Advancement Via Individual Determination
| Company type | Nonprofit organization |
|---|---|
| Website | Official website |
AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) AVID is the largest, most comprehensive college-readiness system used by schools to improve the academic preparation and performance of all students, especially those who are underrepresented in higher education institutions.[1]
Mission
AVID's mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society.[2]
AVID Center
AVID Center is a non-profit organization that provides educators with proven, real-world strategies to accelerate the performance of underrepresented students so that these students and all students across an entire campus succeed in college, career, and life. Headquartered in San Diego, AVID Center also has divisional offices in Denver and Atlanta; as well as state offices in Dallas and Orlando. [3]
History
In 1980, bussing low-income students to San Diego’s Clairemont High School created disruption at this suburban, middle class school. Expectations were low for these students. Many assumed they lacked parental support, motivation and study habits to qualify for college. Most teachers at the school thought such students would need a watered-down curriculum to graduate. English department head and teacher Mary Catherine Swanson thought differently. She believed that if the students were willing to work hard, she could teach them the skills needed to successfully complete the rigorous courses that would prepare them for four-year universities.
She was right. Despite resistance from her colleagues, AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, was born. Protests from her AVID students, complaining about the tedious work in keeping organized binders and taking copious notes, gave way to increased confidence in their abilities as they proved to the naysayers that they were indeed capable of academic success that would lead to college admission.
What began in that first class of 32 students now impacts more than one million students from elementary through higher education. Today, AVID is the largest, most comprehensive college-readiness system used by schools to improve the academic preparation and performance of all students, especially those who are underrepresented in higher education institutions.
AVID College Readiness System
The AVID College Readiness System is implemented at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. Though it operates as a system, each part may be implemented independently depending on a district’s needs.
AVID Elementary (K-6, K-8) teaches students fundamental learning, study and academic behavioral skills. It is a foundational component of the AVID System designed to be embedded into the daily instruction of all elementary classrooms, including combined K-8 schools. AVID’s strategies and philosophy of educational opportunities for all students are threaded throughout the instructional day, across grade levels, and ultimately across sites.
AVID Secondary (grades 7-12) develops learning, study and academic behavioral skills that are essential to success in rigorous coursework. It acts as a catalyst for schools to develop a culture of college readiness for all students across the campus. In the AVID Elective class, students receive daily instruction and support to prepare them for college from a trained AVID Elective teacher. AVID impacts students schoolwide as academic strategies like writing to learn, inquiry, collaboration, organizational skills, and critical reading (WICOR) are taught in all classes by teachers who have been trained to use AVID strategies in their specific content areas.
AVID for Higher Education is comprised of three initiatives: Student Success Initiative, Teacher Preparation Initiative, and the Career and Technical Workforce Initiative. AVID for Higher Education works with postsecondary institutions to support students with the goal of increasing academic success, persistence, and completion rates in the Student Success Initiative. Colleges of education use the AVID Teacher Preparation Initiative to provide teacher candidates with AVID frameworks, methodologies, and strategies so that they enter the teaching field able to meet a broad spectrum of students’ needs. The Career and Technical Education Initiative collaborates with colleges to increase student persistence and completion of degree and certificate programs, and help graduates be successful in the workplace.
AVID in Middle and High School
AVID Elective [4] AVID Secondary starts with an elective class for one period a day, where select students learn organizational and study skills, work on critical thinking and asking probing questions, get academic help from peers and college tutors, and participate in enrichment and motivational activities that make college seem attainable. AVID Elective students also attend field trips to colleges and build a positive peer groups with other AVID students, commonly known as their AVID family.
Curriculum Across all content areas, AVID’s research-based strategies and curriculum develop students’ academic skills such as: reading, writing, and critical thinking. Academic behaviors, including organization, time management, and goal setting, are also taught as part of the AVID System. The AVID curriculum was developed by elementary, middle, and high school educators in collaboration with college professors.
WICOR AVID’s learning support structure, known as WICOR, incorporates teaching/learning methodologies in the critical areas of Writing to Learn, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading to Learn. WICOR provides a learning model that educators can use to guide students in comprehending concepts and articulating ideas at increasingly complex levels (scaffolding) within developmental, general education, and discipline-based curricula.
AVID Tutorials and AVID Tutors Tutorials and tutors play a vital role in the AVID Elective class, while also benefiting other content-area classes in a school. As a key component to the collaboration portion of the AVID System, tutorials are a time and place where students come with complex questions from any content class and get guiding support to confront tough problems and solve them within their own means. Using their knowledge and experience, AVID-trained tutors are able to conduct collaborative tutorials that lead to increased student participation and success. Trained tutors are able to create an environment where students feel comfortable asking the questions that they might be embarrassed to ask in their content-area classrooms.Tutors are essential to the success of AVID, acting as a resource and role model for AVID students both academically and socially. AVID alumni who continue their education in college often return to AVID at local schools or their alma mater as tutors to continue their involvement with the AVID family.
AVID Schoolwide AVID is schoolwide when a strong AVID system transforms the Instruction, Systems, Leadership, and Culture of a school, ensuring college readiness for all AVID Elective students and improved academic performance for all students based on increased opportunities.
Data & Research
Since 1980, AVID has been closely studied by numerous research teams and individuals, in addition to its own data.
The National Student Clearinghouse found that high school graduates from 2010 and 2011 who participated in AVID persisted through their freshman and sophomore years of college at a higher rate than their counterparts who were not in the program. The research found that 87 percent of AVID graduates enrolled in a second year of college, compared to 77 percent of students overall.[5]
AVID's Blog
AVID Center publishes a weekly Adventures in College & Career Readiness Blog, that includes AVID student stories, teacher stories, lesson ideas, and interviews and articles from thought leaders in education.
References
- [1] - official website.
- [2] - AVID - Join Our Team
- [3] - AVID students stick with college, outpace peers
- [4] - AVID Secondary Students' College Enrollment and Persistence: What Equity Gaps?