Ironwood Ridge High School senior An Nguyen, left, gets some one-on-one tutoring help with her math homework from Daniel Dutz, a retired Amphitheater High School math teacher, during homework help time at Oro Valley Public Library.

Related articles:

Library's Homework Help a hit Library information Library information Library information Library information Library information Homework-help sites offer resources Library information Library information Library information

Other articles by Danielle Sottosanti:

Kids can learn about their bodies at museum Sanofi-Aventis tax rebate rejected 17 rescued from blistering heat Hate crime: making a difference Impact of books influences livesAlberto Oceguera: Only one on hand at Good Hands Imports Neighborhood defies 'tear-down' label New council in OV facing land issues 'Voice of El Rio' hangs up phone Health care with tribes in mind

General
ADVANCED AUTOMOTIVE
DISPATCHER/SECRETARY Mechanical
Pioneer Landscaping
Diesel Fleet Mechanic Sales and Marketing
Xentel
Expanding call center. New Hiring Bonus! Trades/Construction
Wentz and Patrick Construction
Carpenters & Helpers Driver/Transportation
RENZENBERGER
ROAD AND YARD VAN DRIVERS Trades/Construction
arizona portland cement
maintenance electrician Driver/Transportation
CPC Southwest Materials
Drivers

Biology boggling your brain? Quadratic equations got you down? Whatever your homework woes, help is available online or at your local library or school.

There's no need to struggle with a homework assignment at home when help is as close as your local school or library.

Tutors, many of them current or retired educators, provide one-on-one homework help at close to 30 locations in the Tucson area.

Their personal attention can make a huge difference, especially in a subject like math, said Daniel Dutz, 65, a retired Amphitheater High School math teacher who now tutors at the Oro Valley Public Library, 1305 W. Naranja Drive.

"If students want to do better in math, they should try to get one-on-one help, whether it's at the library or at school," he said.

Dutz and his wife, Beverly, 58, tutor from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the library.

Daniel Dutz handles all levels of math, including calculus. Beverly Dutz, a retired guidance counselor who worked at Amphitheater and Flowing Wells high schools, tutors in English, Spanish, French, psychology, social studies, biology, history and geography.

Not all tutors are able to help with higher division subjects such as calculus or elective subjects such as music.

If you need help in one of those areas, call Tucson-Pima Public Library administration at 791-4391 and ask for youth services.

Mary Sanchez or another youth services librarian will tell you which locations have a tutor qualified in your subject.

Last year, the Tucson-Pima Public Library contracted with Tutor.com to provide online homework help for all library card holders.

Tutor.com normally costs $14.99 for one day's access to tutoring services, but the public library now provides free access through www.tppl.org, its Web site.

After students enter their grade level and the subject of their homework into the computer, the tutoring Web site matches their needs with tutors who have the qualifications to help them.

The tutoring takes place in a virtual classroom, complete with a white board that tutors can use to write out math problems and even draw geometry problems.

Students can save the session for future reference or even print it, including figures and graphs drawn on the white board, so they can take the notes to school.

Macintosh users will have to log on to the Web site from a computer in the library, at school or at a friend's house, because the tutoring program is compatible only with Windows 2000, XP Home or XP Professional.

Students logged into 500 free tutoring sessions through www.tppl.org last year, Sanchez said. They most often requested help in math, she said.

If you have a quick question that can be answered over the phone, you can call the Joel D. Valdez Main Library at 791-4393 from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Just ask for homework help.