What is AVID?

  • Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)

     

    AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a college readiness system that can be deployed school-wide in K-12 schools & in higher education to ensure that students have the skills they need to be college & career ready. AVID's mission is as follows:
     
    "AVID's mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness & success in a global society".
     
    In Cleburne ISD, we combine their mission with our own in efforts to prepare all students for post-secondary success. Currently, the following Cleburne ISD campuses are AVID campuses:
     

    Cleburne High School

    Smith Middle School

    Wheat Middle School

    Cooke Elementary

     
    AVID campuses focus intentionally on building skills students need to be successful in their post-secondary lives. Students on AVID campuses will receive on-going instruction in areas such as growth mindset, note taking, school materials organization, goal setting & college research. AVID campuses use WICOR to drive the instruction on their campuses. What is WICOR? Please see below for more information on the elements of WICOR!
     
    At the secondary level, AVID school-wide is supplemented with the AVID elective. An application-based course, the AVID elective focuses on providing students the academic & systemic supports needed to achieve their post-secondary dreams. Special consideration is given to students who are first-generation college students. 
     
    The AVID elective course has specific requirements that every AVID elective student must meet. For example, students enrolled in the AVID elective are required to enroll in at least one Advanced Academics course each year. Students may enroll in Pre-AP, AP, Dual Credit & OnRamps courses in the area(s) of their choosing. In addition, AVID elective students participate in small group tutorials each Tuesday & Thursday in the AVID elective course. In order to be prepared for tutorials, students must complete a Tutorial Request Form (TRF) prior to the start of class on tutorial days. 
     
      
    Within the AVID elective class, students hone their note-taking skills, organize a comprehensive student binder & engage in collaborative activities designed to prepare students for post-secondary educational environments. Students also have the opportunity to attend college visit field trips every semester in the AVID elective class. 
     
    To learn more about AVID & what they do, please visit the AVID Website!

The AVID Effect

  • Adding AVID to a campus is proven to have positive benefits for the students & teachers on that campus as it pertains to post-secondary success, but also in relation to attendance rates, test scores, graduation rates & state accountability. 

    To learn more about all of the ways AVID positively impacts your student, please click the links below!

     

    The AVID Effect- National

    The AVID Effect- Texas

    The AVID Effect Research

AVID Resources

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AVID & WICOR

  • WICOR represents the components of effective classroom instruction. Teachers writing WICOR lessons and students experiencing WICORized lessons will engage in: 

     
    Writing: students will engage in writing to learn strategies that guide them through the entire writing process from drafting to peer editing and revising.  Class may begin or end with Quick writes to frame lessons. Students write reflections on their learning both in class & in their notes. Students may also log their learning through the course to track new concepts & identify gaps in learning. 
     
    Inquiry: Based on Costa's Levels of Thinking, inquiry should be student initiated and deeper level. Teachers model inquiry through essential questions in their lesson planning & deeper level questioning in their classroom discussions. 
     
    Collaboration: Students engage in elements of small group instruction, think-pair-share, & whole group discussion. Students are encouraged to problem solve in groups & direct instruction is limited. Students may experience activities such as World Cafe, Socratic Seminars or Philosophical Chairs. 
     
    Organization: Student organization encompasses student binders, agendas/planners, goal setting for classes & post-secondary & backward mapping. Students will also experience organization in class through the use of notes and/or graphic organizers as they move through the focused note-taking process. 
     
    Reading: Critical reading is paramount in the AVID College Readiness System. Students engaging in critical reading organize their reading material by numbering paragraphs, identifying keywords, underlining author positions/arguments & annotating the margins to ask deeper level questions (Costa's) & make observations about the reading. Critical reading often builds into collaborative activities such as Philosophical Chairs or Socratic Seminars.