In the Schools

College Campus Tour

The 8th grade AVID class from Niver Creek Middle School visited The University of Northern Colorado. During their visit, they learned about the admissions process and how they must start preparing for college, even now. They also took a tour of the campus, and were able to go into a dorm room. One of the highlights was being able to experience lunch with college students by eating in one of the dining halls on campus.

Niver Creek Middle School
Thornton, CO

Barefoot for Zambia

For the past 2 ½ years, the grades 9 – 12 AVID family and Spectrum Community School have worked tirelessly to raise money for a group of young people in an orphanage in Lusaka, Zambia. Most of the money raised sends Zambian children to school.  To date, they have sent 28 children to school at a cost of $200 per student.

During Spring Break 2011, five grade 12 AVID students and one AVID Elective teacher traveled to the orphanage. In addition to donating hours of labor painting the inside and outside of the youth centre, the AVID team delivered suitcases filled with soccer balls and boots, books, games, and money for school tuition.

Over the course of the two years, some AVID initiatives have been:  sending Christmas shoeboxes filled with soaps, sandals, iPods, books, pens and pencils etc.; BAREFOOT for ZAMBIA Walk which included over 80 people walking barefoot for 10 kilometers through rough terrain; and running concessions to raise money to keep the wall around the compound secure.

Spectrum Community School
(Victoria, BC)

Community Commitment

Cedar Grove Middle School in Brunswick County, North Carolina is in its third year as a new school and second year as an AVID school. It is their dream to earn AVID certification. The school currently has a 6th, 7th and 8th grade AVID class curricula and this school year 2011-2012, they partnered with Early College High School, located in Brunswick County on Brunswick Community College campus, to assist with the tutorial process. "We are extremely proud and excited to open our AVID classroom doors to these students who are currently attending both high school and college classes." Cedar Grove Middle School embraces the continued support of the Board of Education, local businesses and church organizations that also support the AVID program and school alike. With this type of commitment from the community, their students and AVID program will succeed!

Cedar Grove Middle School
Brunswick County, NC

Picture Books

San Gabriel High School's AVID class of 2011 published picture books on how to succeed in college. Students first wrote research papers. They then worked with partners to show off their creative flairs by writing stories. Although it was hard, the seniors bonded with each other and had fun sharing their picture books. Best of all, the AVID seniors got to read their picture books to the freshman to help them succeed in their lives after college.

San Gabriel High School
San Gabriel, CA

Success in the Classroom

The school day is over, although not all of the students have left. There is the sound of football cleats coming down the hallway; the Freshman Football team is coming in for their bi-weekly tutoring with volunteers from the AVID Program. The Hanna AVID students welcome the opportunity to share the learning methodologies that they have mastered with others. The team's perfect season was eclipsed only by their successes in the classroom. GO Eagles!

Homer Hanna High School
Brownsville, TX

Foundations of Leadership

The AVID 11 curriculum at Capital High School has a strong leadership component and they actually teach a concurrent enrollment class called Foundations of Leadership 101 through Boise State University to their AVID Juniors. Students get three elective college credits for the course, and after receiving a grant, they were able to participate in a high ropes challenge course as part of the curriculum. The goal is for students to challenge themselves to step out of their comfort zones and take risks to grow. It is an amazing experience that gives them an entirely new level of self-confidence to tackle the challenges that lie ahead as they prepare for college.

Capital High School
Boise, Idaho

Tremendous Strides

The AVID Academy at Miami Northwestern has made tremendous strides toward changing their communities' culture through the importance of college readiness and a lifelong commitment to rise above life's challenges. Through the exposure of college tours, students have been able to connect and build their chances of attending college with greater tenacity and complete understanding more so than ever before. It was through the efforts of this college tour to Nova Southeastern University that provided students the opportunity to gain over $650,000 in scholarship and grant funding. AVID students at Miami Northwestern are optimistic in their confidence to compete globally with their peers and feel more marketable now that they have been exposed to a world clearly different than their own. "We are redefining legacies and preparing the stories that will be written in the future."

Miami Northwestern Senior High
Miami, Fl

AVID Class Field Trip

Senior AVID students from Sonoma Valley High School took a trip to El Salvador during Spring Break last year as part of a community service project. Through the nonprofit group "Seeds of Learning (SOL)," based in Sonoma, the students helped build a school. SOL has been building schools in Central America for the past 10 years and has always wanted to connect with the High School to get students to participate.

The AVID students had been doing various volunteer works throughout their high school careers and this was their opportunity to give back in a more global arena. They had to raise approximately $1700 per student and they did many fund raisers (pasta feed, Latino luncheons, letter writing, etc.) and although some student's are still paying off their trip, it was a real learning experience to work together to coordinate these events.

The trip itself was life changing. They were the first crew to arrive on the site in a little town called Irioma. Their job was to remove the trees and flatten the land. This was done with no big machinery, all by hand and with team work which included the AVID students and the community volunteers. In the afternoons, the group went on many site visits to historical places of interests, and visited other schools that SOL had built in the past.

It was a great culmination of four years of being in the classroom together. The school will be continuing this project in the years to come via the AVID Club and have already begun planning a trip to Nicaragua next Spring break with the Rotary club from Sonoma.

Sonoma Valley High
Sonoma Valley, CA

The AVID Family

Throughout the school year, every AVID classroom promotes team building through various games and activities hoping that one day, the classroom becomes a family. Barrientes Middle School's AVID family proved to be there for one another when one of the AVID students lost his home to a fire. Without delay, the AVID students organized a car wash. Students, teachers, faculty, family, and community members scrubbed, washed and rinsed. With the funds recruited, the family was able to purchase supplies to build a roof for their new home. Truly, it was a remarkable day and experience for the entire AVID family.

Barrientes Middle School
Edinburg, TX

AVID Food Bank

The AVID students at Northglenn High School were looking for a community service project that would benefit the students and community directly. After talking with teachers, counselors, and students, they realized that many students and families have difficulty obtaining food at home. The students started an AVID food bank at the school. They organized a canned food drive during the fall and throughout the 2010-2011 school year that provided food on a regular basis to over 30 families. They will continue with this project each year.

Northglenn High School
Northglenn, CO