This year marks the debut of McLean’s Saturday School program. Open each Saturday from 9-11am in the library, excluding holiday weekends, the new initiative encourages and aids students who are looking for extra support.
“Administration wanted to give another opportunity to provide support to our students and make that [support] available as much as we could,” Assistant Principal Jennifer York said.
Initially, the program was intended to take place once or twice a month, although the outpour of student approval has made it a weekly occurrence.
“[Administration] saw the interest from the students and felt that the more regularly [the program occurred], the more students would attend consistently,” York said.
The initiative is fully voluntary to students and teachers alike. Teachers may register to show up for whatever Saturday they are available via a Google Form sent out to all staff members. Meanwhile, students are not required to sign up and are able to walk-in without an appointment. There are currently five to seven teachers who have been regularly partaking in the program.
“[Saturday school] is a great resource and opportunity for students to utilize, from wanting to catch up on missed work to trying to get a head start on class material,” biology teacher MacKenzie Rankin said. “I want students to know they don’t have to come in at 9 a.m. and stay until 11 a.m., they’re welcome to come in at any time in between that slot and to stay as long or as short as they need.”
Members of McLean’s Math Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, are also able to sign up and match with students to tutor at Saturday school, as their firsthand experience of completing the courses allows them to provide better support.
“I was able to help [my students] with Algebra 1 level math,” said senior Anabella Befekadu, member of McLean’s Math Honor Society. “[The students] were initially confused on some concepts but by the end of our session, they were able to better grasp the information and were able to do a lot of the problems on their own. I would definitely recommend [other Mu Alpha Theta members to tutor at] Saturday school because you get to help students who are struggling and can make a difference, whether it’s big or small.”

Students recognize the benefits from the program as well, claiming it has increased their productivity and prevented them from falling behind in coursework.
“Saturday school has been really helpful for me personally,” senior Iman Monday said. “It has allowed me to get one-on-one time with my teachers, grasp confusing concepts and improve in any classes that I am struggling with.”
Since the launch of the initiative on Sept. 30, the amount of students who have participated in Saturday school has been continuously growing.
“[The program] started out with 12-15 students [in attendance], and now we’ve gotten up to 35+ students,” York said. “Our attendance has been continuing to increase and our teachers are enjoying the opportunity to help their students.”
Based upon both praise and interest from teachers and students, Saturday school will continue to be a weekly resource for students at McLean.
“Saturday school has been extremely helpful and motivating in regards to my school work,” Monday said. “It always sets a productive tone to start off my weekend and has really helped me succeed.”