AVID National Demonstration School

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AVID Coordinator
Dana McLane - [email protected]


What is AVID?

The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Program is internationally acclaimed and designed to assist students in meeting the challenges inherent in education and in attaining the dream of college. Roberto Clemente Middle School is proud to be an AVID National Demonstration Site. There are more than 4,800 AVID sites nationwide. Roberto Clemente MS is one of only 10 AVID National Demonstration Sites in Florida. AVID is a central part of Roberto Clemente Middle School. AVID provides support to students, prepares them for college eligibility, improves their organizational and critical thinking skills, prepares and support students for entry into the most rigorous courses, and empowers students to achieve academic excellence. Our students receive instruction in Cornell note-taking, studying, test-taking, and organizing. They receive further support twice a week through collaborative tutoring groups and peer counseling. AVID is offered to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.

Roberto Clemente MS implemented the AVID program in 2004 with 81 students. All AVID students are required to take advanced math. The majority of our 8th graders take High School Algebra. In the past 10 years, our AVID students have steadily gained additional advanced and high school credit courses due to the increased offerings made available to them. When our AVID students leave Roberto Clemente MS, they may have earned as many as 6 high school credits. Our tremendous success can be attributed to a multi-faceted support system including an AVID Site Team made up of AVID Ambassadors, from every subject area, for each grade level and fervent administrators. Get more information about AVID.

Families, Please Join Us

  • AVID Site Team Meetings are TBA
  • Quarterly AVID & IB Family Nights ~ Flyer invites will be sent at least two weeks in advance.
  • AVID Holiday Feast in December
  • AVID 8th Grade Celebration in May
  • Field Trips ~ Permission Slips will be sent at least two weeks in advance.

AVID Elective

As one of the top five AVID National Demonstration Schools in the country, Roberto Clemente Middle School is dedicated to preparing our students for college readiness. Our goal is to give our students the tools necessary to be successful in advanced courses and an awareness of the importance of higher education, as well as the endless possibilities for their futures. The purpose of the AVID elective class is to enable every student to maximize his or her individual potential, by teaching them how to implement various effective strategies, in order to be successful in rigorous coursework and future endeavors. Our objective is to empower our students to set goals and to be confident in their ability to achieve those aspirations. Students will be learning academic vocabulary, utilizing critical thinking skills, engaging in tutorials, attending college field trips, listening to guest speakers, taking Cornell notes, and implementing an abundance of WICOR (writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading) strategies.

Expectations

  • Weekly Digital Binder Checks
  • Cornell notes or Focused Notes in every class
  • GPA Calculations and Reflections
  • Signed AVID Contract
  • Participation in tutorials, community service, field trips, Socratic seminars, and philosophical chairs

WICOR

  • Writing ~ Cornell notes, reflections, summaries, timed writing, poetry, research papers, essays
  • Inquiry ~ H.O.T. questions, Costa’s Levels of Thinking, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Webb’s Depth of Knowledge
  • Collaboration ~ tutorial groups, Socratic seminar, philosophical chairs, Kagan’s Cooperative Learning
  • Organization ~ digital binders
  • Reading ~ marking the text, research, reviewing Cornell notes daily, sources for tutorials

Tutorials

Biweekly
  • Tutorials are worth 40% of the overall grade in AVID.
  • Tutorial Process:
    • Students complete pre-work prior to class
    • Students sit in collaborative groups of 6-8 with a tutor
    • 1 student presents a question from one of their academic subject areas
    • Other students prompt the presenter with questions to assist him/her in finding an answer
    • All students take 3 column notes
    • All students utilize multiple resources
    • Additional students will present
    • Teacher visits each group, monitor’s progress, provides redirection and praise
    • Students write reflections answering 7 questions on the back of their TRFs
    • Tutors collect and grade the TRFs and each student’s participation according to a rubric
    • Tutors record students’ grades, the group’s progress, and additional notes on a tutor log and then place those logs in the tutor binder
    • Teacher reads the logs in the tutor binder and makes notes, conferences with students, and calls parents/guardians as necessary

AVID Club

AVID Club meets monthly. AVID students who participate in AVID Club will engage in fun activities and participate in community service projects. Each AVID Club has a different theme and purpose.