Westside Receives Donation To Offer ACT Prep Class This Spring

Ava Van Gelder, Wired Co-Editor in Chief|January 21, 2020

Ava Van Gelder

Westside Director of Communications and Engagement, Brandi Paul, and Assistant Superintendent Mark Weichel discuss the ACT prep class that will be offered to students this spring.

The Westside Community Schools Foundation recently received an anonymous donation granting all students access to ACT test preparation sessions with the ACT prep group, Three Moms and a Test. These sessions will occur during the school day, and will be offered as a class to juniors and seniors interested in taking the ACT. Developmental Director for Westside Community Schools Foundation Terry Hanna said the main goal of the ACT prep sessions is to make students more comfortable taking the test.

“The Westside Foundation works with alumni and community supporters on various initiatives that they are passionate about,” Hanna said. “[Our recent] donor specifically [was] very interested in ACT prep [in order] to provide juniors and seniors at Westside with opportunities for courses to make them feel more comfortable for the ACT test.” 

Hanna said Three Moms and a Test will be providing ACT preparation services for up to 150  students in April. The Westside Foundation will also be able to pay for students who wish to retake the test. Assistant Superintendent Mark Weichel said that these sessions will help students learn helpful information regarding the ACT.

“Each of the different sessions [with Three Moms and a Test] will be [centered] around a different area, so [that] students [can] get an overview of what the test is going to look like,” Weichel said. “They’re going to [learn] things that they need to know [for the test], and tips and tricks.” 

Weichel said Westside wants to be able to give every student the skills and opportunities they need in order to be able to excel in each of the sections on the ACT test. To meet this goal, the sessions will include lessons around math, English, reading, science, and general test taking.

“We want any student to do as well as they possibly can,” Weichel said. “If they want to go to a certain school [and] that a high score is going to let them get in or qualify [them] for a certain scholarship, [help should be] available to them.”

The ACT preparation classes will begin in April. If the class is filled to capacity, then another session will be scheduled in March. For the 2020-21 school year, Westside hopes to offer ACT classes four times throughout the school year.