AVID at Oak Valley Middle School
8th Grade AVID Teacher: Sharon Seikkula
7th/8th Grade AVID Teacher: Dev Garrison
7th Grade AVID Teacher: Laura Brady
STUDENT RESOURCES:
AVID ~ www.avidonline.org
ABOUT AVID
AVID is a unique program, unlike any other. AVID is the ONLY program for students in the academic middle— not at-risk, not remedial, not GATE. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It is an international program started by San Diego teacher, Mary Catherine Swanson. AVID is a 7-12th grade program that prepares students to attend and graduate from a 4-year university.
The mission of the AVID program is to ensure that all students, especially students in the middle with academic potential, capable of completing a college preparatory path, will succeed in the most rigorous curriculum, will enter mainstream activities of the school, will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges, and will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a democratic society.
The AVID program teaches students specific skills that will enhance their chances of gaining entrance into a 4-year university and successfully graduating from that institution. These skills include note taking, time management, organization, inquiry, writing, study methods, public speaking, and many other skills that are required in a rigorous high school curriculum (i.e. Honors and Advanced Placement) and college.
Recruitment for the AVID program begins early in the spring. Students are selected for possible inclusion based on: Grade Point Average, SAT9 scores, Teacher Recommendation, and Special Circumstances, if any. Once identified, students are invited to an informational meeting, and can then determine whether the student will pursue an individual interview. AVID students must display a desire to be academically pushed to higher levels of learning. Students are interviewed in March, and then informed of placement sometime in the month of April.
Our 7th and 8th grade AVID students use their leadership skills by presenting useful information to all students at Oak Valley at some of our Monday Welcome Lessons. To see the lessons the AVID students presented in November 2008, view the attached power point.