Decades of College Dreams AVID s Educational Journal Volume 20 Issue 1 I Spring 2014
AVID s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. Decades of College Dreams Board of Directors Melendy Lovett Chairman Dr. Monte Moses Vice Chairman Clarence Fields Secretary and Treasurer Mary Catherine Swanson Founder Table of Contents Introducing AVID s New CEO, Dr. Sandy Husk... 3 The AVID College Readiness System Through the AVID Elementary Lens... 5 AVID Excel: A Case Study... 8 Dr. Dave Gordon Todd Gutschow Dr. Sandy Husk Gene I. Maeroff Dr. Lionel Skip Meno Dr. Eric Smith Aracelia Vila Dr. Stephen L. Weber Make the Commitment to Student Success by Taking AVID Schoolwide... 10 Odessa College Impacting Student Success With AVID for Higher Education... 12 AVID Teacher Sean McComb Was Named 2014 Teacher of the Year... 14 /avidcenter 2 @avid4college
Introducing AVID s New CEO, Dr. Sandy Husk By Liz Morse Picture about two million students. Now, I want you to visualize a huge field with 700,000 students on one side, she began, moving her arm in a sweeping motion across the expanse of the room to create a vision of an enormous field. Students on that side of the field have had AVID and are confident and know that they can achieve their dreams through determination and hard work. And then, on the other side of the field, I want you to see 1.3 million students who might even be afraid to dream because they really don t know where to begin or that they can even do it. Can you see that? 700,000 confident students on one side of the field who know where they re going and that they can get there, and 1.3 million students on the other side who want the confidence and skills their friends have over there? Now, every morning, after you ve taken care of yourself and those close to you, she continued, I want you to think about what you can do to help those 1.3 million students join the 700,000 college-ready students on the other side of the field. In her first address to all staff, AVID s new CEO, Dr. Sandy Husk, added clarity, focus, and energy, updating her vision for AVID to impact more than two million students in the next few years. For more than 30 years now, AVID has been changing the trajectories of thousands of students, providing them with opportunities, skills, and the belief that they can achieve what they ve dreamed about but never really thought was possible, she says. Our job is to make sure every student has a chance to experience that sense of self-confidence and accomplishment that every student understands that their individual determination and hard work will pay off. Husk speaks from experience. Over a span of 18 years as a superintendent in three districts, Husk was intent on ensuring that schools provided students with the best opportunities for success. I believe children have tremendous potential and it is our responsibility to discover that potential. Our job as educators is to believe in, and develop, that potential in every child. In each of the three districts she led, Husk implemented AVID as a solution to raise student expectations and achievement. An educator at heart, Husk knew in fourth grade that she wanted to teach. She received her bachelor s degree in Author s note: AVID s stated vision is to impact at least one million students annually by 2020. Knowing the great need and sense of urgency to improve educational opportunities for all students in this country, AVID s CEO set her sights on impacting at least two million students and even more in the future. elementary education from the University of Georgia, graduating in three years. Her first job was teaching sixth grade while living at home and working in the evenings to save money for graduate school. She attended the University of Colorado in Boulder and earned her master s degree in guidance and counseling while substitute teaching, and then worked as both a teacher and a counselor in Colorado schools. She moved swiftly through the administrative ranks while obtaining her doctorate in administration, curriculum, and supervision at the University of Colorado in Denver. Husk then served as a staff development supervisor, principal for the alternative middle school, and then principal for the bilingual elementary school. She held the position of Executive Director for Learning Services prior to her first superintendent position in Mapleton Public Schools in Adams County, Colorado. Her first experience with AVID came when the high school principal sought to energize the school and told Husk she was ready to implement AVID. Husk approved of the initiative, and AVID was implemented the following fall. Continued on next page 3
