5013240504 LRSD PAGE 02 t' 03/10/1998 16:20 LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCE CENTER 3001 PULASKI STREET LITTLE ROCK, AR 72206 September 10, 1998 TO
Aim Brown, ODM FROM: Dr. Bonnie Lesley,'Associate Superintendent for Instruction SUBJECT: Project AVID Attached arc the materials on Project AVID for your review and feedback. We have tons more information about this program if you would like to see it. Mable Donaldson wdll be the District Coordinator. BAL/adg Attachment 09/10/1998 16:20 5013240504 LRSD PAGE 03 Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Edca.,o Plan folio.: Section 2/5. 2.6 LRSD shall inplentcnt programs pol.cies and^^^^^ barriers to participation by qualified nromote participation and to ensure that there are no 1----- . . African-Americans in extracurricular activities, advanced placement courses, honors and enriched courses and the gifted and talented program. Section 2/S. 2.6,1 wuvu 2.6.1 LRSD shall implement a training program during each of the next three years designed to assist teachers and counselors in identifying and encouraging African-American students to participate in honors and ennched courses and advance placement courses. Section 2/5. 2.6.2 LRSD shall implement programs to assist African-Americans in being successful in honors and enriched courses and advanced placement courses. National Science Foundation Cooperative AgreemgDl . oXfThe most^import^/needs identified in the LRSD grant proposal to NSF was as A need exists for students to begin preparation to enter high school Advanced Placement mathematics and science courses and other upper level mathematics and science courses while they are still in elementary and junior high school. Many students, even if th y meet the course prerequisites for upper level courses, have not acquired the type of skills and content knowledge that is required to be confident about their ability to^succeed in these courses. The pre-requisite skills and the confidence they engender are both^cntical elements in increasing the number of students in AP and other upper level niathemancs and science courses. This is particularly true for some rainonties who may not be well represented among upper classmen who are currently enrolled in these courses. ^D&S^Ssembled the core of a team to be expanded as tasks bewme more clear to create a svstemic plan to meet both the letter and spint of the Revised Plan as well as the objectives of the NSF project. The plan, to be presented to the Bo^d * ****** , . i_ .11___ Va. tr* er#atP K - I L later in the school year will include the steps we believe to be necessary' to create a K-12 talent development program both to improve student access to and success in the advanced placement, honors, and gifte(i''talented courses in all our schools. The centerpiece of the plan, we know already, will be, with the Board s approval, the implementation of Project AVID (see attachments for basic information). Vze suggest tha the District phase in the implementation of the program over three years, as follows.09/10/1998 16:20 5013240504 LRSD PAGE 04 199599 1999-2000 2000-01 Planning year for implementation in the five high schools Implementation year for the five high schools Planning year for implementation in the eight middle schools Continuation/refinement of high school implementation Implementation year for the eight middle schools This phase-in approach is recommended in order for us to do the best possible job of implementation with the resources (human, time, and money) available to us. Also, we think that the changes for the middle schools that will be implemented in 1999-2000 are comprehensive enough that the staffs do not need yet another itmovation during 1999- 2000. Upon the Boards approval, the staff will negotiate the Planning Year contract with AVID and will begin the planning activities, involving staff, students, and parents.09/10/1998 16:20 5013240504 LRSD PAGE 05 San O/ega Cotiftty Offtcv of Sctucatfon Hwna AVID Home Tour AVID Sail County ot '! AVID Websitei AVID Regions ACCESS AVID Newsletter AVID& Comprehensive Reform avid News Summer Institutes Expanding AVID To Meet Increasing Disparities In Education: Opening The Advanced Placement Curriculum Curriculum Mary Catherine Swanson, AVID Founder and Director Research Who's \A/ho AVID Sites Certification AVID Links Info for Current AVID Sites and Districts The Hopwood decision in Texas, Proposition 209 in California, similar legislation on ballots in Michigan and Washington which will no longer allow special admission criteria for underrepresented groups of students, coupled with ever more difficult college admission criteria across the nation make it critical for AVID to expand its focus. During AVID's seventeen years of work, it