With the start of the 2024-2025 school year, three essential educational resource centers moved locations. The Educational Resource Center, with director Ann Lyons, moved from Pingree’s third floor to room 216 on the second floor off of the Commons area. The Writing Center, directed by Amy Sampson, and the Quant Center, directed by Eric Olson, switched locations: the Writing Center moved from the formal living room off the pond room to room 300, while the Quant Center relocated from room 300 to the formal living room.
The Educational Resource Center (ERC) has been a fundamental part of Pingree’s learning experience, as it provides crucial organizational and language support for students. The center’s location change increased its accessibility and efficiency, and in an interview, Ann Lyons explained how the shift in scenery transformed its success. Ann Lyons noted that more students are attending the center due to the convenient foot traffic with its new location. H blocks and breaks, especially on Monday’s and Tuesday’s have been recognized as the busiest times and days of the week. Ann Lyons observed that the popular times in the beginning of the week are due to students being eager to plan out their week in terms of homework and extracurricular activities. In regards to feedback, ”[She’s] received a lot of feedback from a lot of different people… they love the new space, they like the light, the big ceilings, and they like how close the location is.”
Discussing the new space with Ms. Sampson provided valuable insights into how the new location has affected student engagement and the convenience for students to receive guidance. Sampson noticed that the Writing Center seems busier this year than last year. However, this increased activity could be partly due to it being her second year in the role, as students may be more familiar with her presence in the center. Furthermore, Sampson believes that the center’s increased traffic is also a result of it being “physically closer to the English and History classrooms.” This closer location has allowed many English and History teachers to send students to the center during class to receive immediate support. Additionally, this proximity gives Sampson “more opportunities to interact with the History and English teachers”. While enjoying these benefits of the location, Ms. Sampson also appreciates the advantage of feeling more “interconnected with the parts of the school that are doing the most writing”, allowing for greater collaboration with faculty and students in the English and History departments. Ms. Sampson feels that this new location has helped to establish a “writing hub” for the community, and it has fostered a more interactive atmosphere, encouraging students to engage with one another and seek assistance more readily.
The Quant Center has been popular for many years, but after speaking to Director Eric Olson, it is clear that the change in location has greatly contributed to greater success. Although Mr. Olson is new to the quant center this year, he has a clear sense of the number of students attending the center compared to last year. Given that, Mr. Olsen has observed an increase in activity at the center, and attributes it to the new location. He believes that this new location situated next to the library, and along the main hallway, provides students with greater convenience and opportunity to stop by the center.
Along with the new location of the center, Mr. Olson has adopted a new system, requiring peer tutors to wear blue vests, making it easier to identify who is available to help students in need of assistance. The peer tutors play a vital role in the center’s operations, serving as an essential component of its support system.
As the first trimester has come to a close, Mr. Olson has received feedback from other teachers noticing the new and improved functionality of the space noting that they “like the central location”. People have also recognized that the new location makes it easier to see what is going on in the center, making it more inviting and accessible for many students.
The relocations of the Educational Resource Center (ERC), Quant Center, and Writing Center have proven to be a crucial asset to the growth of these resources. By enhancing the resource’s accessibility and collaboration, both students and faculty are engaging more with the various centers. With each center being well-positioned to encourage all Pingree community members to stop by, the centers are stronger than ever and will continue to positively impact our community in the years to come.
