Elijah Mason was a somewhat mediocre student in his grade school years. But things began to change when he entered seventh grade and became one of the first Woodbury students to participate in a new college-preparatory program called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).
The note-taking and studying skills he learned in the AVID program enabled Elijah to maintain a GPA in the 3.3-3.4 range from ninth grade through his senior year. Now he’s a freshman at Mankato State University and still using the same skills, according to his mother, Shelia Mason.
Elijah says he was initially skeptical when he heard about AVID. “At first I thought it wasn’t for me, but after I got into it, it was really helpful,” he says. He found the time management and note-taking tips especially useful, and still uses them in college.
AVID is unique among college prep programs because instead of focusing on low- or high-achieving students, it’s aimed at those in the middle of the grade curve—students who want to attend college and are willing to work hard. The typical AVID student has a GPA of 2.0-3.5 and the potential and the desire to participate in honors level classes, and has been recommended by a teacher. The AVID elective class is designed to prepare students for taking rigorous courses in high school that will ready them for college, focusing on writing, critical thinking, collaboration, reading, note-taking, study skills and college/career/motivational activities.
At the middle and high school level, AVID is an elective, says Molly Lester, South Washington County Schools’ AVID coordinator. “Students have to want to be in the class, and they go through an interview to see if they qualify,” she says.
Improving skills isn’t the only aim of AVID. “We really work on changing students’ mindsets and boosting confidence,” Lester says. “The response to the program among students and parents has been heartening. We’ve had moms in tears sharing their stories, talking about kids who were lost in school and didn’t know if they could go to college. Some of these kids have not done so well, getting Cs and Ds” before learning new skills in AVID.
Lester cites the example of an East Ridge High School student from a single-parent household (her father died when she was in ninth grade) and AVID participant who was offered full-ride academic scholarships by four different colleges and universities. “She is one of five children, and her mother says all her children are going to be in AVID,” Lester says. “AVID has been life-changing for that family.”
AVID’s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. “As we’re seeing our demographics changing, we need to recognize that we have to meet all students’ needs,” Lester says. “The ultimate goal is for all students to have success.”
Lester says students and parents appreciate that, instead of presenting college as a dream or hope, AVID “gives them a plan on how to get to college and sets them up for success. Parents talk about ‘What are your hopes and dreams?’ AVID talks about ‘What is your plan and backup plan?’”
And at the elementary level, all Woodbury public schools are implementing AVID strategies, school-wide, so students can tap into its organizational tools, like using a daily planner to keep track of homework. Lester says, “Organized students are successful students.”
