What is AVID?
 

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a global nonprofit organization that operates with one guiding principle: Hold students accountable to the highest standards, provide academic and social support, and they will rise to the challenge. AVID’s kindergarten through higher education system brings research-based curriculum and strategies to students each day that develop critical thinking, literacy, and math skills across all content areas.

In middle school, our task is to prepare our students to succeed in middle school and college preparatory high school classes. In AVID, students are given the support and instruction they need to succeed. The AVID coordinator and elective teacher, along with college tutors and a school site team, provide the necessary support for students who might otherwise not aspire to go to college. By being enrolled in rigorous classes with the tutorial support provided in the AVID elective, student grade point averages rise, increasing the number of students enrolled in honors classes and high school courses in eighth grade.  AVID motivates students and provides the skills and confidence to reach their goals.

AVID’s Impact
 

For more than 35 years, AVID has prepared students for college readiness and success. From its beginnings in one classroom with 32 students in San Diego, it now impacts the lives of hundreds of thousands of students throughout the United States and the world. At its sites, AVID affects leadership, systems, instruction, and culture.

AVID
 

• Teaches skills and behaviors for academic success
• Provides intensive support with tutorials and strong student/teacher relationships
• Creates a positive peer group for students
• Develops a sense of hope for personal achievement gained through hard work and determination
• As a result, policymakers and educators now consider AVID's mission to be an essential strategy for closing the achievement gap, making college access and success available to all students.