has enrolled students most underrepresented in postsecondary education who are languishing in the middle academically in secondary schools. In over three or more years of intervention in the AVID elective and placement into rigorous curriculum, in broad terms, AVID has moved thousands of students from "C" level students in non-academic curriculum to "B" level students in college preparatory curriculum. During the 8O's and early 9O's, "B" level students could achieve acceptance to most colleges within the U.S. This is no longer the case Email AVID It is clear that America's higher education system is not equipped to meet the needs of the burgeoning number of students, particularly those among groups most underrepresented in postsecondary education. The nation must be prepared to educate over four million more students in 2015 than it educated 25 years earlier, simply because of the population growth. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, if the current growth in the number of students entering colleges continues, "the number of full-time college students will increase from the 1995 level of 10.3 million to approximately 13.2 million by 2015."1 A concomitant problem is revealed in a 1997 RAND study, which predicts that "if current funding trends continue, the higher education sector wil face a calamitous shortage of resources."2 Colleges in California, a state with a rapidly increasing population and an economic slump for the past several years, are already facing the challenge. Between 1991 and 1996 more than 215,000 fewer students were enrolled in California public universities. 3 Because the number of spaces in higher education are not keeping pace with the growing student population, colleges have dealt with the dilemma through raising their admission standards. At AVID's home base in San Diego, students in the 8O's and early 9O's were able to enter the University of California San Diego with a 3.2 grade point average ir appropriate courses and completion of an ACT or SAT exam. Last year's I 01'4 9/KWH 11:29 am 09/10/1998 16:20 5013240504 LRSD PAGE 06 freshman class entered with.an average grade point average of 3.96 and an SAT score of 1250 4 The Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses are even more selective
five of the nine UC campuses will be highly competitive by the fall of 1998. And for the first time in its history, San Diego State University is studying application of a more stringent entry criteria The critical problem is that the greatest population increase is among student groups least likely to go to college. Recent projections by the Bureau of the Census suggest that, by 2030, African Americans, Hispanic Amencans, and Native Americans will collectively constitute 42% of the under-18 population, with most of this growth among Latinos. 5 If current population trends continue, California will be majority Latino in the year 2005 and Texas will be majority Latino in 2010, and yet the freshman class of 1997 at the University of California included only 8% Latinose and the enrollment in the University of Texas was only 12% Latino. 7 It doesn't take a genius to conclude that if the current underrepresentation of non-Asian minorities in our top educational institutions continues, it will lead to an escalation of intergroup conflict around leadership representation and economic issues. Over the past three decades, researchers have repeatedly documented large disparities in academic achievement among certain ethnic groups. Looking at grade point averages for example, the National Assessment of Educational Placement 1994 Trends in Academic Progress study showed that of those in the sample who were college-bound seniors in 1992, only 4.1% of the African Americans, 10.3% of the Latinos, and 5.3% of the Native Amencans had 3.6+ GPAs {on a 4.0 scale) in high school, compared to 29.3% of the Asian Americans and 20.9% of the Anglos. sWith non-Asian minorities collectively representing about 30% of the under-18 population in the mid-1990's, GPA patterns such as these translate into extreme underrepresentation for these groups in the top postsecondary institutions. AVID must respond to this looming crisis in education not by abandoning its current emphasis on identifying underachieving students in the middle, but by also addressing the needs of the next tier of students and giving them the support needed to achieve in the mos rigorous curriculum, including Advanced Placement courses, now a commonly applied criteria for entry into the top college and universities. According to the College Board, in 1997 enrollment in Advanced Placement classes was 5% African-American, 8.7% Latino, 12.6% Asian, 71.5% Anglo, and 2.2% other. The national passing rate is 63% achieved almost equally among all ethnic groups
