WHAT IS AVID?
AVID is a nationwide program that works to support students who show individual determination to succeed, have at or above grade level achievement, high aptitude, and who see themselves as college and career bound. In Chapel-Hill Carrboro City Schools, AVID supports students at Northside Elementary and all secondary schools (including Phoenix Academy). It is a college preparatory acceleration program that includes two components:
- School-wide strategies that focus on college and career awareness, planning, and readiness for all students
- A daily AVID elective that helps selected students learn the skills necessary to take advanced courses in high school to prepare for attending a four-year college
AVID has its own curriculum in grades 6-12. The daily elective teaches the principles of WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading) and prepares students for higher level coursework. In the high schools, the AVID elective is an honors class.
THE AVID MISSION
It is our mission to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. AVID seeks to prepare students for the 21st Century world through practices around critical thinking, complex reading, working with peers, taking part in field trips and experiences that enrich the educational experience, and by modeling what it means to be an AVID scholar for other students who are college bound.
AVID STUDENT PROFILE
AVID students who want to be in the program typically have the following academic profile:
- Grades and performance that is at or above their grade level
- Passing scores on their EOGs and/or EOCs
- The individual determination to be college and career bound
- Above average aptitude in their verbal reasoning, numeric reasoning, and/or visual/spatial reasoning
They may be:
- The first in their families to attend college
- Historically underserved in four-year colleges
- Unsure about how to access an honors and Advanced Placement pathway
- Very bright and capable students with a need for structure around executive functioning
There are other factors that may make a student an ideal candidate for AVID. Please speak to your school's site coordinator about how AVID might be a good fit for your student.
