The Road to College:
Rigor, Readiness, and Retention
The Mission of AVID
The mission of AVID is to ensure that ALL students, and most
especially the least served students who are in the middle:
will succeed in rigorous curriculum;
will complete a rigorous college preparatory path;
will enter mainstream activities of the school;
will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges; and
will become educated and responsible participants and
leaders in a democratic society.
AVID’s systemic approach is designed to support students and
educators as they increase schoolwide/districtwide learning and
performance.
What is AVID?
A structured, college preparatory system
working directly with schools and districts
A direct support structure for first-generation
college goers, grades 4-12
A schoolwide approach to curriculum and rigor
adopted by nearly 4,000 middle schools and high
schools in 45 states and 15 countries
A professional development program providing
training throughout the U.S.
The AVID Student Profile
Students With Academic Potential
Average to high test scores
2.0-3.5 GPA
College potential with support
Desire and determination
Meets One or More of the Following Criteria
First to attend college
Historically underserved in four-year colleges
Low income
Special circumstances
AVID Program Essentials
1. AVID student selection
2. Voluntary participation
3. AVID elective class offered during the school
day
4. Rigorous course and study
5. Writing and reading curriculum
6. Inquiry to promote critical reading
AVID Program Essentials (Continued)
7. Collaboration
8. Trained tutors
9. Data collection and analysis
10. District and school commitment
11. Active and interdisciplinary site team
A Sample Week in the AVID Elective
Daily or Block Schedule
AVID Curriculum includes:
Writing Curriculum
College and Careers
Strategies for Success
AVID Tutorials Include:
Collaborative Study Groups
Writing Groups
Socratic Seminars
What is Academic Rigor?
Rigor is the goal of helping students
develop the capacity to understand
content that is complex, ambiguous,
provocative, and personally or emotionally
challenging.
Taking rigorous courses opens doors!
Source: Teaching What Matters Most; Standards and Strategies for Raising Student
Achievement by Strong, Silver and Perini, ASCD, 2001.
Meeting the Challenge
To help all students do rigorous work and meet or exceed
high standards in each content area we must help students:
Develop as readers and writers.
Develop deep content knowledge.
Know content specific strategies for reading,
writing, thinking and talking.
Develop habits, and behaviors to use knowledge
and skills.
AVID: 28 Years of Success
Over 28 years, AVID has become one of the
most successful college-preparatory
programs ever for low-income, underserved
students, and today reaches more than
320,000 students in nearly 4,000 U.S.
schools in 45 states, Canada, and 15 other
countries.
Why AVID Works
Places AVID students in rigorous
curriculum and gives them the support
to achieve;
Provides the explicit “hidden curriculum” of
schools;
Provides a team of students for positive
peer identification; and
Redefines teacher’s role as that of
student advocate.
Ethnic Breakdown of AP Testtakers AVID vs. National
Opening access to Advanced Placement courses for all students, regardless of ethnicity or
economic background, is essential to leveling the academic playing field. AVID students,
who take many AP tests every year, show greater ethnic diversity than AP test-takers do
overall. The proportion of Latinos taking AP exams is over four times higher among AVID
students than among U.S. students overall.
Completion of Four-Year College
Entrance Requirements
AVID students complete university entrance requirements at a much higher rate than
their non-AVID peers.
AVID Graduates
97% plan to enroll in a college or university
66% plan to enroll in a four-year university
31% plan to enroll in a two-year college
83% of parents have less than a four-year college
degree
Source: AVID Center Senior Data Collection System, 2007-2008 (N=14,995)
Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole percent
Percent of Students Applying and Getting
Accepted to Four-Year Colleges
One of the most impressive and consistent indicators of AVID's success is the rate at which it
sends students to four-year colleges. Seventy-eight percent of 2007 AVID graduates were
accepted to a four-year college.
Keys to AVID Implementation
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Select a site and district coordinator.
Gain site and district support for the program.
Identify and commit resources for program costs
Clarify the goals of the program for school faculty and
gain their support.
Select interdisciplinary AVID site team.
Identify and recruit students.
Schedule class and students.
Recruit and hire tutors.
Attend Summer Institute.
Implement.
AVID: Collaborative Support for the
Success of Underserved Students
AVID
Support
Staff
Colleges
and
Universities
Community
AVID
Coordinator
(AVID Elective
Teacher)
Parents
Student
Administration
Tutors
Subject
Area
Teachers
Counselors
AVID Program Implementation Essentials
1.
AVID student selection focuses on students in the middle
(2.0 to 3.5 G.P.A. as one indicator) with academic
potential, who would benefit from AVID support to
improve their academic record and begin college
preparation.
2.
AVID program participants, both students and staff,
choose to participate.
