AVID Center
Overview: The Smaller Learning Communities Program
On June 23, 2010 the U.S. Department of Education published the Notice Inviting Applications for
New Awards for the Smaller Learning Communities Program. Proposals are due on August 6, 2010.
The Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program awards five-year grants to school districts and
other local educational agencies (LEAs) to support the restructuring of large public high schools (i.e.,
schools with enrollments of 1,000 or more students) into smaller units for the purpose of improving
academic achievement in large public high schools.
The Department of Education defines an SLC as an environment in which a group of teachers and
other adults within the school knows the needs, interests, and aspirations of each student well, closely
monitors each student’s progress, and provides the academic and other support each student needs to
succeed. SLCs may be structured as freshman academies, multi-grade academies organized around
career interests or other themes, ‘‘houses’’ in which small groups of students remain together
throughout high school, and autonomous schools within-a-school. These structural changes are
typically complemented by other personalization strategies, such as student advisories, family advocate
systems, and mentoring programs.
An LEA can include up to 5 schools in their application. Grants will be awarded for a period of up to
60 months. The initial award will be for 24 months, with three annual awards for the final three years
of the project contingent on project progress toward its goals.
Each participating school may receive a five-year grant ranging from $1,750,000 to $2,500,000,
depending on the size of the school (schools with under 2000 students can receive up to $2,000,000;
schools with 2001-3000 students can receive up to $2,250,000; and schools with more than 3000
students can receive up to $2,500,000). Grants to an LEA applying on behalf of 5 schools will range
from $8.75 million to $12.5 million.
SLC Program Overview
Absolute Priorities: There are two absolute priorities that you must meet to get funded:
1. Preparing All Students to Succeed in Postsecondary Education and Careers without need for
remediation. To meet this priority you must:
a. Provide intensive interventions to assist students who enter high school with reading/language
arts or mathematics skills that are significantly below grade level to ‘‘catch up’’ quickly and
attain proficiency by the end of 10th grade;
b. Enroll students in a coherent sequence of rigorous English language arts, mathematics, and
science courses that will equip them with the skills and content knowledge needed to succeed
in postsecondary education and careers without need for remediation;
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c. Provide tutoring and other academic supports to help students succeed in rigorous academic
courses;
d. Deliver comprehensive guidance and academic advising to students and their parents that
includes assistance in selecting courses and planning a program of study that will provide the
academic preparation needed to succeed in postsecondary education, early and ongoing college
awareness and planning activities, and help in identifying and applying for financial aid for
postsecondary education; and
e. Increase opportunities for students to earn postsecondary credit through Advanced Placement
courses, International Baccalaureate courses, or dual credit programs.
2. Common Planning Time for Teachers. You must increase the amount of time regularly provided to
teachers who share the same students or teach the same academic subject for common planning and
collaboration during or immediately following the school day without decreasing the amount of
time provided to teachers for individual planning and preparation during the school day. To meet
this priority, the common planning time must be used for one or more of the following activities:
a. Structured examination of student work and outcome data.
b. Collaborative professional development and coaching, including classroom observation.
c. Identifying instructional and other interventions for struggling students.
d. Curriculum and assessment development.
Competitive Priorities: There also are two competitive preference priorities that you may meet (but
that are not required). You can earn extra points if you meet the following competitive priorities:

50% of more of the schools included in your project are low-achieving (as defined in the
Federal Register, p. 35894). Applicants that meet this competitive priority will earn 4
additional points.