however, not all groups are equally represented withir Advanced Placement classes.9 When colleges nationwide are raising admission standards, the lack of enrollment of underrepresented students in AP courses spells disaster. It is clear that based on AVID's well-researched record of preparing underrepresented students for college, AVID must now expand its goals through: Identifying high achieving underrepresented students who are not prepared for advanced placement classes and giving them the academic 2or4 9/1 11 29 A'09710/1998 16:20 5013240504 LRSD PAGE 07 support to be successful. Providing professional development for AVID elective teachers and tutors to support underrepresented students in targeted AP courses. Providing professional development for advanced placement teachers to open the course curriculum to a wider audience of students. To this end, the AVID Center will seek funding to work collaboratively with the College Board and others to write curriculum and provide training to achieve these goals. Co-sponsored by the College Board, the AVID National Summer Institute in San Diego the week of August 10 will provide an "Opening the Advanced Placement Curriculum" strand throughout the week, and a postconference intensive Advanced Placement staff development opportunity for ail advanced placement teachers whether or not they teach in AVID schools. Dr. Uri Treisman and his outstanding team of mathematicians at the University of Texas will co-train a new "mathematics toolkit" they have developed in conjunction with the College Board which is designed to open the AP mathematics curriculum through vertical teaming in middle schools and higl schools. I implore all of you, as master schedules are developed at your sites this spring, to increase the number of Advanced Placement courses you are offering and to place underrepresented students in those courses. I further urg< you to take advantage of the Advanced Placement training which will occur in San Diego in August and to encourage the Advanced Placement teachers or those wishing to be Advanced Placement teachers at your site to attend. The mission of AVID is to work within the public education system to provide ai excellent education for all students regardless of their national, ethnic, or family backgrounds. Huge disparities in educational achievement are increasing in th? United States. Unless we in AVID fully dedicate ourselves to those approaches v^hich we know through research and practice will help alleviate the problem, we will all find ourselves living in a country which is not humanistically or economically viable. Once again, AVID educators can show the way, for AVID educators have the wit and will to reshape education to serve the needs of all students. 1 The National Center for Education Statistics: Projections to 2015. 2 Council for Aid to Education, An Independent Subsidiary of RAND, "Breaking the Social Contract: The Fiscal Crisis in Higher Education," 1997. 3 Report. California Higher Education Policy Center, 1996. 4Higher Education Update, California Postsecondary Commission, "Enrolling a Student Body: The Changing College Admissions Process in the 199O's" December, 1997 5 Population Projections of the United States by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1995-2050 (Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Census, Current Population Reports, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996). 6 Higher Education Update, California Postsecondary Commission, "Enrolling a Student Body: The Changing College Admissions Process in the 199O's' H 3 of 4 9/l(V9K 1 l:?y A\09/10/1998 16:20 5013240504 LRSD PAGE 08 December, 1997. 7 Texas Education Agency (October, 1997) For Demographic Characteristics. 8 "Making the Cut: Who Meets Highly Selective College Entrance Criteria," Statistics in Brief (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1995). Copyright1998 -- San Diego County Office of Education.- All rights reserved 4 of 4 9-1t>/y 1 I 29 .X'00/10/1993 16:20 5013240504 LRSD PAGE 09 AVID is a middle school through senior high school program to prepare students in the middle with potential for success in rigorous secondary curriculum for four-year college eligibility. The program also restructures the teaching methodology of an entire school to make college preparatory curricula accessible to almost all students. AVID has developed a comprehensive professional development program. The program has received the Showcase of Excellence award from the national Council of States on Inservice Education. Mary Catherine Swanson, AVID Founder and Director won the prestigious Charles A. Dana Foundation Award for Pioneering Achievement in Education. WHAT IS AVID? AVID is an academic, regularly-scheduled elective program based on writing as a tool of learning, inquiry method, and collaborative grouping. The three main components of the program are academic instruction, tutorial support, and motivational activities. HOW DOES AVID WORK? The goal of AVID is to educate tlie "whole student. This is achieved by unifying six important elements of education
