News

Friday, April 13, 2012

Join the AVID Senior Celebration on Monday, April 16

Ninety Dos Pueblos, San Marcos, and Santa Barbara high school seniors in the district’s AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program will be recognized on Monday, April 16, 2012, 5:00-6:30 p.m., at the Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High School. The AVID Senior Celebration is an opportunity for students, parents, and community members to come together and celebrate the students’ acceptance to college.

The mission of AVID is to ensure that all students, especially middle-performing students, will:

• succeed in the most rigorous curriculum;
• enter the mainstream activities of the school;
• increase their enrollment in four-year colleges, and
• become educated, responsible participants and leaders in a democratic society.

As noted on the national AVID website: “AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a college readiness system for elementary through postsecondary that is designed to increase schoolwide learning and performance. The AVID College Readiness System (ACRS) accelerates student learning, uses research based methods of effective instruction, provides meaningful and motivational professional development, and acts as a catalyst for systemic reform and change.

“AVID began in 1980 by Mary Catherine Swanson, then-head of the English department at San Diego's Clairemont High School. The federal courts issued an order to desegregate the city's schools, bringing large numbers of inner city students to suburban schools. While applauding the decision, Swanson wondered how these underserved students would survive at academically acclaimed Clairemont High.

“Her answer was AVID, an academic elective. But it's more than a program - it's a philosophy: Hold students accountable to the highest standards, provide academic and social support, and they will rise to the challenge.”

The Marjorie Luke Theatre is located at Santa Barbara Junior High School, 721 E. Cota Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103.