Continued from previous page We saw an amazing transformation in the high school, Husk reported. The leadership was strong, and parents and students had new hope. Within the next couple of years, we implemented AVID in the middle schools. Husk served in Mapleton for five years before becoming the superintendent in the Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools in Tennessee, a district more than five times the size of Mapleton. There, she worked with her leadership team to implement AVID, and again, saw solid gains in student achievement and college-readiness, especially for those students who would be the first in their family to go to college. The results I saw for students, teachers, and schools in Colorado happened in Tennessee. Teachers told me that AVID s Summer Institute provided them with the best professional development they had ever experienced. It improved their instruction and ultimately, student performance. Ready for a new challenge after five years in Tennessee, Husk accepted the superintendent job in the second largest school district in Oregon, Salem-Keizer. That district, located in the capital of Oregon, was economically diverse, educating a large percentage of children from high poverty families. Sixty percent of the students attending Salem-Keizer schools qualified for free or reduced lunch, and nearly 25 percent of the students came from homes where English was the second language. As is her style, Husk asked many questions and listened. When she put together a plan, it included AVID. The Salem-Keizer community watched as things improved. Dropout percentages declined and so did discipline referrals. More students were thinking about college, and even more were deciding to attend. It wasn t unusual for AVID students to present at school board meetings. One evening in particular stood out to Husk. After the student s heartfelt presentation, his father came to pick him up to take him to his wrestling match. As they were leaving the boardroom, the Sandy s 18 years of educational leadership as a superintendent, and her extensive sponsorship and success in implementing AVID, made her the best choice to lead AVID forward. father interrupted the meeting on his way out. You ve changed this family s life, he told the board members proudly, not just this kid s life. Improvements in the schools were noticeable, and the Salem-Keizer community was pleased with their superintendent. And then Husk received a phone call about the AVID CEO position; would she be interested? Yes. Melendy Lovett, AVID Center Board President As someone with years of experience implementing AVID, Husk was intrigued about the opportunity to make a difference for students on a global level. After a national search by the AVID board, Husk was selected to replace Jim Nelson, who was retiring to return to Texas. Sandy s 18 years of educational leadership as a superintendent, and her extensive sponsorship and success in implementing AVID, made her the best choice to lead AVID forward, stated AVID Center Board President Melendy Lovett, a senior vice president and chief administrative officer at Trinity Industries, Inc. Her leadership and experience are a great fit for what s needed in the AVID CEO role. Sandy deeply understands the overall education system, how to close achievement gaps, and how to improve student achievement through the AVID College Readiness System. And, her personal values and commitment are wonderfully aligned with AVID s mission. Known for her skills in building strong leadership teams and a willingness to listen, Husk is already making her mark on AVID. Behind her own vision of two million confident and college-ready students impacted each year by AVID, is a strategic plan for growth, quality improvement, and spreading the word about the difference AVID can make for both students and teachers. AVID has consistently experienced growth for the past 30 years, but there are far too many students who have not been exposed to AVID and the opportunities AVID creates for a better future. I know what it s like to be a superintendent, searching for a silver bullet that will help every student achieve at a higher level. AVID transforms both students and teachers. Moreover, AVID acts as a catalyst for systemic reform within a school and district. By improving the performance of educators, AVID increases opportunities for all students. With her energy, commitment, and plan in place, no doubt those two million students will confidently stand together on that field under Husk s leadership. Liz Morse is Director of Marketing and Communications at AVID Center. 4
The AVID College Readiness System Through the AVID Elementary Lens By Shannon McAndrews, M.Ed. Flash back to 2007 and the national rollout of AVID Elementary (AE) within the AVID College Readiness System. Were you on board yet? If you want to continue a walk down memory lane, revisit the Fall 2008 Access article (pp. 10 11) on AVID Elementary history. Flash forward to 2014. Where are we now? Let s take a tour around the divisions to check in on our active AVID Elementary sites and take a deeper look at AVID from the AVID Elementary lens. As AVID Center moves through the development of feeder patterns, this article will focus on four AVID Elementary implementations and the variety of pathways active sites and feeder patterns have taken to reach their implementation goals. Onslow County, North Carolina Topping the list is one of our veteran implementing feeder patterns, which can be found in the Eastern Division within Onslow County, North Carolina. Under the careful guidance of Associate Superintendent of Instructional Services/Continuous Improvement Dr. Lesley Eason and AVID Elementary Liaison/District Director Mr. Dwayne Snowden, AVID Elementary represents a linchpin that supports our district s vision of academic excellence. (A linchpin is commonly known as a locking pin inserted crosswise through the end of an axle or shaft. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is also something that serves to hold together parts or elements that exist or function as a unit.) For Onslow County Schools, connections between their goals and AVID a pre-k to 16 perspective; an interest in innovative, cutting-edge instructional programming; an emphasis on student academic success and equity; and a focus on college and career readiness were easy to find. Onslow County is home to two secondary AVID National Demonstration Schools: Trexler Middle School and Southwest Middle School. Onslow s 37 schools are divided into seven feeder patterns, and AVID is one of the major instructional systems that connects all sites across the feeder pattern. Currently, 97% of the K 5 schools implement AVID Elementary. According to Mr. Snowden, Strategic plans are shared with our Board of Education members annually, and AVID is a common theme in the presentations. For example, as part of our community engagement events, several schools have made the horizontal and vertical articulation of AVID a centerpiece. In Onslow County, our principals, teachers, district leaders, and stakeholders realize that a strong K 5 foundation leads to secondary academic success. Chances are, if your district has had an AVID District Leader attend AVID Leadership over the past five years, they have visited Onslow s schools! AVID District Leaders from across the nation, as part of the AVID District Leadership cohorts, have been impressed by the high level of student academic work, superior teacher quality, and sound administrative leadership, notes Snowden. Continued on next page 5
Continued from previous page New districts would be wise to take heed from one of our trailblazer districts, Snowden advises, If a new district is considering AVID Elementary, I would recommend a slow, steady approach. I encourage districts to establish short- and long-term goals to address financial and personnel challenges that will impact sustainability. Tyler, Texas AE is the foundation that confident, responsible, independent learners are built on, no matter the curriculum or how often it changes. AVID does not change, declares Jones Elementary Principal Patricia Lewis, eager to share her site s schoolwide journey. Jones Elementary is one of 17 elementary schools in Tyler, Texas, that feed into six middle schools. Currently, three of the 17 elementary schools are implementing AVID Elementary. As a trailblazer for Tyler, Lewis emphasizes that AE is a schoolwide focus for us at Jones; everything has a purpose, and AE assists students with navigating their learning. The AE philosophy and AE stages (Beginnings, Foundations, and Bridges) of implementation are sequential and progressive, affording AE Schoolwide sites the ability to build consistent and sustainable implementation. According to Lewis, When I brought AE to Jones, I saw instant changes in student and teacher ownership. Meaningful, academic conversations become the core of our teacher interactions, and students outward expressions of pride, ownership, and responsibility for their learning became a daily occurrence. Possessing a desire to openly celebrate the cultural shift that AE sparked on the campus, Lewis initiated a recognition process through AVID Student of the Week. This weekly celebration of one student in grades K 2 and one student in grades 3 5 includes not only very specific praise related to each child s unique efforts and progress, but also the delivery of a lawn sign to the student s home prior to the end of the school day. This truly signifies the powerful message to all in the neighborhood that an AVID Student of the Week lives there! Community response has been positive, as evidenced in a school-record high of 75% of families attending the student-led conferences for this low socioeconomic site this academic year. Pride and ownership in the learning process of our families is one of my favorite outcomes of our AE Schoolwide efforts, affirms Lewis. How does this dynamo suggest beginning your journey to AE Schoolwide? Just jump right in! Send as many teachers as possible to Summer Institute the larger the group, the better! Synergy to carry the implementation for the site begins at Summer Institute! Phoenix, Arizona Moving west to a unique infrastructure composed of 4th through 8th grade students, Wilson Elementary is an AVID Secondary National Demonstration School that implements both AVID Elementary and AVID Secondary for a solid schoolwide impact. AVID is the lifeblood of this campus! It is the driving force to the success of our students. It creates structure, routine, and organization for our students, states Wilson AVID Elementary Liaison Adam Poirier. It is the backbone of this school. Our teachers buy into it, and therefore, so do the students. Utilizing the AVID Elementary Essentials (Instruction, Culture, Leadership, and Systems) and aligned with the 11 Essentials of AVID Secondary, Wilson Elementary is a schoolwide success story! AVID has given our elementary students the skills and strategies to be successful in school and be prepared for the upper grades. Our students are more organized, thoughtful, and mindful of their expectations, Poirier adds. Additionally, they are thinking and working at a higher 6