At least one but fewer than 50% of the schools included in your project are low-achieving.
Applicants that meet this competitive priority will earn 2 additional points.
Other Requirements: The Department of Education lists several additional requirements that an
applicant must meet to be able to get a Smaller Learning Communities grant.
1. Student Placement: Students may not be placed into an SLC according to ability or any other
measure. They must be placed into an SLC either at random or by student/parent choice. Testing
or other judgments may not be used as the basis for placement into an SLC.
2. Including All Students: Every student within the school must be included in an SLC by no later
than the end of the fifth school year of implementation.
In addition, no more than 1% of the grant in any budget period may be spent on equipment with a unit
cost over $500.00. The Department of Education also requires that projects with more than one school
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have a full-time project director and that LEAs collect required performance data. No independent
project evaluation is required. No cash or in-kind match is required.
A complete list of the grant selection criteria is provided in separate document on AVID website.
AVID is a Great Fit for the Smaller Learning Communities Program
AVID supports student achievement and meets the requirements of the SLC program (more detail
about the AVID program structures starts on page 5). Students must choose to be in the AVID
program, and must demonstrate a motivation to work hard to achieve. AVID may not be for every
student. Therefore, you will not be able to meet the student placement requirements of the grant by
creating AVID-only SLCs. Instead, the academic support provided through AVID can be offered to
students in any learning community to help them increase their academic achievement and prepare for
college.
AVID can provide the professional development, technical support, and college awareness and
preparation services needed for a top-scoring project. The “quality of project services” section of the
proposal is worth 60 of the 100 available points (not including the competitive priorities). AVID can
help you address most of the “quality of project services” sub-criteria:
(1) Creating an environment in which a core group of teachers and other adults within the school
know the needs, interests, and aspirations of each student well, closely monitor each student's
progress, and provide the academic and other support each student needs to succeed (10
points);
AVID’s professional development helps prepare teams of teachers to provide the academic and
social support students need to succeed.
(2) Equipping all students with the reading/English language arts, mathematics, and science
knowledge and skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education and careers without need
for remediation (8 points);
The AVID curriculum provides teachers with classroom activities and learning materials to
support student learning in these key areas. The tutoring that AVID students receive supports
their development of their academic skills.
(3) Helping students who enter high school with reading/English language arts or mathematics
skills that are significantly below grade-level to “catch up” and attain, maintain and exceed
proficiency by providing supplemental instruction and supports to these students during the
ninth grade and, to the extent necessary, in later grades (8 points);
The AVID Elective teaches students how to study and how to learn so they can gain
proficiency in English, reading and mathematics.
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(4) Increasing the amount of time regularly provided to teachers for common planning and
collaboration during the school day, without decreasing the amount of time provided to
teachers for individual planning and preparation during the school day (9 points);
Your proposal must include a plan for the teachers at each school to have common planning
and collaboration time during the school day. AVID provides structures for teachers’ effective
use of their common planning time.
(5) Ensuring, through technical assistance, professional development, and other means, that
teachers use opportunities for common planning and collaboration effectively to improve
instruction and student academic achievement (9 points);
AVID Center’s professional development prepares teachers to make the most effective use of
their common planning and collaboration time. Technical assistance and coaching provided onsite and online provides ongoing support in using AVID strategies and teaching methodologies
to improve instruction and student academic achievement.
(6) Increasing the participation of students, particularly low-income students, in Advanced
Placement, International Baccalaureate, or dual credit courses that offer students the
opportunity to earn simultaneously both high school and college credit (8 points); and
AVID offers curriculum and instructional materials specifically designed to support students in
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses.
(7) Increasing the percentage of students who enter postsecondary education in the semester
following high school graduation by delivering comprehensive career guidance and academic
advising to students and their parents that includes assistance in selecting courses and planning
a program of study that will provide the academic preparation needed to succeed in
postsecondary education and careers, early and ongoing career and college awareness and
planning activities, and help in identifying and applying for financial aid for postsecondary
education (8 points).
The AVID Elective is designed to deliver comprehensive career, college and academic
awareness, planning, guidance and advising. Students in the AVID Elective explore careers and
colleges and learn about the application process, college costs, and financial aid. AVID
provides college information for parents as well, and prepares them to work through the
financial aid process.
Background: The AVID Program
AVID has supported student achievement for almost 30 years. The AVID program has been adopted
by over 4,500 schools in 46 states and 16 countries and U.S. Territories. AVID Center provides staff
development for over 19,000 educators each year and serves more than 320,000 students annually.
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AVID has proven to be one of the most effective ways to increase the likelihood that a young person
who comes from a low-income family will graduate from high school and go on to enroll in
postsecondary education with no need for remediation. Most AVID students are underrepresented
minorities – about 50% are Hispanic (only 20% of all school-age children nationally are Hispanic), and
19% are African-American (compared to the national average of 15.3% of school-age children).i Many
of these students do not have a college-going tradition in their families. The academic success of these
AVID students helps close the achievement gap.ii

AVID students are much more likely to complete the courses required to enter a four-year college.
Nationwide, 89% of AVID students complete the sequence of courses necessary for four-year
college acceptance. The national average for all students is 34%.

