trend+7+AVID


 * Trend Name:** AVID (group 1 section 14)


 * Basic Summary of Trend:** AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It is a reading and writing curriculum that has existed for about 20 years. It started out on the west coast in California. It's main goal is to allow ethnically and linguistically diverse, underachieving students to attend 4 year colleges. It was created to place students least likely to attend college into highly competitive universities and to be successful once they get into these universities. More than 30 high school and college teachers worked together for 2 years to identify strategies that best prepare students for college. This group poured over teaching and learning strategies and conducted classroom based research founded on their perceptions of what was successful with students and what students asserted was effective for them. Born from this collaboration of teachers was AVID; which is a writing curriculum that was to be taught in all disciplines to enhance students preparation for and during college. AVID works to target students in the academic middle — B, C, and even D students — who are capable of completing rigorous curriculum but are currently falling short of their potential. Typically, these students will be the first in their families to attend college, and many are from low-income or minority families. AVID pulls these students out of their unchallenging courses and puts them in college track classes. AVID is practiced in over 3,500 schools currently. It is an elective course that students can take in elementary school, and secondary school. In 2006, the percentage of the graduating AVID seniors that got accepted into 4 year colleges was 75%.


 * Key Manifestations:** The AVID curriculum is driven by the WICR method, which stands for writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading. This is the teaching style of AVID teachers no matter the curriculum being taught. All AVID students learn to take Cornell notes and it is a major part of the WICR model that allows middle of the road students to reach their academic potential and succeed in rigorous classes. AVID curriculum is used in AVID elective classes, in content-area classes in AVID schools, and even in schools where the AVID elective is not offered. AVID has trained AVID teachers, tutors, and administrators. The AVID elective class is one period a day, where students learn organizational and study skills, work on critical thinking and asking probing questions, get academic help from peers and college tutors, and participate in enrichment and motivational activities that make college seem attainable. Their self-images improve, and they become academically successful leaders and role models for other students. Students who apply for admission into the program must maintain a level of success in the program to stay in. If they fail to meet the requirements of the AVID program they will no longer be part of it. AVID has grown tremendously in the past 27 years. It started out in one High School in 1980 and as of the school year 2007-2008 was in 3, 500 schools across the globe. The reason for the onset of AVID was because California teachers thought that the underrepresented minorities were not reaching their full academic potential due to the fact that they were underrepresented. They felt that many students did not know how to do well in school therefore were not doing well in school and challenging themselves to their academic capability. It was shown in statistics of the minority class they did not have as many students attending 4 year colleges as the majority. So this program was spawned to help those that did not know how to help themselves reach their academic best and get put on a track to get into a 4 year college. AVID is implemented in countries outside of the US and is projected to have over 4,300 by the year 2001. Most AVID students are underrepresented minorities: 49% hispanic, 19% black, 5% asian. AVID students across the nation have a 99% graduation rate from high school compared to only 85% national average.


 * Key Personnel:** Mary Catharine Swanson, AVID founder and director. She taught high school english for 20 years before she developed AVID. She won the 2001 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education for her commitment to closing the achievement gap. She has been profiled on a 60 Minutes II feature that described her AVID program as a "fresh idea in education." She has been named America's best teacher by TIME Magazine and CNN. She also received the A+ Award for Reaching the Goals of America 2000 from the US Department of Education, EXCEL Award for excellence in teaching, Salute to Excellence from the American Association for Higher Education, and Headliner of the Year from the San Diego Press Club. She is listed in Who's Who in America and was the commencement speaker at San Diego State University in 1992. She is the only public school teacher to ever have won $50,000 award for Pioneering Achievement in Education from the Charles A. Foundation in New York.


 * Why/How a trend?** AVID is a trend because it started out in 1980 as a conference to help students in California schools succeed in college courses. Now AVID is being practiced in 45 states and 15 countries worldwide. Even schools that do not have an AVID elective class are practicing AVID techniques and AVID pedagogy. It is a program that schools are still implementing at a high rate. There is no sign that the trend is slowing down any time soon as over 200,000 students have graduated from the AVID program and it the number is getting increasingly larger every year.

http://www.avidonline.org/ http://www.fcoe.k12.ca.us/?n=222 http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/ps/avidgen.asp http://www.avidonline.org/info/?tabid=1&ID=600**
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