Tennis and Tutoring is exactly what it says. The program was designed for kids to participate in an activity after school, and to receive help with their homework. The 279 District Foundation grant provides the bussing to the Northwest Club in Brooklyn Center. The Foundation is a private organization which gets its funding from staff and community members to help students achieve. About 30-36 participate in the Tennis/Tutoring program at the moment, and since the maximum is 40 they are still accepting applications. To apply you must see Mr. Vecellio in the counseling office and you must either be participating in ELL or have free or reduced lunch. If these qualifications are met all you have to do is have a parent or guardian sign the form and you’re set.

For those wondering how the program runs, everyone meets on Mondays after school. At 2:10 the bus comes to take the kids to Northwest. Upon arrival they change and then set up tables in an unused aerobics classroom. By the time 3:00 rolls around they are out on the courts receiving tennis lessons from either counselor Mr. Vecellio, math teacher Mr. Thompson, or other instructors. They play tennis until about 4:30 then they go back to the aerobics room and work on homework for an hour. There are adult volunteers there helping the students with any questions on their homework they might have. At about 5:30 they pack up and bus back to Park Center.

If you are considering joining, don’t worry, you do not have to be a tennis star, or even have the slightest idea how to hold a racket. All you need is the will to stick with the program. If sticking with it and coming every Monday is a hassle for you, this is not the program for you. Attendance will be taken, and if you are gone 3 times, you will be out. The program runs from the end of the girl’s tennis season to the start of the boy’s tennis season, roughly from late October to mid March. Also, there is an equal number of boys to girls so you don’t have to worry about being outnumbered either way.

In short, this program is very beneficial. Learning better study habits, being involved in an after school activity with peers, and learning a game that will stick with you for the rest of your life; how could you pass up on such a sweet deal?