Advancement Via Individual Determination

What is AVID?  

AVID is designed to increase school-wide learning and performance. 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  

·   Will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a democratic society

AVID Site Team at South Mountain HS:

Leah Hopper:  AVID Elective

Ann Miles:  AVID Elective

Jaime Sanchez:  AVID Science

Angela Andrews:  AVID Science

Mark Maskalenko:  Social Studies

Jody Frazier:  Coordinator

Ellen Spinner:  Counselor

Sheri Kaplan:  Assistant Principal of Registration

Alvin Watson:  Principal

AVID counselors and elective teachers will assist each AVID student determine the courses needed for a scholastic diploma and the best possible preparation for acceptance into and success at a university.    

Who are the AVID Students?  

One or more of the following:

·   9^th-12^th graders who have been recruited into AVID classes

·   First generation in their family to go to college

·   Students with good behavior, good attendance, A, B or C grades

·   Willing to work hard to attain the goal of going to college

·   Provided with lots of support from their AVID teachers, counselors, tutors and parents

·   Potential for Honors and Advance Placement classes

·   Special circumstances

Results:

ü  AVID is in nearly 2300 schools in 36 states and 15 countries.

ü  95% of AVID students in college.

ü  Latino AVID graduates attend 4-year colleges at almost twice the national average.

ü  African-American graduates attend at one-and-a-half times the national average.

How Does Avid Work?

The AVID Elective Class: 

ü   Meets one class period daily.

ü   Provides tutorials twice each week.

ü   Students learn:

· Organizational skills

· Time management

· Study skills

· WIC-R

Writing

· Class Questioning

· Learning Logs/Journals

Inquiry

· Skilled Questioning

· Critical Thinking Activities

Collaboration

· Study Groups

· Collaborative Activities

Reading

· SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)

Tutorial Goals

Goals for the AVID tutorial are:

1.   To teach students the social skills needed to work collaboratively to solve homework or other class work problems.

2.   To empower students to answer their own questions which will help students to think more deeply about what they are learning.

3.   To guide students in high level discussions of critical topics as a means of developing vocabulary, enhancing discussion skills, and fostering thought processes which will enable students to succeed in rigorous high school and college courses.

To reinforce writing skills through review of class notes, learning logs, quick writes, and essay editorial sessions.

Guidelines for Honors and Advance Placement classes:

· Faster paced

· In-depth content

· Challenging activities

· Higher-level content, comprehension, and analysis

· Higher-level class discussion and participation

· College-level research skills development

· Standardized test preparation

For more information please contact:

Jody Frazier

(602) 764-5000 x66166

frazier@phxhs.k12.az.us