January Newsletter
AVID District News
Welcome back from the holidays. We are gearing up for an awesome New Year!
by Jacqueline Johnson, MSL and Asia Moore, UNC-Chapel Hill Intern with Smith AVID
AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a college readiness system, is designed to be a transformational effort focused on instruction, systems, leadership, and culture, and is designed to increase the number of students who enroll and succeed in higher education and in their lives beyond high school.
The core of AVID at the middle and high school level is the AVID Elective class, where students are enrolled in a school’s most rigorous classes, such as Honors or Advanced Placement (AP) and receive support through the AVID Elective.
The goal of AVID at the secondary level is to ensure college readiness for all AVID Elective students and improved academic performance for all students based on increased opportunities.
The AVID Program welcomes parental involvement in aiding in student success, such as fundraisers to support AVID resources, student incentives/rewards, and field trips.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Phoenix Academy held its graduation ceremony on February 1st, 2019. We would like to extend congratulations to the graduates! May your future be full of successes.
Photo by Dr. Scheiman
RECAP of AVID Events
AVID Showcase
AVID Showcase On December 14th, Smith Middle School hosted an AVID Showcase. Learners from sixth through eighth grade enrolled in AVID participated. Learners were responsible for their costumes, lighting, sound, and stage direction. The learners created their own acts within the show and connected their talents and abilities to Hamilton as well as confronted stereotypes about AVID. The show concluded with learners and their families doing a choreographed dance to “Let’s Groove Tonight” which is pictured above.
Charlotte Field Trip
In November, all AVID students from Ms. Grinnell’s class at Culberth Middle School had the opportunity to attend the Charlotte Hornets’ AVID Night at the Spectrum Center. The day opened with a question-and-answer session with employees in marketing and sales with the Hornets.
Shiloh Smith, a 6th grader, recalled learning about how the staff encourages fans to attend basketball games and concerts. “They talked about commercials and how they get their viewers to buy their products and come to games,” he said. After learning about the career paths of the Hornets marketing and sales team members, students went to a college fair.
Kris Ramirez Gil, another 6th-grade AVID student learned about North and South Carolina’s college offerings. “In the stadium, they talked about different types of degrees, types of colleges to go to, like public and private.” Following the college fair, we enjoyed a game between the Hornets and the Utah Jazz and then hopped on the bus back to CMS.
MORE AVID NEWS
We recently have added more people into our AVID family. Two Human Development and Family Studies students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are completing semester-long internships in AVID classrooms. Asia Moore is located at Smith Middle School under the supervision of Eric Zeigler and Mackensie Fletcher is at Phillips Middle School with Dorlicia Young.
AVID Quote for the Month
“I will not fear success. Fear is an acronym for false evidence appearing real. So… I will conquer my fears by running to meet any challenges that stand in my way.” -Eric Zeigler, Smith Middle AVID Elective Instructor/Coordinator
Quotes from AVID Student Learners
“AVID has helped me gain confidence in myself and makes me feel as if I can do anything. I like that AVID challenges me and my teacher because he is kind. I enjoy doing TRFs because it is really fun to be able to understand something you have never understood before.”
“AVID has helped me academically and it has helped me organize my notes in class. AVID has taught me valuable lessons about life and how to use them. AVID has made life a lot easier by teaching me soft skills.”
A tribute to Black History Month created by AVID Site Team Member, Ms. Vann-Smith.