AVID students are much more likely to take algebra in eighth grade – 51% of grade 8 AVID
students compared to 22% nationwide. Students who take algebra in eighth grade are prepared for
more advanced coursework in math and science in high school. They also are more likely to attend
and graduate from college than are eighth graders who do not take algebra.

AVID opens access to Advanced Placement courses for minority students. The proportion of
Hispanic students taking AP exams is almost five times higher among AVID students (at 57%)
than among U.S. students overall (12%).

AVID students are more likely to graduate from high school. In California, for example, 99.5% of
high school seniors in AVID graduate from high school, compared to only 82.4% of all high school
seniors statewide. In Texas, over 95% of high school seniors in AVID graduate, compared to
89.9% of all high school seniors statewide.

Minority students who participate in AVID are much more likely to enroll in a four-year college.
Over half (55%) of the AVID African-American students who participated in AVID for three years
enrolled in four-year colleges, compared to a national average of 33%, and 43% of the Latino
students who participated in AVID enrolled in four-year colleges, compared to the national average
of 29%.
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AVID students are more likely to persist in their college studies. Once they enter college, most
AVID students (80%) stay continuously enrolled, despite having to work as well as attend school.
Their persistence is much higher than average for low-income and underrepresented college
students in community colleges and universities nationwide – over 50% of public community
college students drop out before completing a degree, and about 40% of public university students
never complete their degrees. iii
AVID is an extensive educator and student support system. AVID targets B, C and even D students
in grades 4 through 12 who want to go to college but are not achieving at the level needed to reach that
goal. AVID places these students in college preparatory classes (including honors and advanced
placements classes), and then provides them a scaffold of social and academic structures to help them
succeed. These structures include an AVID elective that teaches study skills and college preparation;
inquiry-driven problem solving to support achievement in rigorous academic classes; curriculum and
inquiry-based teaching and learning methodologies that stress writing, reading and collaboration; and
extensive professional development that prepares teachers and school leaders to implement the
program.
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The key components of the AVID program for high schools include:

The AVID Elective. Each participating student (grades 9-12) enrolls in an AVID elective course,
which is a part of the student’s regular schedule. The course meets daily (or less often for longer
periods if the school is on an alternative schedule). Two of the five class periods per week focus
on academic training and college entry skills. On these days, students learn study skills, note
taking, time management, critical reading, library research, test preparation, essay writing, testtaking strategies and how to write college entrance essays and prepare for entrance exams. One of
the five class periods each week focuses on career exploration, understanding the academic
preparation required for career choices, and researching colleges. The final two class periods per
week are spent in AVID tutorials, collaborative inquiry groups conducted by college and peer
tutors trained in inquiry-based collaborative coaching techniques. Students participate in these
tutorial groups to both support their success in their college preparation courses and to help
develop the habit of intense studying with classmates.