AVID Elementary Through the Years AVID Elementary 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 # of States or Countries # of Districts # of Sites # of Summer Institute Participants 14 15 20 18 21 24 25 41 40 51 56 88 124 140 258 440 427 342 484 561 654 592 618 737 703 1,064 1,831 3,378 level and responding well to the more rigorous pace in which teaching and learning is happening in their classes. Students understand and are accountable for their learning, which gives them the ownership of education. Riverside, California Our journey around the world of AVID Elementary brings us full circle to the birth state of AVID! California is our veteran state and has informed the growth and quality of the AVID College Readiness System over the decades. Implementation of AVID Secondary for Riverside began in 1988; the addition of AVID Elementary in 2012 brought five new elementary schools into the AVID fold. Today, there are 11 sites implementing AVID Elementary, and as we enter into the 2014 2015 academic year, 12 elementary schools will be implementing AVID Elementary. According to AVID Elementary Liaison Marie Coover, AVID Center s mission and Riverside s mission are one and the same, With the addition of elementary, we all share the growth mindset, K 12, that we can accomplish our mission of closing the achievement gap by preparing all students. On a recent visit to guide implementation at a first-year site, Ms. Coover was met at the classroom door by an articulate young student, who introduced herself as a tour guide and proceeded to show us around while explaining the class procedures and sharing work examples. After concluding the visit, Coover complimented the site administrator on the tour guide s knowledge, behavior, and attitude. Not surprisingly, the site administrator attributed AVID Elementary to this student s success story. It was only last year that this now brightly shining student was a serious behavior problem and suspended multiple times. AVID Elementary made the difference, as the student s involvement, direction, and determination in AVID Elementary is what Coover credits for molding that at-risk student into the model student who now serves as an academic tour guide. It is easy to see across the AVID Elementary sites, as Coover declares, AVID Elementary implementation has invigorated our school sites and fostered a culture of academic rigor and collaboration. Looking Forward While elementary sites around the world include children playing, AVID Elementary will be leading the charge on how child s play leads to the building blocks of academic success for all students. We look forward to working with you, as you develop and sustain your unique implementation of the AVID College Readiness System. Shannon McAndrews oversaw the AVID Elementary Model as well as the development phase of AVID Elementary from 2006 until 2013, at which time AVID Elementary was integrated into the daily divisional work around the world. 7
AVID Excel: A Case Study By Nina Will Williams AVID s English Learner College Readiness (ELCR) seeks to ensure English language learners (ELLs) have full access to AVID and college-preparatory coursework. AVID Excel is part of ELCR and is a middle school program intended to break the detrimental cycle that turns many ELLs into long-term ELLs. AVID Excel accelerates students academic language acquisition and puts them on a pathway to high school AVID and college readiness. Family engagement, professional learning for teachers, and a sequential set of middle school courses, along with a focus on biliteracy, support students as they build their academic language, leadership skills, and overall commitment to school. AVID Excel gives ELL students sustained and strategic academic and language-building support, while helping them form a strong team with a cohort of peers who share their same college aspirations. Jae Sigler and Erica Finkbeiner show off their school s Washington State Achievement Award. The AVID Excel teachers at Showalter Middle School in Tukwila, Washington, are committed to creating an AVID family environment where students can succeed. In our second full year of implementation, students are succeeding and thriving in their AVID Excel Elective classes every day. Tukwila is a small, urban district adjacent to Seattle that is home to students from around the globe. More than 80 languages and dialects are spoken by the 2,890 immigrant, refugee, and US-born students in the district. Showalter Middle School s 600 students alone represent 41 languages. Of those students, 178 are English learners. Within this culturally and linguistically diverse global village, two cohorts