AVID, an acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a research-based program that identifies, recruits, and prepares students for four-year college eligibility. The program serves students who are often the least well served in our schools – students in the academic middle who are capable of success, but who are not reaching their potential.
AVID students enroll in a special academic elective class, scheduled during the school day, that emphasizes writing as a tool of learning, use of the inquiry method, collaboration, and reading. Through summer institutes and professional development, AVID also helps restructure teaching methodologies schoolwide, so that more students can succeed in college-prep classes.
The North Coast AVID Regional Center is housed at the Sonoma County Office of Education and serves over 1,800 students in 27 schools throughout Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties.
Quick Link
Write Off Winners, 2011
AVID Region 1 holds an annual writing contest for AVID students in grades 7-12. Students prepare for the writing contest using a timed writing format and persuasive essay prompts. The prompts are borrowed from either the California High School Exit Exam or the California State University English Placement Exam. The contest is scored using a six-point rubric. Here are the winning essays:
Madison Polizziani, Grade 7, Windsor Middle School (pdf)
Rhonda Boldt, Grade 8, Lawrence Cook Middle School (pdf)
Raquel Pamplona da Silva, Grade 9, Del Norte High School (pdf)
Melissa Jimenez, Grade 10, Clear Lake High School (pdf)
Yajaira Lopez, Grade 11, Elsie Allen High School (pdf)
Sandra Cuevas, Grade 12, Roseland University Prep (pdf)
Successful demonstration site visit at Roseland University Prep
On March 7, Roseland University Prep (RUP) in Santa Rosa hosted 15 educators who toured classrooms to observe school-wide AVID strategies in action as part of demonstration site visit. In Algebra 2, students worked in collaborative groups and created Thinking Map posters to solve equations. In World History, they used the AVID collaborative tutorial group model to study for a unit test on World War II. In Science, they took Cornell Notes in interactive notebooks. Interactive notebooks are used in science, math, and history classes. Students in Spanish for Spanish Speakers wrote questions about a novel using Costa's three levels.
RUP has 11 sections of the AVID elective. The school has 400 students and 77 percent are enrolled in the AVID elective.
Sonoma Valley High's AVID students build a school in El Salvador
Judith Frey-Cohen's AVID class at Sonoma Valley High School traveled to Utalco, El Salvador this summer to help build a new school in this tiny village. Their story was featured in the August 2010 issue (pdf) of Sonoma Family Life Magazine.
Roseland University Prep named Demonstration School
Roseland University Prep (RUP) has been named an AVID National Demonstration School for providing an academic culture that successfully prepares students for college. Learn more...
North Coast AVID featured in publication and videos
The October 2009 issue of the SCOE Bulletin highlighted five key strategies that are used in AVID classrooms and that have helped to make the program so successful. The accompanying videos show two of those strategies – Socratic Seminars and Philosophical Chairs – in action.
AVID Strategies | Oct 2009 | AVID is closing the achievement gap and making college accessible to all. Five key AVID strategies are explained in this issue of the SCOE Bulletin.
The videos that accompany this publication show two key AVID strategies in action at Roseland University Prep. They feature the senior AVID class taught by Kristen O'Connor. Video 1: Socratic Seminar | Video 2: Philosophical Chairs
Appreciations of AVID | 2005 | Produced by students Jason Lind and Dan Rebich, this video highlights student comments from a symposium held at Windsor High School.