3.
The school must be committed to full implementation of
the AVID program, with the AVID year-long elective class
available within the regular academic school day.
4.
AVID students are enrolled in a rigorous course of study
that will enable them to meet requirements for university
enrollment.
AVID Program Implementation Essentials
(continued)
5.
A strong, relevant writing and reading curriculum
provides the basis for instruction in the AVID elective
class.
6.
Inquiry is used as a basis for instruction in the AVID
classroom.
7.
Collaboration is used as a basis for instruction in the
AVID classroom.
8.
A sufficient number of tutors are available in the AVID
class to facilitate student access to rigorous
curriculum.
AVID Program Implementation Essentials
(continued)
9.
AVID program implementation and student progress are
monitored through the AVID Data System, and results are
analyzed to ensure success.
10. The school or district has identified resources for program
costs, has agreed to implement AVID Program
Implementation Essentials and to participate in AVID
Certification. It has committed to ongoing participation in
AVID staff development.
11.
An active interdisciplinary site team collaborates on issues
of students access to and success in rigorous college
preparatory courses.
A strong, committed
AVID teacher remains
the cornerstone of a
successful AVID
program.
The prospective AVID teacher
must share the same desire and
individual determination that we
expect of prospective AVID
students.
The prospective AVID elective
teacher should be recruited to the
position rather than assigned.
As with AVID students, the teacher
should commit to the program
voluntarily, with a full
understanding of the expectations
and goals of AVID.
Desirable Candidate
Qualifications
• A veteran teacher - minimum three years
experience
• Collaborative workplace experience
• Credentialed expertise in a “college
preparatory” subject area
• Effective classroom management style
and organizational skills
Desirable Personal Traits
• Commitment to personal and
professional growth
• Creative problem-solver
• Perseveres through long-term projects
• Builds relationships with staff and
community members
• Enjoys multi-tasking
Desirable Collegial Skills
• Respected by faculty and staff
• Communicates well
• Proponent of equal access to rigorous
curriculum
• Has or can develop a leadership role
on campus
Features of Successful
AVID Programs
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School Site Leadership
Skilled and Committed Teachers
Effective Site Teams
Access to Quality Professional
Development
• Access to Effective Tutors
• Adequate Funding
• Support Beyond the School Site
Guthrie & David, Strategies for Dissemination, 1994
Principles of Tutoring
• Establish and maintain rapport with
the students
• Assure that the students do the work
• Order learning priorities
• Facilitate learning; do not try to be
experts in all fields
How Tutors Are Chosen
• The AVID coordinator usually
contacts the tutors.
• Most tutors are students at local
universities.
• In addition, the college tutor corps is
rounded out by qualified peer tutors,
staff members, and community and
business volunteers.
The AVID coordinator interviews, hires,
and trains tutors who are:
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skilled writers
responsible workers
effective and flexible communicators
self-confident and self-initiating workers
serious workers with a sense of humor
dedicated workers who want to work
with the AVID program and the AVID
students for lower compensation than
they might receive working at their
universities.
Coordination of Tutors
• Tutorial activities are coordinated by the
AVID coordinator.
• The coordinator and tutors meet informally
and formally to discuss concerns of the day,
to review lesson plans, and to plan
classroom activities.
• Constant communication between the
coordinator and tutors keeps the goals of
the program in focus and promotes growth
within the program.
Role of Tutors in the Classroom
• Tutors are selected from diverse subject
areas and can give students an idea of the
range of opportunities that stem from
postsecondary education
• Tutors work with students individually and
in study groups, facilitating tutoring students
in their advanced level classes.
• Tutors challenge students to discover
answers on their own rather than rely on
tutors for answers
• Tutors expect students to come to tutorials
prepared and able to articulate what help
they need.
Role of Tutors in the Classroom
(Continued)
• The goal is for students to become independent learners,
able to help themselves and others.
• In addition to leading tutorials, the tutors respond to
student journal entries, timed writings, and assignments,
which students then have the opportunity to revise and edit.
• Tutors also evaluate the binders in which AVID students log
all their assignments, keep their study calendars, and collect
lecture and reading notes.
• Tutors’ comments, both written and oral, on student
binders, writing, and tutorials ideally evolve into a dialogue
between the two, so that tutors guide students through the
learning process.