of AVID Excel students are developing the skills that will close the achievement gap and put them on target for academic success and college readiness. Development of academic vocabulary is one of the key components in AVID Excel. Evidence of student success in this area can be seen every day and is clearly manifested in the increasingly rigorous academic discourse heard in the classroom. Use of academic language scripts, in addition to other strategies, provides scaffolds for student success. They are not allowed to say Huh? in this class, states Jae Sigler, second-year AVID Excel Elective teacher, of her eighth grade students, as she deftly snags a laminated page full of language scripts from a cluster of student desks and slides it into the hands of one of her students. Would you please repeat what you just said? asks one student of another after locating an appropriate script with which to rephrase her previous request of Huh? The level of student discourse has steadily increased over the school year, and it is routine to see students consulting their language scripts as they hold each other accountable for using the formal register. Consistent practice using strategies such as academic language scripts helps AVID Excel students develop a higher level of comfort engaging in academic discussions in their classes and prepares them to meet Common Core ELA Speaking and Listening Standards. 8
Within this culturally and linguistically diverse global village, two cohorts of AVID Excel students are developing the skills that will close the achievement gap and put them on target for academic success and college readiness. Nina Will Williams Director of ELL, Student Services, and AVID at Tukwila School District Although language acquisition is the primary focus of AVID Excel, it most definitely uses AVID strategies for support. Students use WICOR, keep organized binders, and participate in activities with AVID classes, such as engaging in dialogue with guest speakers and attending college field trips. AVID Excel students are excited for an upcoming field trip to DigiPen Institute of Technology, where they can explore digital art, animation, computer science, game design, and other cutting-edge, high-tech college programs. The Seattle area has a vast array of college, university, and other postsecondary opportunities, spanning a broad spectrum of disciplines. Visiting a variety of campuses during their tenure as AVID Excel students gives them a chance to see themselves as college students attending classes, eating in the cafeteria, going to the library, and meeting new people. It is a motivating factor in matriculating from AVID Excel to an AVID Elective cohort as ninth graders, ready to face the challenges of high school: blending with an extended AVID family, finding success in rigorous academic courses, and preparing for graduation and postsecondary. AVID Excel at Showalter Middle School, expertly led by teachers Jae Sigler and Erica Finkbeiner, is truly focused on student success and preparing students for their futures. Showalter Middle School recently received a Washington State Achievement Award for top performance in English Language Acquisition, further showcasing the work of these two outstanding AVID Excel teachers and their colleagues. In total, 413 K 12 public schools across the state of Washington received awards in six categories; 42 of those schools were recognized specifically for English Language Acquisition. Showalter is one of eight middle schools statewide to receive the award. This special recognition is awarded to schools that fall within the top five percent of the median point gain on the Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment (WELPA), in addition to meeting federal AMAO 1 and 2 targets. AVID Excel plays a significant role within the range of ELL services at Showalter Middle School, and the work of our AVID Excel students was a contributing factor in achieving this award. Nina Will Williams is Director of ELL, Student Services, and AVID at Tukwila School District, in Tukwila, Washington. 9
Make the Commitment to Student Success by Taking AVID Schoolwide By Dennis A. Johnston, Ph.D. In 2010, AVID Center changed its mission to include all students, not just students in the academic middle. This came as a result of our continual growth in the understanding of the impact AVID has on students, teachers, administrators, and institutions overall. For more than 30 years, AVID has supported secondary schools in the implementation of the AVID Elective and the training of staff in inquiry-based pedagogical strategies designed to exercise and strengthen the metacognitive skills necessary for students to engage rigorous curriculum and be successful in postsecondary education. Today, AVID has moved beyond elective classrooms and is designed to be implemented schoolwide so as to touch all students on a campus in support of our new mission. So what does schoolwide AVID look like? Schoolwide AVID at the secondary level doesn t mean that all students are enrolled in an AVID Elective class. What it does mean is that all students thrive in an environment