Our Lady of Lourdes School volunteer sharpens the math minds of middle-school students

Courtesy photo/Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School

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Cheri Wright

SALT LAKE CITY — Middle-school math intervention is a critical component of the mathematics program at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. In 2015, Catherine Villareal approached the school’s intervention coordinator looking for a possible volunteer opportunity. She had been volunteering at Guadalupe Elementary School but was interested in providing intervention in a more explicit and systematic way. It became apparent that Catherine’s background would provide the expertise needed to support students struggling in their middle-school math classes.

Since that time, Catherine has been volunteering two days a week, providing small-group instruction for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. These students have the potential for being left behind in the regular classroom setting when mathematical concepts become more complex in the upper grades. Catherine’s support helps the students to solidify concepts taught that day in the classroom. The consistency and timeliness of the intervention has shown to be extremely beneficial to student success.

“We work together to understand and complete that day’s homework and to see how it fits into the larger picture of the chapter and lessons to date,” Catherine said. “It is also a chance for me to see what my students understand when they try problems on their own and the opportunity for them to ask questions about what confuses them. I attempt to instill a level of confidence – confidence for students to attempt the work, to explain their work, to ask questions about their work and to take pride in the work they do.”

Catherine provides core-math, pre-algebra and algebra intervention for five groups of students, meeting with them two days a week. Her goal is to ensure that the basic computation skills critical to effectively solve higher-level, more complex mathematical concepts are in place. Pope Francis stresses the importance of volunteerism when he said, “Always be a gift for others.” Mrs. Villareal is a gift to all of us at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.

Cheri Wright is advancement director for Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.