Hotline staff provides free help with homework

It’s 6 p.m. and your child has asked for help with an algebra assignment. You look at the problem and realize you can't help. With Homework Hotline, the assistance your child needs is just one free phone call away.

Homework Hotline, which began in 1990, is a service for students needing after-hours help with their assignments. A staff of mostly current

and retired teachers works from 4-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday throughout the school year to assist students of all grade levels and their parents with homework questions. Help is available in English, Spanish, Kurdish, Arabic, Somalian and Laotian.

Hotline workers have taken more than 280,000 calls since its inception, including more than 35,000 calls in the 2005-2006 school year. Of that last number, 21,694 calls were from MNPS students and their families. Remaining calls were from students in other Middle Tennessee counties.

The majority of callers have questions with their math assignments, but help is also available for other subjects. Questions last year ranged from computer and history to Kwanzaa and science.

Homework Hotline is made possible through a partnership between Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, the Metro Nashville Education Association, Dell Computers, NewsChannel 5, Sonic, Bridgestone/Firestone, BellSouth and Tri-Star Health System.

For help, call 298-6636.