Written by Skyline Principal Keith Hennig and Assistant Principal John Gardiner
At Skyline High School, we believe that every student can be successful when provided with the right opportunities, relationships, and support. Students arrive in our classrooms with different strengths, experiences, learning needs, and levels of confidence. For some students, success may require additional time to practice a skill, an opportunity to ask questions in a smaller setting, or individualized support from a teacher who can help make a challenging concept more accessible.
Through the generous support of the Issaquah Schools Foundation (ISF) and its donors, Skyline High School can provide those opportunities through our ISF Tutoring Program. What began as an additional academic resource has become an increasingly important part of Skyline’s system of student support. The program provides students with access to Skyline teachers for FREE after-school tutoring across a variety of subject areas and creates an environment where students can receive targeted instruction, strengthen their understanding, prepare for assessments, and build confidence as learners.
Most importantly, the program is growing. Over the past four years, participation in ISF-funded tutoring at Skyline has increased dramatically:
- 2022–23: 121 students participated
- 2023–24: 363 students participated
- 2024–25: 418 students participated
- 2025–26: 576 students participated
In just four years, participation has grown from 121 students to 576 students—an increase of more than 375 percent. That growth represents much more than a number. It represents hundreds of Skyline students choosing to seek help, strengthen their skills, connect with teachers, and invest additional time in their learning.
Why Tutoring Matters
Effective tutoring is powerful because it provides something that can be difficult to replicate during a busy class period: personalized, targeted academic support.
Teachers work hard to meet the needs of all learners during classroom instruction, but students sometimes need additional time and individual attention. A concept that did not make sense during a lesson may become clear when a student has an opportunity to work through it again with a teacher. A student who is hesitant to ask a question in front of a full classroom may feel more comfortable doing so in a small tutoring group. Another student may understand the content but need help developing a study plan or preparing for an upcoming assessment.
ISF tutoring creates space for all of these experiences.
Tutoring allows teachers to identify and address learning gaps before they become larger barriers to success. Students can revisit foundational skills, receive immediate feedback, ask specific questions, and practice concepts with guidance from an educator. At the same time, tutoring reinforces what students are learning in their classrooms rather than functioning as a separate academic experience.
More Than Academic Help
Although improving academic achievement is an important goal of tutoring, the benefits extend beyond grades.
Tutoring can help students develop productive learning habits, including organization, preparation, persistence, communication, and help-seeking. These are skills that students can carry into other classes and eventually into college, careers, and adult life.
Students learn that asking for assistance is not a sign of weakness; it is an important part of becoming an independent learner. They practice identifying what they do and do not understand, communicating questions, responding to feedback, and trying new approaches when their first strategy does not work.
Research on tutoring and academic support consistently demonstrates the value of providing students with additional opportunities to learn. Students who participate in tutoring can experience improved academic outcomes, greater engagement with school, and stronger connections with teachers and peers. These outcomes align closely with Skyline’s broader commitment to ensuring that students are engaged, supported, and on track for graduation.
The small-group format of many Skyline tutoring sessions adds another important dimension. Students frequently work alongside classmates who are wrestling with similar concepts. This creates opportunities for collaboration and allows students to develop communication and teamwork skills while learning from one another.
Meeting Students Where They Are
One of the strengths of Skyline’s ISF Tutoring Program is its flexibility and responsiveness.
Skyline teachers offer after-school tutoring sessions in a variety of subject areas, giving students opportunities to receive assistance where they need it most. Because the tutoring is provided by Skyline educators, teachers understand the curriculum, course expectations, learning standards, and academic demands our students encounter each day.
The program can also respond to periods when students may need additional support.
One example is Skyline’s Algebra and Geometry Boot Camps, offered in the weeks leading up to final exams. Mathematics courses can be particularly challenging because learning is cumulative: understanding new concepts often depends upon mastery of skills taught earlier in the course. The Boot Camps provide students with additional opportunities to revisit essential concepts, ask questions, practice important skills, and prepare more confidently for their final exams.
These sessions do more than help students prepare for a single test. They reinforce foundational mathematical knowledge that students will need in subsequent courses.
Providing this type of timely, targeted support is an important component of helping students remain academically successful and on track toward graduation.
Making Support Visible and Accessible
Having academic support available is only effective if students and families know how to access it.
For that reason, Skyline has made a concerted effort to increase communication about ISF tutoring opportunities. The tutoring calendar is publicized throughout the school, shared through social media, and communicated directly to families. Teachers and staff also help students understand when and where tutoring is available.
One of the challenges schools face is ensuring that students who would benefit most from academic support actually use it. By consistently communicating tutoring opportunities to students, teachers, and families, Skyline is working to make seeking academic assistance a normal and visible part of our school culture.
We want students to view tutoring not simply as something they attend when they are failing a class, but as a resource available whenever they want to strengthen their learning. A student might attend because they are confused about a concept, preparing for an assessment, catching up after an absence, or simply striving to improve.
Normalizing that type of help-seeking contributes to a healthier academic culture—one in which learning is understood as a process and students know there are adults ready to support them along the way.
Skyline has worked intentionally to increase awareness of tutoring opportunities and improve communication with students, teachers, and families. As more students become aware of the program—and as tutoring becomes increasingly embedded in the academic culture of the school—more students are taking advantage of the support.
However, increased participation would not be possible without increased capacity.
Additional funding from the Issaquah Schools Foundation has enabled Skyline to offer more tutoring sessions and provide support across a wider variety of subjects. In practical terms, increased ISF funding means more opportunities for students to sit down with a teacher, ask a question, work through a difficult concept, prepare for an assessment, and experience academic success.
The relationship between funding and access is direct: ISF’s investment allows Skyline to provide more academic support to more students.
The Power of Community Partnership
The success of Skyline’s tutoring program illustrates what is possible when schools and community partners work together around a shared commitment to students.
The Issaquah Schools Foundation’s support allows Skyline to extend learning beyond the traditional school day and provide resources that directly reach students. Teachers contribute their time, expertise, and relationships. Families encourage students to participate. Students make the decision to show up, ask questions, practice, persevere, and learn.
Skyline High School is deeply grateful to the Issaquah Schools Foundation and its donors for its continued investment in our students and teachers. This generosity has allowed us to expand tutoring, reach significantly more students, and provide timely, personalized academic support across our school.
The growth of the program over the past four years tells a compelling story. But its greatest impact cannot be captured by participation numbers alone. It can be seen in increased confidence, stronger relationships, greater engagement, improved academic skills, and students who recognize that when they encounter a challenge, their school community is ready to help them meet it.
That is the lasting value of the ISF Tutoring Program—and an investment in student success that reaches far beyond a single tutoring session.
Years ago I visited the After-School Homework Labs at all of the local high schools (through my work at the Foundation). It was wonderful to see how students were able to get help directly from a teacher in the building and also get input from their peers. The free tutoring is the #1 reason I donate to Issaquah Schools Foundation, even though I believe ALL of the programs are worthy and exceptional. Pacific Learning Academy has been an enthusiastic donor since 2007 and look forward to many more years of student support through the Foundation.
Thank you, Kirsten! We love hearing firsthand experiences from people who have seen how donor support directly impacts student success and confidence across the district. We are so grateful for your continued investment in kids and education through the Foundation.