 |
|
 |
 |
AVID:
Helping Kids Succeed
Once selected for the program, AVID students
meet one class period per day for all four
years of their high school career, maintaining
the same AVID teacher and staying together
as a class, minus those who might exit
the program because of their grades or
schedule conflicts.
The program is designed to support the student’s entire schedule of classes,
with standards for keeping organized
|
AVID
students making “spring break” eggs |
|
binders
of class materials, notes, a homework assignment calendar,
and tracking their grades in PowerSchool each week
so they know where they stand. Binders are checked
every Friday and the remaining class time is reserved
for team-building activities where students have
a chance to play and work together to accomplish
a task.
Other days of the week are divided into two different
types of curriculum support. Monday and Wednesday
students learn practical life skills that are age-relevant.
Sarah Briney, AVID Coordinator, teaches the sophomore
class and has recently completed a module on cars
including: how to drive a car, how to research
and buy a car, insurance, interest rates, and down
payments. Students used Internet research skills
to find the information they needed and practiced
their writing skills to prepare a proposal they
could present to the class. "I try to infuse
things that don’t seem boring," says
Briney. "They are capable of doing traditional
school work, but maybe not motivated. When we integrate
real life topics, it’s more interesting and
they are more likely to apply a skill and learn
something new in the process," she explains.
On Tuesday and Thursday, each student brings two questions they have from one
of their other classes. Breaking into small groups of 6-10 kids with a tutor
who facilitates the group, a student writes a question on the board and each
small group works together to help solve the question. Before the end of the
class period, the students write a reflection about their experience.
The AVID program is so popular there’s a wait list every year to get in. Briney remarks that the program is targeted to those students who might just get lost in the shuffle. "They aren’t the top 10% so they don’t get praised, but they’re not the bottom 10% either, so they aren’t
the kids being disciplined. These are regular
good kids and we just want to introduce them
to a different kind of learning that might
appeal to their personality and different
learning styles."
It’s certainly no
surprise that |
AVID
Friday activity: build a tower with
spaghetti noodles and gumdrops (no
talking) |
|
Sarah Briney was recently selected as the ESUSD’s
Teacher of the Year for 2008. She’s enthusiastic
about the kids she works with and looks forward
to next year when her class, all of whom will be
juniors, will begin to learn more about colleges. "When
we visit a school, they learn that going to college
is the goal, and they begin to imagine themselves
there, once they realize it’s not as scary and
overwhelming as they might think. As soon as they
start to see themselves as someone who could go
to college, they really get excited and feel like
they have something to aspire to," she says.
It’s Briney’s hope that every AVID student will
end up going to college, either to earn a four-year
or two-year degree.
This year’s freshman AVID teacher is Branka Cvejic, currently teaching the class
of 2011. Mark Doering will join the AVID team with next year’s freshman, teaching
them through their high school graduation in 2012.
For more information or to apply for the AVID program, please contact AVID Coordinator,
Sarah Briney at 310-615-2662 ext. 351 or sbriney@esusd.k12.ca.us. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