where academic expectations are held high; inquirybased pedagogy and collaboration are evidenced in all classrooms; systems and structures focus on the needs of students; and campus leadership has cultivated a culture of college readiness and success for all students. When stepping onto a campus where AVID is schoolwide, it is not uncommon to see all students taking Cornell notes; using some form of binder, agenda planner, or other organizational tool; and engaging in collaborative, dynamic academic activities in classrooms facilitated by AVID-trained teachers. Students have open access to rigorous courses like honors, advanced math, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual enrollment. Moreover, academic support structures are often offered throughout the school day so that all students have opportunities to thrive. How is schoolwide AVID different from the AVID Elective experience? In most respects, when AVID is implemented with fidelity schoolwide there is little that distinguishes an AVID Elective classroom from any other. The most obvious difference is the tutorial opportunities afforded AVID Elective students that aren t typically seen schoolwide. AVID tutorials are dynamic study groups, facilitated by college students that occur twice a week. Tutorials are a critical support structure for AVID students, as those in the academic middle traditionally have not been offered these types of services in any consistent or systematic fashion. 10
Students in the upper academic quartile are often not in need of intensive tutorial support but can benefit greatly from the metacognitive skill development that AVID affords, e.g., organizational skills, time management, speaking and listening skills, and Cornell note-taking strategies. Students in the lowest academic quartile, on the other hand, tend to have many support structures in place, some of which are required through local and federal legislation, e.g., Title 1, double blocks of mathematics and language arts courses, and specialized reading labs. How does a school transform into an AVID Schoolwide school? Over the years we have learned that there are many paths schools take to ensure all students are touched by AVID. As a result of our experiences and a review of relevant literature, a team of researchers, educators, and administrators developed the AVID Schoolwide College Readiness Coaching Tool, which AVID members can find in MyAVID, under File Sharing. This tool is used to coach schools to address the four domains of, Leadership, Systems, Instruction, and Culture, in such a way so as to ensure that all students are held to high expectations, are afforded appropriate support structures, and are ready for the rigors of college upon graduation. One of the most common characteristics among schools that have taken AVID schoolwide is that a significant percentage of their teachers and administrators attended AVID s Summer Institute or AVID Path training. This has led to changes in the culture on these campuses, allowing for more rapid adoption of inquiry-based instructional strategies, open-access to rigorous courses, and the implementation of academic supports for all students. Strong AVID site teams can help move this transformation forward. How can the AVID Center support your school on its journey to schoolwide AVID? AVID Center provides extensive support to our member sites through our program managers and state and divisional office staff. AVID Center staff members throughout the country are trained to work with district directors and AVID site teams as they continue their journey from AVID Elective implementation to schoolwide AVID. Just as you are committed to your students, we are committed to you in providing world class professional learning at Summer Institute and through our Path, Leadership for College Readiness (LCR), and Data Analysis trainings. Please contact your district director, AVID program manager, or divisional office if you have additional questions or would like more information regarding increasing your commitment to students by taking AVID schoolwide! Dr. Dennis A. Johnston is Chief Research Officer at AVID Center. 11
Odessa College Impacting Student Success With AVID for Higher Education By Dr. Rachel Juarez-Torres Becoming the best community college in the nation, is the vision of Odessa College and its president, Dr. Greg Williams. AVID for Higher Education continues to demonstrate that it is an integral part of supporting the teaching and learning on this campus, and it serves as a transformative agent to move the needle of student success and advance students toward fulfilling their own dreams of attaining certificates and degrees. Without a doubt, students success in the classroom is making a difference in their lives, their families, and the community. Odessa College (OC) was recognized recently as a Leader College by Achieving the Dream, Inc. Odessa College (OC) is currently in its third year of AVID for Higher Education (AHE) implementation and was recently named an AVID Certified Campus for 2012 2013. This certification designation indicates that OC attained all five AHE