Shout out to the APS Educational Foundation’s

Varsity Grant for providing $23,000 for AVID Field Trips to Colleges this

School Year! Thank You!

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE ABOUT LOOPING

https://www.edutopia.org/familiarity-breeds-

content

Recruitment Site Coordinators Meetings Coming up in

December.

Highland and Manzano Clusters: 12/6

AHA, WMHS, RGHS Clusters: 12/7

VHS, DNHS Clusters: 12/13

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

APS AVID Monthly

Did You Know? In 2015 there were 40,000

seniors in the AVID program . Of those 96% took the ACT or SAT, 92% completed all requirements for a 4 year university and 77% took at

least one AP/Honors course.

Jackson Middle School Celebrates the Students Accepted into the AVID Program During Their Induction Ceremony.

Kristen Vigil, Jackson Middle School’s AVID teacher and Site Coordinator, poses with the new AVID students who were interviewed and accepted into the AVID elective class.

Austin Campbell Former AVID Tutor and Current AVID Teacher

How did being an AVID tutor help prepare for becoming a teacher? “As an AVID Tutor, the most obvious benefit to my eventual career was the actual time in a classroom interacting with students, from classroom management to simply better understanding who the students are and learning to connect with them. For many teachers, it is a challenge to allow the students to struggle, to not simply give them the answer and move on. I learned the ability and will to let my students work out answers for themselves, question their peers, and finally feel the sense of accomplishment at having come up with a correct answer all on their own. These "lightbulb moments" are invaluable to the students, as they provide them with confidence that no amount of note taking or lecture could give them. Without AVID tutoring, this self-revelation could have taken years of practice and mentoring to accomplish. For that, I cannot thank the tutorial process enough. “

Spotlight on Albuquerque High School’s AVID Elective Program

We sat down with Randi Banach, the AVID Site Coordinator at AHS, to talk about recruiting and retention in the AVID program

1. What do you enjoy most about following these students from 9th to 12th grade? The best part about following the students is being able to develop such a strong relationship with them. Of course, you get to see them grow both physically and emotionally, but the bond I have created with my AVID students is truly special. They know that when I am tough on them it is because I care so much.

How has AHS refined your recruiting process through the years? YES! The first year we had no clue what we were doing. We accepted every student who applied! The best thing that we did for our recruitment process was including our current AVID students in the interview process. Students are so much more objective than teachers.

3. What are some of the things you are most proud of with your elective program at AHS? I am most proud of how far we have come since we started the program six years ago. Our site team has changed so much the past six years, but the last couple of years we have finally found some stability. We have had students earn full scholarships and get admitted to competitive colleges, but mostly we are proud of what amazing people they have grown to be.

4. What advice do you have for AVID programs that are just getting started? Don't try to do everything the first year! Realize that it will take awhile to get the program to where you think it should be. We still struggle with creating a school-wide AVID culture at our school, but we have come a long way from the first year. Learn what works for your school and don't get discouraged.

Above is a photo from AHS AVID teacher Lisa Martinez’s classroom which shows AVID strategies and AVID student work

AHS AVID teacher Carol Chorniak works with her AVID Seniors during zero hour. AHS used zero hour this year as a creative way to keep 12th graders in the AVID program.