W. Babylon Student Uses Tech to Help Other Students

West Babylon Junior High School eighth-grader Thomas Iliou had a desire to assist students who required additional academic support. He began tutoring other students in his grade level and was affected by the experience.

“When I saw the results of my efforts, I quickly realized the impact that I was having,” said Iliou. “It made me want to expand the experience to more students.”

Thomas founded the Peer Tutoring Club at the junior high school and developed the concept of creating a peer tutoring website for students to schedule sessions. Thomas shared his idea with Principal Scott Payne and club adviser Malcolm Hirsch, who shared Thomas’ concept with Ryan Case, the district’s coordinator of student data and instructional technology.

Mr. Case implemented the Google Apps for Education program within the district and researched apps to support Thomas’s suggestion. The district has since implemented the YouCanBook.Me scheduling service for the students at the junior high school.

Thomas currently manages the program himself and plans to expand the program to the high school when he attends in September.