AVID Teaching Methodology. “AVID Methodology” is not about changing curriculum – it is
about providing most students access to a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, and providing
professional development teachers who learn proven strategies to better serve the learning needs of
all students. The teaching methodologies most effective in this quest include Writing as a Tool for
Learning; an Emphasis on Inquiry; a Collaborative Approach; and Reading to Learn (WICR).
•
AVID Curriculum. To provide teachers with the tools needed to support students in their academic
achievement, the AVID program provides rigorous, sequential curriculum materials and extensive
professional development to teams of teachers from participating schools. AVID provides “Write
Path” curriculum materials and professional development in English Language Arts, Mathematics,
History/Social Science, and science. Curriculum materials are available for Advanced Placement
courses in all of these content areas. AVID also provides curriculum designed to support the
teaching of critical reading and writing strategies to English Language Learners. The AVID
Tutorial Support Curriculum Resource Guide helps teachers enhance the skills of tutors by
modeling and practicing effective group strategies, higher-order questioning techniques, writing
review and collaborative problem solving.
•
AVID Professional Development for School Site Teams. Each participating school forms an
interdisciplinary team of content-area teachers, counselors and administrators to lead the
implementation of the AVID program. The team sets quantifiable goals for school improvement
based on site data. Intensive professional development is provided to members of the school team
to prepare them to implement and expand the AVID program. AVID professional development
activities include:
o The AVID Summer Institute, a weeklong intensive training event attended by the entire site
team;
o School site-based training sessions that focus on using the AVID Path series curriculum in
content area courses;
o Web-based seminars and online training courses on AVID principles and implementation;
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o Monthly site team meetings to reinforce the AVID training and develop the team’s leadership.
o Ongoing and sustained monitoring and coaching for the school site.
These professional development activities help schools develop communities of practice among
their teachers, who work together to plan instructional and academic support activities for their
students. Their collaborative work helps reinforce teachers’ commitment to effective teaching, to
successful students, and to continuous improvement at their school. This enhances teacher
motivation and satisfaction and can help promote teacher retention at the school site.
AVID has a positive impact on Leadership Effectiveness. Since AVID's inception in 1980,
leadership training has been a key area of focus in order to promote college readiness across an entire
campus. AVID Center provides professional development for site and district administrators, AVID
Secondary and Elementary teachers, counselors, content area teachers, and administrators through a
wide variety of training sessions throughout the school year and at AVID Center's Summer Institutes.
Current AVID Center Leadership efforts include:
AVID District Leadership (ADL): AVID Center works with over 800 school districts in 45 states.
ADL training is required of the district leader who oversees AVID. ADL training offers on-site visits,
training, and facilitation to help district leaders build local capacity for implementing, sustaining and
constantly improving quality AVID programs in their schools. District leaders are supported in efforts
to monitor the quality of AVID elective and elementary classes, implement the AVID Essentials, and
promote schoolwide college readiness.
Principals' Leadership Academy: In partnership with the Flippen Learning Group, AVID Center offers
a year-long (19 days) training focused at developing principals' relational capacity, understanding of
college readiness factors, as well as the systems, tools and strategies to lead their schools to greatness.
Principals participate as a cohort and maintain communication electronically between face-to-face
sessions.
Leadership for College Readiness - Administrator Training: These two-day trainings are designed for
participants to actively participate in assessing the structures, processes, and systems needed to create
"Culturally Gifted Schools" and "College Ready" cultures on their campuses. Participants take a case
study of a hypothetical school and begin the process of building a mission, vision, and core principles
for that school. Participants begin the process of learning how to operationally define their campuses.
AVID National Conference: AVID Center will offer superintendents, district leaders, principals,
teacher-leaders, counselors and school board members an opportunity to develop and craft a plan to
close the achievement gap; a plan that is cost-effective, proven, and easy to replicate.
Participants engage in dialogue, presentations, and sessions from practitioners currently engaged in
college-readiness efforts. They will hear from superintendents, site administrators, teachers, students,
and researchers regarding:
 Access to rigorous curriculum for all
 Strategies to help African American male and English-language learner students navigate their
educational path to college
 Strategies for closing the gender gap
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