Role of Tutors in the Classroom
(Continued)
• Tutors serve as role models, providing
students with immediate and continuous
contact with the worlds of the university
and work
• Tutors serve as liaisons between teachers
and students, acting as advocates of the
academic values teachers seek to instill in
their students
Tutors perform several functions:
• work individually with students on writing
assignments
• lead peer critique groups
• respond to student writing with oral and
written comments
• conduct brainstorming and clustering
sessions
• develop writing assignments
• teach mini-lessons
AVID Student Selection
Looking for three things:
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•
•
Ability
College Potential
Desire and Determination
The AVID Student Profile
Students with Academic Potential
• Average
to High Test Scores
• 2.0-3.5 GPA
• College Potential with Support
• Desire and Determination
Meets One or More of the Following Criteria
First to Attend College
• Historically Underserved in 4-year Colleges
• Low Income
• Special Circumstances
•
Middle Level Library
Implementation
• Implementing and managing the
AVID program (IMAP)
• Calendaring the AVID curriculum
• Organizing the AVID student
binder
• Wall of fame
Strategies for Success
• Cornell note-taking system
• Binder organization
• Test-taking & time management
• Inquiry method –Socratic seminar
AVID Family Workshops
• Understanding the AVID elective
• Understanding the path from
middle school/high school to
college and careers
• Handouts & PowerPoints in
English & Spanish
College & Careers
• Self awareness
• Six year plan
• Post-secondary research
• College preparation
• Career exploration
Middle Level Library
Middle Level Writing Curriculum
Teacher Guide
• Writing
• Reading
• Oral communication
Tutor Training
• Algebra Tutorial
• Tutorial Support Resource Guide
with CD (New)
• Tutorial Support Resource Activity
Guide CD (New)
• Tutorial Tips from an AVID
Teacher
Schoolwide Middle Level Library
The Write Path
• English Language Arts (ELA)
• English Language Learners (ELL)
• History/Social Science
• Mathematics I & II (New)
• Science
• Administrator Guide
• World Languages
• 25th Anniversary DVD
AVID: Celebrating 25 Years of
College Dreams
High School Library
Implementation
• Implementing and Managing the
AVID Program (IMAP)
• Calendaring the AVID Curriculum
• Preparing for College Grades 11-12
• AVID College Readiness: Working
with Sources Grades 11-12
• Organizing the AVID Student Binder
• Wall of Fame
Strategies for Success
• Cornell note-taking system
• Binder organization
• Test-taking & time management
• Inquiry method –Socratic Seminar
College & Careers
• Self awareness
• Six year plan
• Post-secondary research
• College preparation
• Career exploration
AVID Family Workshops
• Understanding the AVID elective
• Understanding the path from
middle school/high school to
college and careers
• Handouts and PowerPoints in
English & Spanish
High School Library
High School Writing Curriculum
• Evaluating and analytical writing strategies
• Timed writing
• Student models
• Focus lessons for specific needs
Tutor Training
• Advanced Tutorial Path
• Algebra Tutorial
• Tutorial Support Resource Guide with CD (New)
• Tutorial Support Resource Activity Guide CD (New)
• Tutorial Tips from an AVID Teacher
Schoolwide High School Library
The Write Path
• English Language Arts (ELA)
• English Language Learners (ELL)
• History/ Social Science
• Mathematics I (New)
• Science
The Write Path II
• Advanced English
• Advanced History/Social Science
• Advanced Science
• Mathematics II (New)
• Administrator Guide
• World Languages
• 25th Anniversary DVD
AVID: Celebrating 25 Years of College Dreams
Frequently Asked Questions
What do we receive when the AVID curriculum comes to our site?
• Middle School –Six boxes, six libraries
• High School –Six boxes, six libraries
• Teacher guides and 30 student guides (use as class set) for AVID elective
materials
• Informational videos, copies of Wall of Fame, daily planning guides
What strategies should we use to explore and disseminate the AVID
materials?
• Site team curriculum box opening party
• Summer Institute attendees share with their content departments
• Administrators read their guide, especially “Evaluating Your AVID
Program”
• Schedule follow-up site team meeting; share successful activities, student
work
• Share at staff and department meetings
Frequently Asked Questions
What do we “look for” in the AVID Elective Class?
• Library boxes should be opened and books distributed
• Red and green books used on curriculum days
• Teachers and tutors should be using their blue guides
• Continued reference to daily planning guide
• Cornell notes taught early and refined by modeling
• Writing assignments begin early and continue throughout the year to ensure
rigor in the AVID class
• Writing/editing groups used continually as part of the writing process
What should concern us about the AVID curriculum, both schoolwide
and elective class materials?
• Library boxes not opened
• Curriculum not used for academic training
• Formal writing assignments not begun (Lack of rigor)
• Daily planning guide not consulted
• Content teachers have not shared materials and strategies
WICR Activity
• At your table, take your Curriculum Sampler and review the contents.
• Choose ONE activity to examine in detail and to share with your table
• Explain HOW this activity connects strongly to WICR strategies and how it
will support the development of AVID students