Essentials to be effective in improving student achievement, persistence, and completion. As a public, two-year comprehensive community college, OC began its AVID journey in 2011 2012 with the implementation of the AHE Student Success Initiative (SSI). An innovative, first-year experience course, COLL 0171 Strategies for Success, was developed, in part, by AVID Campus Team members with the support from the college s administration. It expanded in the 2011 fall semester from a pilot program into a mandatory, first-semester course for all incoming students with fewer than 12 credit hours of college. This AVID SSI course is designed to help students improve skills for academic achievement and includes study techniques, note-taking, test-taking, time management, critical thinking skills, career planning, and interpersonal skills, which are all supported through the implementation of AHE. The instructors for this course, known as Student Success Coaches, continually foster AVID as a campus-wide initiative, which impacts college students in multiple program areas by exposing them to, and teaching them about, AVID techniques to support their academic success. Kristi Clemmer, Executive Director of Student Completion, who was part of the AVID team that helped launch COLL 0171, wholeheartedly supports this implementation of AVID. JR Torrez, Director of Student Success, who works with Ms. Clemmer, notes the following, By incorporating AVID strategies into our course [COLL 0171], we are able to create a learning environment that allows for student engagement and collaboration. Students report a strong connection with classmates, as well as their course instructor. Students also report a belief that instructors are truly invested in their educational journey. We believe that AVID has and will continue to play a huge role in creating a successful environment for all of our students. Subsequent to its success in COLL 0171, implementation of AVID strategies spread quickly from programs run by student services to instruction. With the full backing of campus leadership, 100% of all full-time faculty took part in AVID Professional Learning Sessions beginning in fall 2012. These learning sessions known as AVID 101 exposed classroom instructors in all program areas to AVID as an academic support system. Faculty were engaged in sessions to integrate AVID in the humanities, math, and science courses. AVID 101 became an institutional move toward orienting new faculty to AVID and AVID strategies. AVID also became part of the professional development paradigm with the creation of AVID-infused Teacher Tuesdays, led by Associate Dean Diane Acosta, Arts & Sciences, and me. 12
As an outgrowth of AVID as professional development at OC and in response to the question, What does AVID look like for college AND career readiness?, AHE for Career and Technical Education (CTE) was created as a new initiative of AHE. Development of CTE was the result of a collaborative effort involving faculty from technical education areas and Eileen Friou, Director, AHE. AVID for CTE has created excitement at OC within the Career, Technical, and Workforce Division for faculty who come straight out of industry and are excited about AVID as professional development to strengthen their teaching effectiveness and increase levels of student engagement in both the lecture and lab components of their classrooms. This new focus on bringing AVID in on the preparation of future employees is a great way to promote WICOR as essentially the soft skills that employers are seeking: writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading. Dr. Mikala Reznik, Director for the Physical Therapist Assistant Program, adds, The use of AVID tools /strategies in technical education of Allied Health sets the learning foundation for healthcare providers to be lifelong learners. From the overarching concept down to the minute detail, these tools engage the learner towards more than memorizing. The focus is on skills of understanding, problem-solving, and implementation. Criminal Justice is another workforce area gaining positive momentum with its Cohort implementation of AVID in a technical field. Department Chair Jennifer Myers finds that the use of AVID strategies in career technical education and particularly in the Criminal Justice classes has not only improved student learning and engagement, but has also improved instruction. For our students, they have learned to think beyond the surface of the lesson and apply concepts critically. AVID strategies have also gone a long way in helping our students improve their critical reading and writing skills. Dr. Rachel Juarez-Torres is the Associate Dean of Career, Technical & Workforce Education at Odessa College. One-Year Retention Rate for Fall 2012 COLL 0171 (Number of Students in Cohort=905) Fall 12 COLL 0171 Students One-Year Retention Overall Anglo Hispanic Male Female 64.8% 66.7% 64.2% 59.3% 68.2% 13