Schoolwide and districtwide tactics for closing the achievement gap and increasing collegereadiness
Parent and community involvement in college-readiness efforts
Leveraging AVID strategies across the curriculum
AVID creates a college-going culture that drives whole school reform. Although AVID was
originally developed to meet the needs of underachieving ethnic and linguistic minority and lowincome students, its implementation at a site often results in the complete transformation of the
academic, college-going culture of the school. As AVID grows and becomes embedded in the school,
teacher belief systems change. This supports whole school change. Students from all backgrounds
begin attaining higher levels of achievement. AVID helps reform schools because it confronts a
fundamental systemic issue: the de facto tracking that tends to keep low income and minority students
out of college preparatory programs and which results in lower levels of academic achievement.
AVID offers an effective way to address these challenges:
1. AVID accelerates under-achieving students into more rigorous courses, instead of consigning them
to remedial programs that do not fulfill the prerequisites for college.
2. AVID incorporates the intensive support students need to succeed in rigorous courses. At the
elementary level, it is an embedded sequential academic skills program intended for non-elective,
multi-subject, self-contained classrooms, and starts the college-going culture early in the students’
academic life. At the middle and high school level, additional support is formally structured into
the academic AVID elective and is intensive – AVID classes meet every day and students apply
AVID study methods in every class. Support also is continuous: AVID students are required to
participate for at least three years in high school, and the ideal is to remain in the AVID program
from the upper elementary grades through high school.
3. AVID addresses instructional methods as well as access. AVID classes incorporate a collegial
approach and Socratic methods that specifically target the needs of underachieving students.
AVID also incorporates practices such as inquiry-based, collaborative study groups that help
students become independent learners. All AVID strategies are based on research on best practices
and the influences of peer groups in student achievement.
4. AVID trains content area teachers in instructional methodologies that meet the learning needs of a
broad range of students in rigorous content classes. AVID provides ongoing teacher coaching and
follow-up to embed the training in teachers’ classroom practices.
5. AVID works to influence the college-ready culture of the entire school. AVID incorporates and
gives life to an explicit belief system: that low income and minority students can achieve at high
levels and succeed in college. This philosophical underpinning and the success of AVID help to
change the expectations that teachers and students throughout a school have of disadvantaged and
minority students. AVID makes the success of under-achieving students a schoolwide issue and
leads to significant changes in course assignment policies, instructional methods, and school
culture that contribute to their success.
6. AVID is a schoolwide initiative, not a school within a school. AVID addresses many aspects of the
education system. The role of teacher is redefined from lecturer to advocate and guide. The role of
counselor changes from gatekeeper to facilitator. The school-based peer group for AVID students
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becomes one that values achievement. AVID provides the academic training necessary for success
in rigorous curriculum.
7. AVID incorporates something badly needed by schools and teachers engaged in the daunting task
of reform: strong collegial support. Each AVID site team is based on the notion that the success of
students is a shared responsibility. As staff work together throughout the year as well as at Summer
Institutes and regional events, they encourage and inspire one another. National and regional
AVID centers facilitate this network by sharing information about successful practices and
sponsoring training.
8. AVID promotes continuous improvement in schools. The AVID Certification program documents
and recognizes schools that have fully and successfully implemented the AVID model, and serves
as a continuous improvement process. The AVID Certification process includes a school site selfstudy followed by a site visit. Schools incorporate the findings of their self-study and certification
site visit in their ongoing site development plan.
Most jobs in the U.S. that offer earnings above a living wage require good English language and math
skills and at least one year of postsecondary education. AVID provides preparation for any type of
postsecondary education that requires strong academic foundations – a four-year college, a two-year
college, or a shorter certificate or training program – without the need for academic remediation.
Once implemented, AVID can be sustained without significant ongoing expenditures. AVID
Center’s structures and services are designed to support the sustainability of your district’s broader and
deeper implementation of the program:
•
AVID provides a management system to fit the needs of school districts. AVID Center provides a
comprehensive training and support structure to prepare district staff members to coordinate the
AVID program.
•
AVID can be implemented by a school’s current staff members. AVID Center will train a school’s
existing FTE teachers to implement the AVID instructional model and scaffold of supports.
•
AVID Center has the capacity to ramp up training quickly. With more than 500 experienced
trainers, AVID Center is ready to conduct AVID Path training at your district sites.
•
AVID Center launches training through Summer Institutes across the nation. AVID Summer
Institutes provide valuable collaboration time for district and school site teachers and staff to work
on the academic components of their school improvement plans.
•
AVID Center can support your district with comprehensive strategies to support students in
Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or in dual-enrollment college classes. AVID
Center also offers comprehensive strategies to support students who are English Language
Learners and African American male students in AVID.
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AVID Center Contact Information
For more information, please contact:
California Division
Julie Elliott, California Director
9246 Lightwave Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92123
Phone: (858) 380-4778
Email: jelliott@avidcenter.org
Central Division
Rosemary Ellis, Central Division Director
8303 N. Mopac Expressway, Suite C250, Austin, TX 78759
Phone: (512) 669-5900
Email: rellis@avidcenter.org
Eastern Division
Ann Hart, Eastern Division Director
3 Corporate Boulevard, Suite 118, Atlanta, GA 30329
Phone: (404) 963-9300
Email: ahart@avidcenter.org
Western Division
Karen Lewis, Western Division Director
5889 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Suite 210, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Phone: (303) 436-2200
Email: klewis@avidcenter.org
AVID Center Headquarters
Granger Ward, Executive Vice President
9246 Lightwave Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92123
Phone: (858) 380-4781
Email: gward@avidcenter.org
References
i
U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October Supplement.
ii
AVID Center Data Collection System (2008). http://reports.avidcenter.org for AVID data
California Department of Education (2008) www.cde.ca.gov for statewide data.
CREATE (2000). Longitudinal Research on AVID 1999-2000. Burlingame, CA.
CREATE (2002). The Magnificent Eight: AVID Best Practices Study. Burlingame, CA.
Mehan, H. et. al, (1996). Constructing School Success: The Consequences of Untracking Low Achieving
Students. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1996/01 Beginning Postsecondary
Longitudinal Study (BPS: 96/01).
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