LOS ALAMITOS, CA– During school hours, Los Alamitos High School offers to students a space known as the Skills Lab, where Griffins can get ahead on new assignments and work on any past, late, or missing assignments that they may have. In these classes, students can receive extra assistance from their peers, instead of their teachers. Student mentors are upperclassmen who are assigned to a couple of students and assist them in maintaining study habits and staying on top of their grades.

Profe Kelly, Skills Lab teacher

Profe Kelly, a Spanish teacher at Los Al, is also the third period Skills Lab teacher who works with her students to help get them on track for their futures. She is always checking in on her students and making sure that they are staying on task with assignments. Not only is she working with them as students, but she builds connections and gets to know them as individuals.

“I really enjoy being able to create relationships with my students,” Profe Kelly said.

Profe Kelly is currently using a new system to motivate her students since most students agreed that food and games motivate them to finish their work.

“I’ve been keeping my students engaged by using a party points incentive system,” Profe Kelly said. “I can give students five stickers for earning A’s in their classes, and once we reach a certain amount, we can have a pizza or donut party.”

Thinking about the bigger picture is very important to Profe Kelly.

“Try to backwards plan and understand that every little thing you do is just a smaller part of the bigger picture,” Profe Kelly said.

Student mentors

Student mentors help their mentees keep their focus when doing their work and hold them accountable to accomplishing their tasks. Just like teachers, the mentors use different incentives to encourage students to push themselves toward their ideal grades.

“I enjoy helping people, and I feel like it’s important to make an impact in people’s lives. I motivate the students with food and words of encouragement,” said student mentor Amaiya Infante, a senior at Los Al.

Students in Skills Lab

The students in these classes are putting in the effort necessary to achieve exceptional grades. Students are not only dealing with everyday classes, but some of them are in sports or other extracurricular activities and are working towards maintaining balance between their commitments.

“This class helps give me more time to help complete my work and gives me extra time to study as well, which helps my grades,” said Oscar, a freshman.

Some students implement different studying habits during their class time to become more productive.

“Listening to music helps me to study for my assignments more efficiently,” says Kayla Wisniewsk, another freshman.

 Students in the skills lab are putting in the work and accomplishing new achievements everyday. They are learning new strategies, gaining motivation from their teachers and student mentors, and will use these skills to eventually move onto their career pathways of choice.