Sometimes for my day job, I am able to visit other schools and districts. This is usually an enjoyable experience, and one from which I learn a great deal. The teachers and administrators in these host districts typically relish the opportunity to show off a new program or provide an opportunity for their students to shine.
A few times I have visited schools because I served as a member of a district’s accreditation review team. Most of the time, however, I visit to observe how a school or district has implemented a new program or initiative.
About a year ago, I visited two schools in Anderson, SC. Each school was an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) school, meaning that they hold students to high standards and provide support and resources to help them achieve those standards.
Often, students in AVID programs often do not fit the typical profile of a college-bound student.
Many times they are the first in their families to attend college. Many times AVID students come from the “academic middle.”
So what did I see when visited these classrooms in the AVID schools? First, I saw students engaged in AVID tutorials. Students completed a handout noting a point of confusion from their current studies. Small groups formed based on the topics identified through the point of confusion handout. Nothing too unusual so far.
Then the magic began. Students presented their points of confusion to the other members of their group. The group worked through each point, providing notes and hints, and adding clarity for the student presenter.
So what? Well, students were fully engaged with academic content that mattered to them. This engagement occurred when the student presented his or her point of confusion and when the student was providing support for another student’s point of confusion. Teachers long for students to think critically about academic content, and AVID provides a way for students take their class discussions to a higher level.
During the morning, my team visited teachers and students in a high school. The students involved in the tutorials were freshmen and sophomores. We also spoke to seniors who enthused about the benefits of the program. My colleague and I asked the seniors what they would suggest we tell a rising freshmen we wanted to recruit into an AVID program. They quickly articulated several recruitment points.
In the afternoon, we visited a middle school. Admittedly, I was not expecting to see the same level of engagement during the tutorials. I was delighted to discover sixth grade students involved in the tutorials with a high level of engagement as well.
Is AVID for every student? No. Should every school have an AVID program? Perhaps. I know that I liked what I saw students and teachers doing at the schools that I visited.
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