students, curriculum, faculty, tutors, parents, and community. Students AVID students are students in the middle with four-year college potential who have not previously succeeded in a college preparatory curricular path. AVID students enroll In rigorous academic classes and in the AVID elective class, where they receive academic support. Their self-images Improve, and they become academically successful leaders and, role models for other students. They are proud to be in the program. Curriculum The AVID curriculum, based on rigorous standards, is developed by middle and senior high school teachers in collaboration with college professors, and emphasizes teaching pedagogy which allows college preparatory classes to be accessible to all students. Faculty One key to a successful AVID progra.m is a site coordinator/teaeher who is a respected site instructional leader who works well with secondary school and college students and faculty, who can organize curriculum as well as activities, and who is committed to serving the needs of target students. The coordinator also works with colleagues in all subject areas to implement methodologies used in AVID
the program provides tutors to help in implementing these techniques. The coordinators work with counselors to schedule students into college preparatory Coorses
counselors also assist in college entry test-taking preparation and in colle.ge and financial aid application processes. A site team of administrator, counselor, AVID coordinator, and subject area teachers makes AVID goals a reality throughout the school. The site team may also include AVID students, tutors, and parents. Tutprs Tutors are available in the AVID elective class, where they facilitate student access to rigorous curriculum. As students from colleges and universities, tutors also serve as role models. AVID students who continue their education in college often return to the program as tutors. ParMts Parents encourage their students to achieve academically, participate on an advisory.board and in AVID parent and site team meetings, and maintain regular telephone contact with the AVID coordinator. Many parents and students participate in AVID Family Workshops. Community Colleges demonstrate their support of AVID programs in many ways. They may provide class speakers, offer college credit courses to AVID high school students, include AVID students in residential, academically-oriented summer bridge programs, and follow the progress of AVID students during their college careers. The community supjxjrts AVID by providing speakers and summer apprenticeships for AVID students. An AVID Alumni Association is in place to provide student mentoring and college scholarships. WHAT DOES AVID COST? ' Implementing AViD costs a school district approximately $1.50 per student per day. Implementation costs include AVID curriculum materials, staff development participation, and tutorial support for the AVID elective class. Program costs decrease to less than $1.00 per student per day by the third year. WHAT ARE AVID RESULTS? A well-developed AVID program improves schoolwide standardized test scores, advanced level course enroll- ments, and the number of students attending college. In 1996, 92.8% of all AVID graduates enrolled in college, rate 75% higher than the overall student population. Date on senior classes at AVfD sites between 1988 and" 1996 reveal an average increase of 61% in students completing four-year college entry requirements
the California statewide increase for the same periods is 7.3%. Eighty-nine percent of AVID students who enter college are stiH fthrollcd therein two years later. I a WHO DIRECTS THE AVID PROGRAM? AVID regional centers have been established. Please call the AVID Center for information. ADVANCEMENT VIA INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION Mary Catherine Swanson, Executive Director AVID Center, 2490 Heritage Park Row, San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 682-5050 Fax (619) 682-5060.<s LD o lo LD co cn hO O When oisincts and schools join the AVID Network, they receive quality materials and ongoing assistance ir> many areas, including
