Iowa State’s Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity has established a tutoring service in conjunction with the Ames Middle School.

Each week, members of Alpha Sigma Phi volunteer an hour of their time to tutor students ages 12 to 14 in the Behavioral Disorder Program at the middle school.

“It’s easy to donate money,” said Kyle Brown, Alpha Sigma Phi service chairman, “but to volunteer your time takes more of an effort. It’s a bigger community service, which is a core aspect of our house.”

Tutors have been instructing kids in subjects from math to history. Tim Asta, fraternity member and tutor, said the tutoring experience has been enjoyable.

“The kids have taken to us really well so far,” Asta said. “Right off the bat they came up to us and introduced themselves. They were talking and goofing around with us almost immediately. It was great.”

The Behavioral Disorder Program is a part of the Special Education Department. It deals with kids who have trouble following school rules, said Cathy Bullock, program instructor.

“There are many students who may need some extra help, so the fraternity members are present to answer questions and work with them in various subject areas,” said John Kinley, principal of Ames Middle School.

A few weeks before the service was implemented, Brown met with program advisers to clarify how to approach the kids.

“We went over things and tried to anticipate any problems we may face,” Brown said. “It was a very informal training session just to make sure we understood the situation.”

But Brown said he hasn’t seen any serious problems so far.

The idea for the service came last spring.

Tutoring is only taking place in the Behavioral Disorder Program, but both the middle school and Alpha Sigma Phi hope to branch out.

“Right now we’re working with John Kinley about helping out in the new computer lab as well,” Brown said.

“We’d like the computer science majors in the house to put their skills to use and familiarize both teachers and students with the systems.”

Kinley said he has been impressed with the results of the tutoring service.

He said he hopes Alpha Sigma Phi’s alcohol-free status will be a positive influence on the kids. “The first week of the program was really great,” he said. “Everybody feels really good about the situation. It’s had a positive impact on our school.”

Alpha Sigma Phi has about 30 members, and almost all have volunteered for the project.

“As the program develops, I’d like to see people at the school from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. straight through the week,” Brown said.

“Right now we are in and out, depending on our schedules. But with more volunteers through the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, we hope to be more comprehensive.”