A Very AVID Celebration

By Jillian Daley

This past Monday, administrators and teachers hosted the whole family during an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Celebration dinner. 

AVID is a nationwide program that focuses on career and college success, and the Middle School opened its own AVID site this year, offering an elective class for seventh-graders and schoolwide resources that essentially sample that class’s content. Students develop academic skills, such as becoming more organized and taking more in-depth notes. They also prepare themselves for college and career with improved teamwork and communications skills. Meanwhile, they enjoy guest speakers and college visits, beginning to not only consider their future, but to plan for it through steps such as taking more advanced classes.

Mom Shannon Curths said that after her daughter, Hailey, began participating in the AVID elective class this school year, she noticed a change.

“She’s more independent, doesn’t need mom’s help as much or even reminders about homework,” Curths said. “She’s just a go-getter, gets it all done.”

Hailey said that it’s true, she has built up her academic skills. She’s especially proud of her advancements in note-taking and working in a group. She’s also come to care about her AVID classmates.

“I get to have lots of friends,” Hailey said.

AVID elective class Teacher Chelsea Landry said that she intentionally encourages relationship building. So Landry was thrilled to see her students’ families during the Monday night dinner.

“We call it the AVID family, and that’s what we are,” Landry said. 

One way Landry fosters that familial feeling is through Fun Fridays, which happen to be Eman Hussein’s favorite part of the AVID elective class. Fun Fridays are team-building days full of problem-solving activities that teach students to more patiently work together as a group.

“We just look forward to it,” Hussein said.

The students see the fun side of it, but they also know that they’re gaining a great deal academically. Landry said students are also taught about the academic strategies, which is why Hailey pointed to note-taking and teamwork and Eman understood that team-building days are essential.

“What I would say is that AVID gives them the strategies to be able to handle more rigorous coursework,” Landry said. “AVID encourages students to take advanced classes and classes that are on the trajectory to prepare them for the rigor of college. Strategies like Focused Notes [capturing ideas while fostering critical thinking], Marking the Text [annotating the text], and Costa's questions [types of questions to promote higher thinking] are core tenets of AVID that help students be able to process and truly understand more difficult concepts and to make the learning long term.”

Landry and North Marion senior Ime Guzman, who assists her with the elective class, both separately said that they wished that they could have benefitted from the program in Middle School themselves. Guzman said the program kickstarts students’ academics. AVID’s focus on self-determination is in its name, and students are living up to that, he explained. Even if he didn’t get the chance to participate, he’s glad to spend time guiding and supporting them.

“It’s been a privilege to work with every single one of your kids,” Guzman told the parents at the AVID Celebration.

Co-Principals Tami Badinger and David Sheldon also are proud of the AVID students and were elated to have the chance to praise AVID elective class members and their families during the dinner.

“Tonight, we break bread in fellowship as we celebrate the yearlong achievements of our AVID elective class,” Sheldon said.

Badinger, also the District Director of the North Marion branch of AVID, said she chose to bring AVID to North Marion because this program is the best one she’s seen in her more than 30 years in education because it’s about students striving to improve in a supportive setting.

“This is an adventure we’re going on together,” she said. “Our families are invested in their children’s education and our children are invested in their own education.”

The School District is also invested in supporting families. The AVID elective class is for seventh grade this year, but it will expand to eighth grade next year and ninth grade in the following year, eventually encompassing the entire School District. 

“We believe every student in our district deserves a rigorous, quality education,” Badinger said.

To share stories on the North Marion School District, email Communications Specialist Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us.