Ongoing Program Development A teacher developed cvrriculum Ihat is stu den t focused and conlintxiusly updated to nseel csmerging stale standards A s^?uenhai Mlle^a-QreMi'aiorywriting curffculuuTi i TheAVJD Senky Sa,Tiinar,which a.towsAVW sludents lo ^k'ospe. in Advanced Placement casses and to p.-epare for (he college experience Aiignmenl ofAVIOwilh fedjal initiatives * AlgnmenJ with stale Intltatlves and mandates * Access to nationally jeaignized professlonai start developers A Certifiwiicn of AV.'D tutors A Student oompeliLiais, scholarship, and recognition models * Use of/leb-based Iftchnolog/tosiipporl regional and dislricldireclcs, teachers, tulcrs, snd stodenls A Research arvd developmenl focused cm sl-ude nt achievemenj A Naiional recognihmcf dfslinguishcd sites Technical Assistance A Models lor implementalici of AVID Frame-work for unifying tfistnet pr ogra ins A Local and naiional assistance A Regional directors lo provide ongoing outreach arvd coiilaci for sc-hools Site team iacSIatiorv A AViD Website for upda led (.nforraation and rosearcli A Site-based technical assistance Data Analysis and Reporting Benchfoarks based on student performance and the AVID Essentials A liitetnalional. national, slate, regional, disirict, and sile reporis A Dola packages lor use by sile teams at Summer Jnstilules, at sdes, amJ at board meetings A Longitudinal research A Data Ktleclion forms for IBM and Macmlosii * Teofiiiical notes and customized, rmmparative I'eports Professional Development Includes Summer Institutes, ongoing workshops and training, special conferences, and sile based professional training A Sx ,AVID Sr/nraer Inslilutes A CoordTiator -werksh-jp-s A Executive leadership training for legislators superintendents, university administrators, business and cooimurvly leaders, board members, and slate deparlmenl administrators A training for district adnrrinistrators lo support tie implerr^malion of AVrD and the evafeilion of Ihe program A Negiorial Development Center staff devotopment tor regiorsal and disirict directors Frainirsg for school counselors to assist in their advocacy rctes A Staff de-relopmc-.sf for subject area teachers to rrtaximiie sludenl folenUa! through opening zigor-ous curriojium A Tutor Irair.iug in AVfO melhodologies wilhin a sequential certification process A Developmenl of students as skilled consumers of educafoi. leaders, .and partiiiponls in a democrats stKiety A Sequential training for families lo assist (hem in unrJefsIandrnglheeducafcnal process and Ihe path to college Staff Development Sslutc to Excellence as an exempfary prograr?). National Courtcit of Slates on Inservice Education, 1990 Innovation Fo.r efforts that have made 3 de,Tronsli-a(ed difference," California School Boards Association, 1995 Leadership An A-r Brea!<ing the Uoid Awani fian<. trie U.S. Department of Education, 1993 Professionalism 'For heeding trie teachers calling at the highest level...an imagmalive reslructuring of schoofs Ihat has given thousands of sturJents brie skills, support, and guidance they need...the Pioneehng Achievement tn Education award to Ma7 Catherine Swanson/lD /^oundec' The cn o (jl) tsi O cn o r IS) o CharlosA. Dana Foundalion, 1391 Student Achievement For exemplary work in accelerating student achievement, the National Conference on School/College Coifaboralion. 1931 Contact: TlipAVDCenle PaA San Ciego. CA 92 hO Rrxie: 619(B82.5OW Fai. 919'6^2 5060 E -fflai
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4t vrtnetsiy 5(1 ShxLaH Sin?i A^iim Me^pofl Wfiift. \'fi ?JCO5 IIS Pbx<. fir. Q rn o (LP DECEIVED OCT 5 1998 Little Rock School District OFFICE OF desegregation MONITORING October 1,1998 aXCc'u-Ji Ms. Ann Brown Office of Desegregation Monitoring 201 E. Markham, Ste. 510 Little Rock, AR 72201 Dear Ann
You are invited to a meeting from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, in Room 18 at the IRC to participate in an awareness session on Project AVID (Achievement Via Individual Determination). This meeting is one in a series of activities we are engaged in to determine the appropriateness and feasibility of implementing AVID in the Little Rock School District. This program is the proposed centerpiece of a K-12 Talent Development Initiative for the LRSD. It is under discussion as a possible activity to enable us to make progress towzard meeting the challenging goals in our Strategic Plan and in our proposal to the National Science Foundation. It also, very importantly, addresses three commitments the District has made in its Revised Desegregation and Education Plan, as follows: ... implement programs, policies, and/or procedures designed to promote participation and to ensure that there are no barriers to participation by qualified African-Americans in extracurricular activities, advanced placement courses, honors and enriched courses and the gifted and talented program. ... implement a training program during each of the next three years designed to assist teachers and counselors in identifying and encouraging African-American students to participate in honors and enriched courses and advanced placement courses. ... implement programs to assist African-Americans in being successful in honors and enriched courses and advanced placement courses. 