AVID Showcase Day

Today I attended an AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) Showcase at Madison East High School. First and foremost, it was incredible! I didn't have much in terms of expectations, because I didn't really know what and AVID showcase was, but this FAR exceeded them!

An AVID Showcase is basically full day of immersion into another school's AVID program. AVID Demo schools have incorporated both the AVID elective and the AVID strategies into content area classes. They work hard to be a "model" for new/young AVID schools to learn from and be inspired by.

We first got an overview of AVID, which was helpful, since I hadn't received a "proper" overview of AVID from an AVID employee yet. AVID's main tenets are Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading, and it encourages growth historically underserved students, and their futures in college. Then we moved into the school specific AVID plan, goals and data. I was so surprised to see the growth in Madison East since the implementation of AVID strategies in content classrooms.

As if that wasn't enough to hook me, we then toured Madison East and observed five or six classes, ranging from Spanish to AVID to Math. I really enjoyed this part because we got to see how AVID strategies are implemented in classrooms on a daily and basis. It reinforced that AVID practices are really best practices that apply to all disciplines. Walking the halls was amazing too, because it gave me so much inspiration. Teachers actually post work that students do in the halls, and there are tons of posters urging academic excellence and college readiness. I loved seeing the commitment to learning, and the expansion of education beyond the classroom.

We ended the day with a student panel and then a Site Team panel. Overall, I had an AMAZING day, and it inspired me to implement more AVID strategies in my classroom (and in the halls!). I learned that AVID's strategies aren't difficult to implement, per se, because many teachers already use their techniques. I want to do more to help my students strive for excellence both in and outside of my classroom!