AVID Teacher Sean McComb Was Named 2014 National Teacher of the Year Here s his blog from earlier in the year By Sean McComb The AVID program forever changed the trajectory of my teaching career with two words: voluntary participation. I traditionally teach students English, by certification and assignment. Those courses begin with an understanding that the students have to be there and they have to pass in order to graduate. I was asked to take over a fledgling AVID site as both the program and I were completing our first year at Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts. With AVID, I had to operate under a new paradigm. I would have to create an academic environment so supportive and appealing that students would choose to return to it for four consecutive years. As I have doggedly pursued that ideal over the last seven school years, I have learned incredible lessons in forgiveness, empathy, and humility. I ve also learned that at the end of the day, teaching, whether it be AVID or any other content, is all about relationships. The relationships I have had the opportunity to forge through AVID have helped me learn to cultivate all student-teacher relationships. I have also learned to carry a few aphorisms close to my heart in order to remind me to support students: Earn the right to be heard. Experience has taught me that there will be a time when I may need to speak a difficult truth to a student. That may be about their academic effort, it may be about their behavior, it may be about their inability to act selflessly and courageously when the opportunity was presented. While I cannot know exactly what that moment will be, I do know that I can spend every interaction with that student leading up to that moment earning the right to be heard. When the moment comes when I most need that student to hear me, they have the choice to listen and dismiss, or to listen and absorb. It s my belief that their choice in that moment will be influenced by the groundwork I lay in establishing our rapport, my support of them, and my care for them in the weeks, months, or years prior. That puts a sense of urgency on every day to earn that right from the student. Use the right bucket for the right fire. All teachers know the feeling of seeing a student in a classroom and realizing there are smoldering embers on that child s heart. The result of relentless poverty, a home struggle, or common teenage angst, those coals may lead to bitterness or despondence. They might also lead to an incredible wave of motivation. It s my belief that I bring two metaphorical buckets with me to communicate with that child. I might pour water on the fire and quell the fears, uncertainty, and doubt that rest in their soul. I might pour gasoline on that fire and ignite a fervent effort to control their life and pursue their dreams with passion. The challenge in these situations educators face almost daily is in the choice, in knowing when to ignite and when to wash away. Love is the most powerful four letter word. John Wooden If the hallways of your high school are anything like ours, four letter words are 14
flying everywhere. The one we need to have a lot more of is love. Many students in all high schools, and those in AVID, suffer from a deficit of love being shown and known to them. A commitment that I make to our AVID students is that they will be loved. They can t earn it and it s unconditional. The classroom will be a safe harbor of love and support. My students should feel like a million bucks when they re there. Sure, they might have been bills crumpled up and left in clothes that were run through the washer, they might have seen better days, and they might need to be reminded of what they re looking like at the time but they still have enduring value, they can be straightened out and apply their inherent worth. While providing me with a special opportunity to develop a classroom of care, AVID strategies have also enhanced my instruction in the English classroom. Philosophical Chairs has added a flexible strategy that can be implemented to encourage students passionate debate of issues in a text using evidence. The three-part source integration has given my burgeoning writers a template to rely on to begin assimilating multiple sources into their own compositions. And the cyclical tutorial process has supported meaningful discourse in critical reader groups for whole class texts and literary circles alike. The AVID program s grounding in best practices has provided a strong foundation for my classroom and career. It is the underlying tenet of a studentcentered philosophy that recognizes academic and emotional supports working in concert with one another that speaks to my heart. Sean McComb is an English and AVID Teacher at Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts in Baltimore County, Maryland. Join the Campaign Amazing work happens in the AVID World every day! We re calling on educators, students, parents, and community members to share and celebrate your ideas that help all students succeed! Ways to Join: Visit our Commit to Student Success webpage: avid.org/studentsuccess Participate in AVID s Commit to Student Success Week! September 22 26, 2014 Network and share ideas on social media! #AVID4StudentSuccess 15
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