NAVIGATION
 Advancement
Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a comprehensive, intensive
program designed to prepare high school students for college. The AVID
program incorporates rigorous college preparatory classes, mentoring and
tutoring, intensive student support study skills, test preparation, college
information and planning, family involvement, and motivational activities.
Designed to target underserved and underachieving students, AVID works
within the regular school day. It includes an elective class, trained
tutors, an AVID teacher, and a site team of teachers. During an AVID class,
students are coached by college tutors, typically AVID graduates themselves,
and work in collaborative groups using a curriculum focused on writing and
inquiry. Students also learn grade level study skills in preparation for
college entrance and placement exams, receive college level mini-courses
taught by college professors, attend motivational presentations by guest
speakers, and participate in field trips to colleges, businesses, and
cultural places of interest.
Begun in 1980 by Mary Catherine Swanson, a high school English teacher in San Diego, California, AVID has grown throughout the U.S. and other countries. It currently serves over 65,000 middle and high school students in 1,200 schools in 21 states and 14 foreign countries. US states implementing AVID as of September 2001 include California, Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Maryland. For additional information, contact Taos High's AVID Coordinator, Jennifer Brandt, or visit the AVID Center web site. |
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Mission Statement The mission of AVID is to ensure that all students--and most especially students in the middle--capable of completing a college preparatory path:
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Results and Successes Since its inception in 1980, AVID has been instrumental in preparing thousands of so-called average students for college. Since 1990, over 30,000 AVID students have graduated from high school and gone on to four-year universities or colleges. According to research by the University of California at San Diego, high school students enrolled in the AVID program for at least three years graduate and enter cellege at a 93% rate--75% higher than the national average. [back to top] |
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