At a conference for teachers in Sacramento last week, Jaspal "Paul" Supra, who will be a senior at Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove, described himself as "an occasional troublemaker" who is now "an occasional 4.0." Carla Alarcon of Los Altos described how the "days of my own low expectations are a distant memory, a place I have escaped."
Such turnaround stories are not uncommon with a special college preparatory program that targets students who are academically promising but underachieving. And the good news is that despite budget cuts, this program is still expanding. School districts are making it a priority.
Called AVID – Advancement Via Individual Determination – this program actively looks for kids with potential and asks: Are they getting C's and B's but capable of more? Can they succeed in college preparatory courses with more support? Do they want to attend college? Are they willing to work hard to get there? Are they in a low-income household? Will they be the first in their family to attend college?
AVID pulls these students out of unchallenging courses and enrolls them in the toughest honors and advanced placement classes, then supplies a support network and the skills they need to succeed.
It works. While only 38 percent of Class of 2007 graduates in Sacramento County completed coursework to qualify for admission to the University of California or California State University, among AVID students, it was 88 percent. Statewide, only 25 percent of African American and Hispanic/Latino students completed those requirements. Among AVID students, however, 91 percent of African American and 88 percent of Hispanic/Latino students did so.
In Sacramento County this past year, AVID served more than 6,000 students at 62 schools. The county Office of Education expects this to increase to 67 schools for the 2009-10 year.
School districts are wise to continue to fund this successful, non-required program through difficult budget times.
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