AVID's mission is to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society.

AVID Secondary (grades 7-12) helps students in the AVID Elective develop their academic skills, specifically writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading (what AVID refers to as WICOR). The AVID Elective also provides students with opportunities to increase their college knowledge and take college field trips. Students and teachers in the AVID Elective often develop a close-knit peer group, commonly known as the AVID family. AVID Secondary also acts to improve access and equity to rigorous courses on campus and professional learning provides strategies that can help all students be more college-ready, even if they are not in the AVID Elective, through the use of AVID teaching strategies in content-area classes.

• Writing: Writing is basic to thinking, learning, and growth, requiring students to consider issues in new, complex ways, contributing to self-knowledge, and helping them to clarify and order experience and ideas.

• Inquiry: AVID’s emphasis on inquiry focuses on the application of Costa’s three levels of “intellectual functioning," whereby learning to ask progressively more complex questions is scaffolded and students become progressively more metacognitive—aware of their own thinking processes.

• Collaboration: Collaborative learning involves intentionally designed student groups engaged in “co-laboring” toward meaningful learning outcomes, using active engagement activities planned to maximize learning, and facilitating the sharing of the workload Barkley, Cross and Major (2005)

• Organization: Because college students face competing priorities that are often overwhelming, organizational skills are critical to success in academic and social situations.

• Reading: College instructors consider reading a basic skill, one that all students should have acquired before entering college.

AVID takes a systematic approach to ensure that all students are prepared for life after high school. It begins with meaningful professional development which focuses on best practice for every educator. AVID emphasizes goal setting, collaboration, self-advocacy, organization, and student-centered instruction. While these strategies are implemented throughout the building for all students, the elective classes are specifically tailored for those who plan to attend college directly after high school and are in need of support and resources to help them get there.

AVID is "a style of teaching that was geared to conceptual understanding, not just memorization of facts and formulas."

"Students learn how to take notes, question teachers, manage their time, plan for college, plan for life, make effective presentations, write persuasively, and develop other skills that the regular classes did not have time for. "

Our understanding is that AVID provides a framework for learning. It combines lots of best practices in specific areas such as note-taking, organization all the way to a variety of soft skills such as listening, public speaking, and delivers in a comprehensive package. It is a great framework to hold everyone (students and teachers) to the highest standard.

[Source: Question Everything (Mathews, 2015) ]

AVID is a systematic approach to thinking and learning. The members of the AVID Site Team have attended one or more intensive training to create a culture of learning that is embedded with AVID strategies and methodologies that engage students and prepare them for success both inside and outside of the classroom.

AVID = the HOW

Content/Subject Area = the WHAT

Jenny Mick: AVID Online 9/10, Learning Support, English 9

Tom Cronk: AVID Hybrid 9/10, Success Center, PE

Jenni Naughton: School Counselor

Emily O’Donnell: Assistant Principal

Keaton Rickels: Dean of Students

Kedi Ochs: World Literature, English 9

Michelle Baxter: Algebra 1A, Geometry

Marianne McGrane: Earth Space Science

Stacey Streif: AP Human Geography, American Studies

Maya Echols: Spanish I

Beth Hieronymus: IDS, Special Education

Tiffany Roiseland: IDS, English Learners

AVID Teacher Features

Student Profiles

November 2020: Maeon Burrell

December 2020: Christian Ayala

January 2021: Lizzie Hanson

February 2021: Alexia Dominguez

March 2021: Addison Stokes

April 2021: Cynthia Shields

May 2021:

June 2021:

Link to AVID Strategy of the Month Slides

November 2020: Focused Note Taking

December 2020: Goal Setting and Reflection

January 2021: Building Relational Capacity / Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

February 2021: One-Pagers

March 2021: Study Groups

April 2021: Summarizing

May 2021: Marking the Text

3 Answers for Parents About the AVID Program

AVID Frequently Asked Questions