810 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 (501)324-2000Ms. Ann Brown October 1,1998 Page Two The need for such an initiative in the LRSD is critical when we examine our data. An average" school district, for instance, should have at least 25 percent of its students performing at or above the ys* percentile on the SAT9. At grade 9 only 17 percent of our students in reading and only 13 percent in mathematics are achieving at this level. An even more dramatic evidence of need is that only 6 percent of African-American students in reading and 5 percent in mathematics are achieving at the highest levels. We know also that only 249 LRSD students took Advanced Placement examinations last school year. Of those, only 11 percent (28 students) were African-American. Of the 859 students who took the PSAT last year, 346 or 40 percent were African- American - indicating a stronger interest in attending college. However, their scores fell below those of white students, in part no doubt, due to their weak enrollment in advanced classes, and the college preparatory curriculum. Somehow the District and each individual school must devise strategies not only to bring along our lowest performers so that they are successful learners, but also to move many, many more students to the highest levels of achievement. Only then can we obtain both equity and excellence. Our speaker will be Mr. Larry Philpot, a former superintendent and a regional director for Project AVID, and who, himself, has implemented AVID with great success. He will provide us with a program overview, with information about how to select and support students in the program, and then answer our specific questions relating to our District. I am attaching an outline of information which you may find helpful. Youll get your own packet at the meeting. Please let me know if you cannot attend by calling my office at 324-2131 or e-mail me at balesle@irsdadm.lrsd.k12.ar.us. I shall look forward to seeing you and to hearing your input on this very important decision. Sincerely, Bonnie A. Lesley, Ed.D. Associate Superintendent for Instruction BAL/adg AttachmentsI I When districts and schools join the AVID Network, they receive quality materials and ongoing assistance in many areas, including: Ongoing Program Development A A teacher developed curriculum that is student focused and continuously updated Io meet emerging slate standards A A sequential college-preparatory writing curriculum A The AVID Senior Seminar, which allows AVID students to prosper m Advanced Placement classes and Io prepare for the college experience A Al gnment of AVID with federal Initiatives A Alignment with state Initiatives and mandates A Access Io nationally recognized professional staff developers A Certification of AVID tutors A Student competitions, scholarship, and recognition models A Use of Web-based tachnology to support regional and district directors, teachers, tutors, and students A Research and development focused on student achievement A National recognition of distinguished sites Technical Assistance A Models for implementation of AVID - A Framework lor unifying district programs A Local and national assistance A Regional directors Io provide ongoing outreach and contact for schools A Site team facilitation A AVID Website for updated information and research A Site-based technical assistance Data Analysis and Reporting A Benchmarks based on student performance and the AVID Essentials A International, national, stale, regional, district, and site reports A Data packages for use by site teams al Summer Institutes, at sites, and at board meebngs A Longitudinal research A Data collection forms for IBM and Macintosh A Technical notes and customized, comparative reports Professional Development Includes Summer Institutes, ongoing workshops and training, special conferences, and site based professional training A Six AVID Summer Institutes A Coordinator workshops A Executive leadership training for legislators superintendents, university administrators, business and community leaders, board members, and stale department administrators A Training for district administrators Io support the implementation of AVID and the evaluation of the program A Regional Development Center staff development for regional and district directors A Training lor school counselors Io assist in their advocacy roles A Staff development lor subject area teachers Io maximize student potential through opening rigorous curriculum A Tutor training in AVID methodologies within a sequential certification process A Development of students as skilled consumers of education, leaders, and participants in a democratic society A Sequential training for families to assist them in understanding the educational process arxl the path to college Staff Development Sa/ute to Excellence as an exemplary program. National Council of Stales on Inservice Education. 