More Schools Should Try AVID

High school students worrying about having the grades for college, or the intellectual ability, or the money, can get a boost if they attend one of the two dozen Orange County schools with the AVID program.

The acronym comes from Achievement Via Individual Determination. It has been 18 years since a teacher developed the program, which is based in San Diego and offered in all high schools and middle schools there. Eight years ago, AVID made its debut in Orange County, at Loara High in Anaheim, where a teacher calls it “the best-kept secret in Orange County.”

The program isn’t for everyone. Students have to be tabbed by teachers as having the ability to get into college and succeed there. Students have to be motivated; those not interested in higher education aren’t invited into AVID. And parents have to promise to check their children’s homework every night throughout high school. Parents also are asked to attend workshops in which the college application process is explained.

Most students in the program come from households where the parents did not go to college; there’s no built-in assumption that higher education is part of the teenagers’ future.

An important part of AVID is letting students and parents know college is affordable. Tuition for state colleges and universities, though no longer nominal, is but a fraction of that charged by most private schools. Scholarships are available. So are loans. Teachers say that once students stop worrying about how they will be able to pay for college, they can start spending more time concentrating on taking the right courses and getting good marks.

The program emphasizes college preparatory work. That’s a reflection of the need to show the ability to handle tough work early and to develop good study habits essential for success in college.

School districts do have to pay extra for the program. It costs about $10,000 to send teachers to training sessions to learn how to present the AVID materials the students use throughout the program. AVID classes are taught in addition to regular classes, so students need to be prepared for extra work.

But the classes pay dividends. More than 500 schools in California have signed on to the program, which its executives say has a 93% success rate in having students finish high school and go on to a four-year college.

Students say the teachers remind them they are smart and can handle college prep course work. That often is a needed reminder for teenagers periodically racked by doubt. Teachers also show pupils how to take notes and study for tests.

It’s important for students who will be the first in their family to attend college to realize the goal is attainable. The AVID program is worth a look at districts that have not yet adopted it.