About AVID
Quick Facts
What AVID is...
- AVID is an acronym that stands for Advancement Via
Individual Determination.
- AVID is an in-school academic support program for grades
4-12 that prepares students for college eligibility and success.
- AVID places academically average students in advanced
classes.
- AVID levels the playing field for minority, rural,
low-income and other students without a college-going tradition in their
families.
- AVID is for all students, but it targets those in the
academic middle.
- AVID is implemented schoolwide and districtwide.
What AVID isn't...
- AVID isn't a remedial program.
- AVID isn't a free ride.
- AVID isn't a niche program.
- AVID isn't a college outreach program.
Top 
History Lesson
AVID Flashback
It’s 1980 and Mary Catherine Swanson is head of the
English department at San Diego’s Clairemont High School. San Diego still
feels like a sleepy town, but is becoming increasingly diverse. The federal
courts issue an order to desegregate the city’s schools, bringing large
numbers of inner city students to suburban schools. While applauding the
decision, Swanson wonders how these underserved students will survive at
academically acclaimed Clairemont High.
Her answer is AVID, an academic elective, but it’s more
than a program - it’s a philosophy: Hold students accountable to the
highest standards, provide academic and social support, and they will rise to
the challenge.
Fast Forward
It’s 2009 and policymakers and school administrators now
consider AVID an essential strategy for closing the achievement gap and making
the college dream accessible to all students.
Beginning with one high school and 32 students, AVID now
serves nearly 300,000 students in over 4,000 elementary and secondary schools
in 45 states and in the District of Columbia across 15
countries.
Top
AVID 101 (Introduction)
AVID is a fourth- through
twelfth-grade system to prepare students in the academic middle for four-year
college eligibility. It has a proven track record in bringing out the best in
students, and in closing the achievement gap. AVID stands for Advancement Via
Individual Determination.
The AVID Student
AVID targets students in the academic
middle - B, C, and even D students - who have the desire to go to college and
the willingness to work hard. These are students who are capable of completing
rigorous curriculum but are falling short of their potential. Typically, they
will be the first in their families to attend college, and many are from
low-income or minority families. AVID pulls these students out of their
unchallenging courses and puts them on the college track: acceleration instead
of remediation.
The AVID Elective
Not only are students enrolled in
their school's toughest classes, such as honors and Advanced Placement, but
also in the AVID elective. For one period a day, they 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. Their self-images
improve, and they become academically successful leaders and role models for
other students.
The AVID Curriculum
The AVID curriculum, based on
rigorous standards, was developed by middle and senior high school teachers in
collaboration with college professors. It is driven by the WICR method, which
stands for writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading. AVID curriculum is
used in AVID elective classes, in content-area classes in AVID schools, and
even in schools where the AVID elective is not offered.
The AVID Faculty
One key to a successful AVID program
is a site coordinator/teacher who is a respected site instructional leader who
works well with secondary school personnel and college students and faculty,
who can organize curriculum as well as activities, and who is committed to
serving the needs of target students. The coordinator also works with
colleagues to implement AVID methodologies schoolwide, to place students in
college preparatory curriculum, and to work with counselors to guide students
through the college application process.
The AVID Tutor
Tutors are essential to the success of
the AVID elective class, where they facilitate student access to rigorous
curriculum. As students from colleges and universities, tutors receive formal
training and also serve as role models. AVID students who continue their
education in college often return to the program as tutors.
The AVID Parent
AVID parents encourage their students
to achieve academically, participate on an advisory board and in AVID parent
and site team meetings, and maintain regular contact with the AVID coordinator.
Many parents and students participate in AVID Family Workshops. Also see the
Role of Parents.
Results
State-funded, independent research, together
with AVID’s own data, validate that the AVID college-readiness system
works. Consider: AVID students are more likely to take AP classes, complete
their college eligibility requirements, and get into four-year colleges than
students who don’t take AVID. Almost all AVID students who participate for
at least three years are accepted to college, with roughly three quarters
getting into four-year universities. AVID also helps ensure students, once
accepted to college, possess the higher-level skills they need for college
success.
Professional Development
The AVID elective class is
led by a teacher who's been trained in the program's methodologies. AVID's
Professional Development, however, goes further than that. Teachers and
administrators from throughout the school and district attend AVID's Summer
Institutes, where they all learn techniques for bringing out the best in
average students. This way, AVID students are supported in content-area
classrooms as well as in the AVID elective, and even more students can benefit
from AVID
Community
Colleges demonstrate their support of AVID
programs in many ways. They may provide class speakers, offer college credit
courses to AVID high school students, include AVID students in residential,
academically-oriented summer bridge programs, and follow and support the
progress of AVID students during their college careers. The community supports
AVID by providing speakers and summer apprenticeships for AVID
students