1990 Innovation For -efforts that have made a demonstrated difference," California School Boards Association, 1995 Leadership An A* Breaking the Mold Award from the U.S. Department of Education, 1993 Professionalism 'For heeding the teacher's calling at the highest level...an imaginative restructurirrg of schools that has given thousands of students the skills, support, and guidance they need...the Pioneering Achievement in Education award to Mary Catherine Swanso.n, AVID Founder." The Charles A. Dana Foundation. 1991 student Achievement For exemplary work in accelerating student achievement, the National Conference on School/College Collaboration. 1991 Contact: The AVJO Cenlef 2490 Henlage Par* Row SanDiego. 92110 Phone. 19602-5050 Fix 619602-5060 TheA'.X Certer-cJSJBT Chrsiophef Seoz r. 50 Shoe lane SnWt Aryiei Newport News VA 23606 WetaMt WWW avK)cenlf oq Fai 75769U6N Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) WHAT IS IT AND HOW DOES IT WORK? AVID is a nationally recognized program designed to give students who ordinarily would not be in rigorous, academic, college-preparatory classes the opportunity to take such classes and the support necessary to succeed in them. The core of this support structure is a special elective course, called AVID, that students agreed to take in place of other electives. The aim of the course is to help students develop the skills they would need to succeed in each of the college-preparatory classes that made up the rest of their course schedule. The AVID curriculum is based on writing, inquiry, and collaboration. This writing curriculum was developed for learning in all subject areas. Students in the AVID class also learn organizational and study skills, such as note-taking and test-taking strategies, that have applications in the academic courses they are taking at the same time. AVID is not a tutorial or remedial session in which students are given greater exposure to the materials from their other courses. Rather, the students take the material from their other courses and use it to apply what they learn in AVID. Students leam the kinds of how to be a good student practices and tips that students who are traditionally successful take for granted. HOW IS THE MODEL IMPLEMENTED IN A SCHOOL? Professional training and staff development are crucial ingredients in the AVID process. Staff development occurs in two stages
1) 2) The AVID Center conducts a summer institute in San Diego which AVID teachers are encouraged to attend and to bring a school site team composed of academic teachers, counselors, and administrators (a team of eight). AVID Center provides follow-up staff development during the school year at school sites. AVID Facts (Advancement Via Individual Determination) A AVID was founded by Mary Catherine Swanson in San Diego Unified School District. 1980 at Clairemont High School in the I M AVID identifies underachieving, disadvantaged students in grades 6-12 and prepares them for four-year college entry. AVID serves over 20,000 students throughout Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Asia, Cuba, Europe, the Middle East, Pacific and Panama. Since 1990, over 10,000 students have graduated from AVID programs. Over 90% of AVIDs graduates enroll in college. AVID graduates persist in college at an 89% rate. Over 60% of the AVID graduates enroll in four-year colleges. A The AVID network of schools includes over 500 sites. I 1 A Some of AVIDs awards include the Salute to Excellence Award for Staff Development and Leadership from the National Council of States on Inservice Education, the Dana Foundation Award for Pioneering Achievement tn Education, and theT^- Breaking the Mold Award from the U.S. Department of Education for Efforts to Reach the National Education Goals. 1 J l.'l \
3 < ' Xi- s.tf.' ( J- 3^v ' 1 ' The Mission of AVID The mission of AVID is to ensure at all students, especially students in the middle with academic potential, will succeed in rigorous curriculum, will enter mainstream activities of the school, will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges, and will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a democratic society. \T. ill :5K '^
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This project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.

<dcterms_creator>Little Rock School District</dcterms_creator>