and science help after school.

Nearly four years later, the program has ballooned to 50 students with a waiting list. They take over a large room in the library for three hours each week, along with the 40 university students who volunteer as tutors.

Morrison says this year, many of the students have returned to give back, as teachers.

"These were kids that started in junior high that said that they were bad at math and they couldn't do it," says Morrison.

"They were doing really poorly and just thought it would never be a thing that they would ever enjoy. And now they're saying they want to share their enthusiasm for math and science with younger kids."

Grade 10 student Tyanah Beals is now both a student and a teacher.

"I'm not really good at math and stuff so I came here to help with math and it really improved my grade, a lot," says Beals.

Josh Creighton graduated the program last year and has now returned as a university student to help pass on what he learned.

"Before this program," Creighton says, "I had an apathetic attitude toward education, and this really helped me just, it gave me the want to do better."

SHINE's snacks, iPads, and writing supplies are provided by Gordon Stirrett Wealth Management. The space at the library is freeand the tutors are rewarded by seeing their students succeed.

Each student spends an hour, one-on-one, with a tutor.

"It's basically like having your own teacher," says sixth graderMakahi Maglor.

Students range from Grade 1to Grade 12. The younger students play games, the older ones tackle homework and school projects.

"It is nothing shy of inspiring to see how excited they are," says Morrison. She says the students now practically run the tutoring program themselves, by helping set up and clean up each week.

The group now has a scholarship to help graduates continue into post-secondary, and with many of those grads returning to help teach. Its founders say SHINE will likely continue to burn bright for years to come.