A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Key Characteristics School-based coordinators ensure that students enroll in college preparatory classes AVID classes combine collaborative, inquiry-based learning with the support students need to succeed academically After-school and summer activities provide enrichment

Number of Students: Approximately 120 in each of 300 schools throughout California Grades Served: 6-12 Racial/Ethnic Breakdown (San Diego County): 57% Hispanic 18% African American 12% White 12% Asian or Pacific Islander 1% Native American Eligible for Public Assistance: 49% Major Sources of Outside Funding: School districts and state and county offices of education

Overview

Ana and her family once were homeless. Now, the Carlsbad High School graduate attends San Diego University through a scholarship that she earned with a 2.9 GPA. Her friend Veronica, a senior at Ramona High School in San Diego's Riverside Unified School District, once planned to drop out of high school to join her mother in cleaning office buildings after hours. Instead, Veronica attends advanced English, mathematics, and science classes in preparation for enrollment in the University of California, Los Angeles; she wants to become a doctor. Ana and Veronica are both Hispanic and poor; they both also participated in Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID).

AVID is a college preparatory program targeted at underachieving minority and low-income students traditionally underrepresented at colleges and universities. By introducing students to advanced academics and tutorials and motivating them through additional activities, AVID prepares these students and all of whom are performing below their potential--for entrance into four-year colleges and universities.

Program Context

Major Program Features

Organization and Schedule

Instruction

• Special AVID class. Two days a week, AVID students meet as a group for the instructional component of the program, taught by the school's AVID coordinator. Topics for these instructional sessions include writing, note taking, study skills, test taking, time management, college entrance-placement exam preparation, effective textbook reading, and library research skills.

  The research-based teaching strategies used in AVID reflect current educational reform efforts: collaborative, subject-specific learning; inquiry; and writing as a learning tool. AVID classrooms are organized by a lead teacher, assisted by staff. AVID teachers use inquiry to engage students in the learning process; problem-solving capabilities evolve as they learn to draw inferences, analyze events, and evaluate facts.

  Students learn to interpret and analyze by prewriting, drafting, and editing essays and other papers. Students are expected to take extensive notes within each class to improve their notetaking skills; at the end of each week, they turn in their notebooks for review and critique.

  At the program's inception, lessons were developed collaboratively by high school and college instructors. For example, 20 teachers of mostly advanced classes worked with local college faculty to devise a handbook of writing lessons in discourse models addressing all subjects and requiring collaboration and inquiry. The high school and college instructors team taught these lessons in both high school and college to understand the requirements at each level. In addition, college instructors of freshman-level introductory courses taught mini-lessons within the AVID program to provide a realistic venue to college work.

• AVID tutorials. AVID students have tutorial sessions during two periods a week. During this time, students divide into groups of seven to ten to receive coaching from college student tutors, many of whom are former AVID students. Students receive extra help in specific subjects, based on questions they have generated from their classroom notes, as well as coaching in study skills, note taking, and library use.

Motivational Activities and Extra Support

• Elective courses and time management. Because the AVID class is taught during the daily elective period when other students take classes like art or music, AVID sponsors several motivational activities and extra supports throughout the calendar year so participants may also benefit from elective experiences. One day each week--usually Friday--the AVID class is devoted to a motivational activity, such as a guest speaker or a field trip to one of the local college campuses. Also, AVID students may attend summer school enrichment classes and participate in after-school enrichment activities. Although one coordinator admits that the program loses some students who cannot keep up with this extended day and school year, the positive outcome is that "by the time they are juniors, AVID students have learned effective time management--a critical skill for success as college undergraduates."

• Support to families. Outside of class, AVID staff maintain contact with students and families through quarterly letters, regular telephone calls, and the monthly AVID Family Workshop Series. Offered in both English and Spanish, the workshops help parents understand the increasing academic demands that are being placed on their children, acclimate parents to the idea of their children leaving home to attend college, and provide information on the college application and financial aid process.

• Support from higher education institutions. State colleges and universities offer support by: (1) providing college tutors to AVID classes; (2) targeting outreach programs to AVID students; (3) monitoring the academic progress of AVID students once they enroll in college; (4) involving AVID students in college activities; and (5) mentoring AVID students throughout their college careers. For example, California State University offers a residential summer bridge program for AVID high school juniors and seniors; students earn college credits for successful participation, and they and their parents receive an introduction to college life and requirements.

Staffing

• Teamwork. AVID schools depend on teamwork to facilitate communication among key staff. Typically, an interdisciplinary AVID site team composed of the principal, AVID coordinator, lead counselor, and teachers meets monthly to set goals that enhance teacher effectiveness. The team also helps all teachers use the instructional methods of writing-to-learn, collaborative grouping, and inquiry.

• AVID coordinator. The AVID coordinator is an advocate for AVID students. The AVID coordinator teaches the AVID elective class, works with secondary school and college students and faculty to organize curricular and extracurricular activities, and helps school guidance counselors schedule students in college preparatory courses and see that they complete financial aid applications. According to one AVID coordinator, "High school counselors may not encourage these students to enroll in advanced classes . . .given their prior academic profiles. Because of many students' own low expectations for themselves, it would never occur to them to self-enroll in these classes." AVID coordinators intervene in this process by conducting additional student assessment and student and parent interviews.

  Once students are enrolled in advanced classes, the AVID coordinator continues to provide support. For example, if an AVID student is doing poorly in a particular class, the coordinator may talk with the teacher to pinpoint the problem. If several AVID students are having difficulty, the coordinator may send an AVID tutor to sit in on the class and learn which areas are causing the most confusion. The support of the entire faculty is crucial to AVID's success, so the AVID coordinator works with teachers in all subject areas to implement AVID methodology. When AVID students need extra help, teachers monitor the students' academic performance and alert the coordinator.

Support for Implementation

Staff Development

Evidence of Success

Most AVID students continue on to college; a majority attend four-year institutions. In 1992, 93 percent of AVID graduates enrolled in college, a rate 75 percent higher than the overall student population of San Diego County. AVID's success in getting underrepresented students to enroll in four-year colleges and universities is noteworthy. For 1992, 60 percent of African American students graduating from AVID entered four-year postsecondary institutions--a rate two-and-one-half times the national average. Forty-eight percent of Hispanic graduates went on to four-year institutions--a rate three times the national average.

Data on senior classes at AVID sites between 1986 and 1992 reveal an average increase of 48 percent in students completing four-year college entry requirements; the statewide increase for the same period is 13 percent. Once enrolled in college, AVID students tend to remain through graduation. For example, about 61 percent of AVID students who enrolled in San Diego State University between 1989 and 1992 graduated with a bachelor's degree. Of these, 14 percent enrolled in graduate school.

In 1993, the AVID program received the Salute to Excellence Award for Staff Development and Leadership from the National Council of States on Inservice Education. In 1992, AVID received an "A+ for Breaking the Mold" award from the U.S. Department of Education and a "Pioneering Achievement in Education" award from the Charles A. Dana Foundation in 1991. Although still most prevalent in California, AVID programs have been implemented in schools in Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia, and more than 30 schools for U.S. military dependents in Germany, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Okinawa.
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