The AVID program was established nearly 35 years ago, and now impacts students in over 46 states and 16 other countries/territories. Here at Santaluces, there are about a dozen AVID classes, ranging from freshmen to seniors.
Avid’s motto is that it’s not just another program, but at its heart is a philosophy: students becoming college ready. The program teaches organization skills, better studying methods, and better note taking strategies, all in which help a student become college ready.
The program disciplines students to become organized, which is an important trait to have going to college. Students learn organization with binder checks that occur every Friday as a huge chunk of their grade.
Mrs. White, who has been teaching AVID for two years, believes that organization skills are crucial to post-secondary success for students.
“If they follow the guidelines of the binder checks, organization skills will be gained,” White said. “I have had several students come back and thank me for helping them become organized.”
Senior Mckayla Pham thanks those annoying binder checks she has endured for four years for giving her the organization skills she has now.
“Avid has helped me stay on track throughout high school,” Pham said. “Being organized makes life so much easier, especially when applying for college.”
AVID also has two days during the week in which students can be tutored by upperclassmen while completing a tutorial request form.
Mrs. Moe, the coordinator for avid, believes tutorial request forms are a big reason why the Avid program is so successful.
“The TRF’s provide a written process that allow the students to come to their point of confusion, and reflect upon what they already know,” Mrs. Moe said. “The tutorial that follows allows students to gain understanding of the problem from their point of confusion and, through the Socratic process, students then are able to work through the problems independently.”
Sophomore Jonah Backensto has improved his grade in math with the help of the tutorial request forms and the work he puts in during the tutoring days.
“Avid will better me in the future by helping me be more prepared for college in a way of helping me get scholarships and helping me get my high school credits out of the way so I can get college credits early on in high school,” Backensto said. “Our tutors help tremendously so that we get the help we need in the classes we are struggling in at a particular moment.”
Avid requires students to take notes in Cornell style, which is been proven to be a successful note taking strategy.
Senior Nhuy Nyguen is an Avid tutor and she believes there is no better way to take notes than Cornell style.
“Cornell notes will help students from avid retain the information they learn more effectively,” Nyguen said. “By writing questions on the left, they’re able to review and test themselves compared to writing regular notes.”
Junior Jevon Charles enjoys Cornell notes because he knows it will help him succeed down the road.
“The Cornell notes really have made a difference in how I approach taking notes,” Charles said. “It keeps my thoughts organized and the style of notes has made a positive impact on test grades.”
The 2017 senior class will graduate from Avid prepared for college because it not only taught them, but also gave them the necessary discipline to succeed in high school. These seniors were held accountable to the highest standards were provided support in academic areas and rose to the challenge.
