AVID and Smaller Learning Communities (SLC)
AVID is a natural complement to Smaller Learning Communities. The overall goal for SLCs is to improve the achievement of all students and to prepare them for postsecondary educational opportunities. AVID has a 30-year documented history of preparing all students, including those in the middle, to succeed in rigorous curriculum and to increase their enrollment in four-year colleges. With planning and support, AVID can complement a variety of Small Learning Community models.
The trend toward breaking large high schools into smaller, more personalized learning communities is sweeping the nation, gaining impetus from federal grants and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Proponents of the concept say that smaller learning communities (SLCs) can improve academic achievement for all students by offering a more intimate and personalized approach to learning, a safer and more humane environment, and a more positive overall educational experience.
There are a number of models in place for Smaller Learning Communities, including theme-based academies, interdisciplinary teams, autonomous small schools, and others. However, researchers emphasize that just changing the size of our learning communities is not enough to bring about changes in student learning. Size is simply an enabler that makes it possible to implement the other critical elements of SLCs that do lead to improved student achievement, as demonstrated by a large body of research (See SLC Internet Resources and Research-Based Elements of Successful Small Learning Communities.).
Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) Program 2010
AVID is a Great Fit for SLC
An overview of priorities and selection criteria for the SLC program; how AVID can help you address the absolute priorities and selection criteria; background on AVID and its impact on students; and contact information.
Department of Education
Request for Proposal
SLC Grant Selection Criteria
SLC FY10 AVID Partnerships
Additional Information
AVID and SLCs: Lessons Learned
AVID and SLCs:
Locke High
AVID and SLCs: Natural Complements
SLC Performance Report: 2004; 2005; 2006
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested more than $250 million in grants nationwide to create new small schools and transform large ones. Its web site provides grant and program descriptions, fast facts on small schools, and other resources including an excellent annotated bibliography of research and articles on school size.
Carnegie Corporation of New York is a private foundation that created Schools for a New Society, an initiative designed to help reinvent and re-imagine the high school experience for American students.
The Coalition of Essential Schools' Fall 2002 edition of Horace, "Elements of Smallness," features articles and book reviews on small schools, a resources section, and an Afterword about individualized learning written by a student at the Met School in Providence, RI.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory at Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education provides another review of the literature on Small Learning Communities.
The School Redesign Network (SRN) at Stanford University conducts research and provides resources that address the need for new school models that are designed to teach all children to high levels. Its resources help to develop a broader knowledge base about school design, teaching and learning, curriculum and assessment, and a deeper understanding of the features of small schools that have been successfully redesigned to support student learning.
The Small Schools Project, part of the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, supports new small schools in Washington state and nationwide. Its web site posts an array of small schools resources--links to small schools and other organizations; research, academic papers, and digests of recent media articles; plus a variety of tools for interested educators and parents.
Helpful Links
bobpearlman.org • New Small High Schools and SLC
International Center for Leadership in Education • Creating SLC