Back To School Night

Before Back to School Night started, parents and students were invited to Savanna’s library for an informative meeting about the AVID program at Savanna. Mrs. Poppy Hill, the AVID Coordinator for Savanna, presented a power point presentation for parents discussing the components of the AVID program, why AVID is important for students, and much more. Parents were able to ask any questions they had about the program or the upcoming PSAT. Parents also filled out a survey.

The A-G Requirements

The A-G Requirements are the classes required for admissions to four-year universities. First time freshman applicants are required to have completed the “comprehensive pattern of college prep courses” with grades of C or better in each course.

• English: 4 years required
• Mathematics: 3 years required, 4 years recommended
• History: 2 years required
• Science: 2 years required, 3 years recommended
• Foreign Language: 2 years required, 3 years recommended
• Visual/Performing Arts: 1 year required
• College Prep Elective: 1 year required

These are the minimum courses required for students who wish to attend a CSU or UC. As the demands for students applying to colleges increase, students are recommended to aim for higher grades than the minimum and to take as many college preparatory courses, including Honors and Advanced Placement, as possible.

Students who wish to attend a private university or a college out of state should look up the desired college and see what the requirements are for that specific college. (Each private university or state may have different requirements than the ones listed above.)

The Mission of AVID

The mission of AVID is to ensure that all students, especially the students in the middle with academic potential capable of completing a college preparatory path:

• will increase in school-wide learning and performance
  
• will succeed in rigorous curriculum
• will enter mainstream activities of the school
• will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges
• will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a democratic society

Components of AVID

Rigor is the goal of helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally or emotionally challenging.

WICR stands for Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, and Reading. Each category has a list of activities students may do in their AVID class.

• Writing: pre-write, draft, respond, revise, edit, final draft, class and textbook notes, learning logs, and journals
• Inquiry: skilled questioning, Socratic Seminars, quick-write and discussion, critical thinking activities, writing questions, and open-mindedness activities.
• Collaboration: group projects, study groups, tutorials, jigsaw activities, read-arounds, response/edit/revision groups, collaborative activities.
• Reading: SQ5R (survey, question, read, record, recite, review, reflect), KWL (what I know, want to learn, what I learn), reciprocal teaching, and think-alouds

Tutorials are held every class period except Fridays. Students are grouped according to questions they bring from their academic classes. They direct the questioning and learning process. In addition, they help each other work through their questions. Cornell notes are written on each question. A summary and reflection are written at the end of tutorials.

Cornell notes are a vital part to success in the AVID program and in high school. Students are expected to take at least 10 pages of Cornell notes each week. This breaks down to two pages per day. Each page of notes should have five parts: heading, title, notes in the right side, questions on the left side, and a summary at the end. Notes should be meaningful to students, and used often as review.

Binders are essential part of proper organization for an AVID student. It is recommended that students have one binder for all of their classes. In that binder students should have materials (paper, pencils, pens, highlighters, glue sticks, etc.), dividers for each class, the student planner, and any other assignment or information for the respective class. Binders are checked each Friday.

Tests are an important part of preparing students for college. Students are expected to take tests, including the PSAT, the SAT, the ACT, and more. In addition, AVID prepares students for the California High School Exit Exam, CAHSEE.

Basics of AVID

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It is a program designed to help underachieving students prepare for and succeed in colleges and universities. Students in the program commit themselves to prepare for college. AVID offers a rigorous program of instruction in different academic skills as well as college level entry skills.

The AVID program teaches students how to collaborate, study, read for content, improve writing skills, take notes, stay organized, set goals, take tests, and manage time, to name a few. Students participate in tutorials led by themselves under the supervision of tutors who use skillful questioning to bring students to a higher level of understanding. They are expected to maintain an organized binder for all of their classes. In addition, students should be taking at least ten pages of Cornell Notes each week.

The three main components of AVID are academic instruction, tutorial support, and motivational activities.