SOMIS : Navy Personnel Giving Students a Hand With Homework

Math was never a favorite subject for Navy air-traffic controller Robert Simmons. Nor was it high on seventh-grader Arturo Benitez’s list.

But they pushed their desks together at Somis Union School on Wednesday and worked their way through such math problems as changing dollars into yen.

The two are part of a partnership of the Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division at Point Mugu and the Somis school. For the next nine weeks, Simmons, who directs aircraft from aircraft carriers, will meet an hour a week with Arturo to help him with homework.

Arturo is among 15 students at the school who were matched with Navy pilots, radar operators and aircraft maintenance technicians. Each week, the pairs will meet in the school’s science lab to do homework or work on a special project.

The tutoring program is aimed at helping a variety of students, said Somis Union School District Supt. Dale Forgey. Some appear to be potential dropouts, some suffer from low self-esteem and some are exceptionally bright and might blossom with one-on-one attention.

“Many of the kids have problems getting homework done,” Forgey said. “This group of Navy people are very disciplined to get where they are. We hope some of that can be infused.”

This is the second year that the Navy and the Somis school have worked together in the project, and Forgey thinks the role-modeling has done some good. Two boys are in the program for the second time because of the strides they have made in their schoolwork, he said.

“They really turned around,” he said.

The Navy gets something out of it too, said Lt. Mike McCloskey, a Navy pilot organizing the project along with Forgey.

“The Navy wants all units to get more involved in the community,” he said. All the tutors were volunteers, and at the conclusion of the program, the students will be invited to tour the base with their tutors and see where they work.

The partnership program grew out of efforts by the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce’s education committee. The Somis school was promoted for the project by a member of the committee who worked at the school, Forgey said.