AVID program encourages students to try for college

These students might have the potential to reach for college, but without a tradition of a college education in their families, they don’t have the drive to make it on their own.

That’s where the AVID program comes in. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is an in-school academic support program for grades 5-12 targeting minority, rural, low-income, and other students who have a chance to be the first in their family to attend college.

Created in San Diego in 1980, AVID is based on the idea that “effort creates ability.” About 2,200 middle and high schools in 36 states and 16 countries have AVID programs, says Adam Behar, AVID director of external affairs.

Since the program started, more than 40,000 AVID students have graduated from four-year colleges, Behar notes. That constitutes 95 percent of all AVID participants, compared to a national average of 35 percent.

If students want to enroll in the program, they must be interviewed to determine if they have the desire to do the rigorous work AVID requires.

“Students must show an eagerness for knowledge. The AVID system stresses acceleration, not remediation,” Behar says. Students drop their unchallenging courses and, with support from trained AVID teachers, enroll in their school’s toughest classes, such as honors and Advanced Placement courses.

They also must sign up for the AVID elective course, which focuses on organizational and study skills, such as note taking and time management. The course also covers critical thinking, enrichment and motivational activities, and taking responsibility. Tutors provide academic help. The AVID curriculum centers on the WIC-R method (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, and Reading).

Writing is emphasized to help students develop a deeper understanding of texts and to communicate and clarify their opinions on paper.

AVID encourages inquiry-based learning experiences driven by students. The teacher’s role is redefined from lecturer to advocate and guide.  

Ongoing professional development programs are built into AVID, so teachers learn new techniques to bring out the best in their students.

Each month, teachers can attend one or two-day workshops at the AVID Center in San Diego in English, mathematics, science, history, social studies, and English language development.

The center also offers district leadership training with on-site visits and facilitation to ensure that regional and district directors are building the capacity to implement, sustain, and improve AVID programs in their areas.

An annual Summer Institute provides a forum for all AVID teachers and administrators to learn, share, and reflect. This summer, 11,000 AVID teachers and administrators attended training sessions at one of five institutes across the country.

The Mesa, Ariz., school district sent 70 teachers to the summer institute in August, reports the district’s AVID director, Kay Long. Mesa has offered AVID for the past five years, and 800 students are currently enrolled.

“The institute offers high-quality content and methodology training that teachers use not just for AVID students, but to create a culture of professional development that benefits all students,” Long says.

“We’re thrilled. It’s phenomenal when we see students’ grade point averages go from a low C to a low-mid A,” she says. “All of the students who have enrolled in AVID have graduated, and 100 percent of those students are committed to attend college, most to four-year colleges.”

“It’s very empowering for parents and for students when a district decides to implement AVID. It actually changes the culture of the school in a very positive way. I can’t say enough good things about it,” says Eric Smith, superintendent of the Anne Arundel County, Md., school system. Smith is the former superintendent in Newport News, Va., and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., which also have AVID programs.

“It really kicks in when you start with a small core of historically non-academic students who collectively make the choice to buckle down and do the work,” Smith says.

When that happens, “all the practices taught in AVID classrooms are picked up by other teachers and other [non-AVID] kids learn the same skills and methodology, even though they’re not enrolled,” he says. “A school culture builds up around being more academic and serious about class work, homework, and study.”