Spotlight on Innovative
Approaches to Class Instruction
George V. Kirk Middle School's AVID Program
The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program at George V. Kirk Middle School provides all students with the opportunity to prepare to enter college and succeed there. AVID is a national academic support initiative for grades 4-12 that restructures classroom teaching around the Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration and Reading methodology (WICR) with an intense focus on improving student achievement. Launched at Kirk Middle School in September 2004, the AVID program initially focused on preparing academically average students for advanced classes in high school and, ultimately, for college success. In recent years, Principal Donald Patton has expanded the breadth and reach of the AVID program to dramatically increase academic rigor for all students. Research has demonstrated that taking more rigorous courses in middle school and high school increases the likelihood that students will graduate on time and that they will be successful in college (see Research section of this newsletter). Increases in AVID teachers and classes at Kirk Middle School have helped produce double-digit gains in students’ DSTP reading scores and steady increases in math and writing scores over the past few years.
How does it work?
- The AVID program is available to students as an elective to their standard academic schedules. For the 2007-08 academic year, Kirk Middle School will have eight AVID teachers who, in addition to teaching standard courses, are trained in the AVID curriculum of instruction based on three pillars: WICR, Cornell Notes and the Socratic Method. Schools and districts can apply to the national AVID center for membership in order to receive materials and professional development for teachers. Teaching one AVID class of 20-24 students per day, AVID teachers emphasize the use of Cornell Notes in order to help students develop clear and concise note-taking skills whereby the left side of a page contains a guiding question and the right contains an area for note-taking to answer the question. Additionally, the Socratic Method develops communication and questioning skills as students enter into classroom discussions following initial "quick writes" on given topics. Within the context of the three pillars, students receive instruction on study skills, test taking, time management, and effective textbook reading and library research three times a week. On the remaining two days, AVID-trained faculty members tutor students in understanding and completing assignments.
- AVID is not a remedial program. Its strength is in its focus on particular students. The typical AVID student has the potential to complete rigorous curricula but has not found the formula for success. Some have called this formula the "hidden curriculum" or "habits of highly successful students." AVID students are typically the first in their families to attend college, and many are from low-income or minority families. AVID pulls these students out of unchallenging courses and puts them on the college track: acceleration instead of remediation.
What are the results?
- Kirk Middle School's commitment to offering the AVID program to all students has helped lead to dramatic increases in students' DSTP reading scores between 2004 and 2005 along with steady increases in math and writing scores over the past several years. Between 2004 and 2005, students' DSTP reading scores jumped an average of 12.7 points. Having successfully directed the program at Kirk Middle School, Principal Donald Patton has become such an advocate that he also worked with the Christina School District to implement an AVID program at each of the district's other secondary schools for the 2007-08 academic year. Donald also includes the WICR method in all of Kirk Middle School's staff development activities to increase students' exposure to practices that boost academic rigor and success.
- Based on the success of the AVID program at Kirk Middle School, schools such as Mount Pleasant High School and Springer Middle School in the Brandywine School District have also implemented AVID programs to increase student achievement.
- According to the AVID center's website, over 2,700 schools nationally and throughout the world now have operating AVID programs. The percent of AVID eighth graders who take and pass algebra-- 61.4%-- exceeds the national percentage of eighth grade students taking and passing algebra-- 22.0%-- by 39.4%. Additionally, because most AVID students are underrepresented minorities--Latinos and African Americans--the program has directly reduced achievement gaps among student groups.
How does Vision 2015 address AVID?
Vision 2015 recommends:
- Make academic standards as challenging as the world's best
- Provide professional coaching to help teachers meet each student's learning needs
- Encourage instructional innovation
- Identify and replicate schools and programs that work
Where can I learn more?
