CLU students help area children with their homework

Children living in public housing in Thousand Oaks and Camarillo are getting help with their homework and after-school care, thanks to a partnership between the Area Housing Authority of Ventura County and California Lutheran University.

Through the Federal Work Study program, about a dozen students at the Thousand Oaks university get paid to tutor kids and involve them in activities as part of homework clubs operating at four Housing Authority apartment complexes.

The partnership has been up and running for five years, and authority Resident Services Administrator Dennise Avila said about 40 children, ages 4 to 12, participate in the clubs.

"They come from working families and sometimes their parents aren't home, so they need a place to come back to, and when they want to do their homework and they need help, they need a place to go to," Avila said.

Club activities run from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

"I think especially for those who have English as a second language, it has helped them tremendously as far as practicing their English and just giving them a sense of hope that they are going to progress," she said.

Ali Niazi, 10, and his brother, Sadiq, 9, came to the United States with their parents several years ago from Afghanistan and live at the Fiore Gardens public housing complex on East Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks, where they regularly attend the homework club there.

"I come here every single day because I want to learn stuff and do my homework," said Ali, who attends Glenwood School in Thousand Oaks and has learned English since coming to this country.

"Sometimes my mom and dad are busy and they can't help me with my homework," said Giovani Zendejas, 8, a student at Conejo School in Thousand Oaks. "Here they help me with my math."

April Lachappelle's 11-year-old son, Dylan Whitmill, attends one of the homework clubs. She said it's really made a difference in his performance at school.

"He loves coming here, so he comes here every day and his grades have been awesome all five years he's been coming here. He's a really good student at his school," she said.

Dylan, who attends Glenwood, said he gets help with his math homework. "When I am at home, I can't concentrate as much, so it's just easier over here, and afterward we get to do some activities," he said. "The tutors are nice."

Nikkole Zuniga, who has lived at Ellis Terrace in Camarillo with her family since December, said the homework club there is really helping her children.

"It actually means a lot to me," she said. "With my 13-year-old daughter, there are things with her school work that I can't help her with, and so she can go there and get the help she needs. It's really helped her grades.

"My 5-year-old loves it, too, and the people there are awesome," she said. "The kids have fun but they are also doing their homework. My husband and I say that every housing complex should have a homework club like this."

The Federal Work Study program is administered through CLU's financial aid office and allows students to be paid for working for on-campus or nonprofit off-campus employers. Participants can either receive paychecks or earn credit toward their education costs.

Britney Zamora, a sophomore at CLU studying communications and English, has been tutoring the children at Fiore Gardens since the start of the academic year in September. The 20-year-old from San Diego spends four days a week helping with the homework club.

"I really like helping kids," she said. "Not having tutors when I was younger and struggling through school, now I can help them and that's nice.

"I'm here every day and they get to know me and they know they can ask me things, and so you build personal relationships with them," she said. "This allows them to play with their friends in a safe environment after school, and they always have somewhere to go for help with their homework."

--- Published in the Ventura County Star on March 4, 2011