With colorful books, board games and peers to chat with, it's more than just study time at Valencia Branch Library.
The Tucson-Pima Public Library's free Homework Help program is in session again this school year.
About a dozen youngsters from kindergarten to middle school and beyond scampered around to find help or someone to play with on a recent Wednesday.
Sandra Suarez-Hairgrove, one of two tutors at the Valencia Branch Library, sat patiently among the children, helping them tackle study problems or whatever else was needed.
"Miss," they said and tapped on her shoulder. "Miss," this time tapping harder, smothering her with a clinging hug.
Suarez-Hairgrove's son Ryan Hairgrove, 7, has been bugging her for minutes before decisively shoving a Monopoly game over to her. Seconds later, 10-year old Mary Luz Gonzalez on the other side demanded help with her spelling on a homework assignment.
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Children and teenagers come to the library for different reasons, Suarez-Hairgrove said.
Sometimes it's about homework. Sometimes it's just to talk.
"I'm a mentor sometimes," she said. "You try to lead them in the right direction. It's nice to see them grow."
One of 11 Spanish-speaking tutors who work for Homework Help, Suarez-Hairgrove does lots of translating.
She'll read assignments in English and Spanish and explain to parents who don't speak English what their children are doing for school.
Apart from quick help with daily assignments, Suarez-Hairgrove, who is also a full-time teacher at Valencia Middle School, said students learn how to search for information.
"I don't know everything, but we can go look it up," she said, adding that she's had to help students at the Pima Community College level.
Homework Help has grown continuously since it was introduced in the 1994-95 school year, said Dawn Gardner, librarian in the Tucson-Pima Public Library's Youth Services Department.
Back then, a grant paid for program at the library's El Rio branch. Homework Help is now offered at almost 30 locations and this school year was expanded by 19 hours a week, including four hours on Sunday at the Valencia branch, Gardner said.
Last school year, there were 200 sessions a month, with an average of 1,200 student contacts in the program that is now paid for by the general library budget, Gardener said.
"It's important for kids to get help with their homework," she said. "It's important for increased school success in our country, and teachers and parents often aren't available when students need help."
Help at Valencia often involves math, which is what 12-year-old Manuel Robles needs. The Challenger Middle School seventh-grader sat with his older sister, Laura Robles, 13, while their mom kept an eye on them from a nearby armchair.
Though the two weren't exactly excited about the task at hand, they said coming here several times a week has resulted in better grades.
"They explain more," Manuel said about the tutors.
Mother Laura Robles said that while she enjoys spending time at the library reading and relaxing, the program helps her children focus.
"Here it's homework time and they have to do it," she said through Manuel, who translated her words into English.
At the same time, 14-year-old Gersam Arvizu pulled out his cell phone to calculate math problems. The eighth-grader at Challenger Middle School said he comes by himself every Wednesday because he wants to get better at math.
"There are some equations I don't understand," he said. Still, "it's my favorite subject."
Arvizu said he used to do homework at school but started coming here because the tutors at the library are more patient and "they are cool."
"My parents are happy 'cause I get my work done," he said.
After solving his math problems, Arvizu said, he rewards himself with 30 minutes of surfing on the Internet.
Despite the hustle and bustle around him, he sat hunched over his problems without looking up. Manuel Robles bit his lower lip in concentration, his forehead almost touching the sheet of paper with the problem in which he was immersed. Laura Robles absently twisted her bangs while reading a novel that rested on a folder bursting with school materials.
Many of the children are regulars at the Valencia branch. They keep coming, even when they know how to do their homework.
That's when Suarez-Hairgrove said she knows she's helped them stand on their own feet.
"They come in and do their homework and say, 'Miss, I don't need your help any- more,' " she said before getting back to playing Monopoly.
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Online help is available 3 to 10 p.m. every day at www.lib.ci.tucson.az.us/ services/homework/#online You need a library card to log on.
Free telephone help is available 4-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday by calling 791-4393. No library card is required for telephone help.
For more information on Homework Help, as well as locations and a schedule of the sessions, call 791-4391 or go online to www.lib.ci. tucson.az.us/services/homework
A list of useful databases for homework research also is available online at www.lib.ci.tucson.az.us/ research/guides/studyaids.cfm
