Heritage High School in Evergreen Public Schools will discontinue a college readiness program next school year because it no longer has a grant to pay for it.
The discontinued program, Advancement Via Individual Determination — more commonly known as “AVID” is a “global nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other postsecondary opportunities,” according to the program’s website. More than 1.2 million students in 44 states and 16 other countries have participated in the college-readiness program.
Schools must pay a fee to use AVID’s curriculum and teacher training. The district was paying about $11,000 annually to reach 375 students at Heritage High School, Frontier Middle School and Covington Middle School. That breaks down to $29.33 per student.
Heritage High School’s grant to pay for AVID ended mid-year this school year, but the school budgeted to pay for the program through the end of the school year.
“At the beginning of 2015-2016, we knew the AVID grant was running out mid-year, so we needed to change the name from AVID to Gateway to College, but the content remained true to AVID principles,” said Gail Spolar, district spokeswoman.
Without the grant, Heritage would have to find additional money or cut something else to pay for it, said Bill Oman, executive director of secondary education.
When Heritage students forecasted their classes for next year, only about 20 students in each grade level signed up for the program, said Spolar. The school has almost 1,900 students. School administrators looked at the decreasing numbers of students enrolling in the program to determine whether there are enough students for viable classes.
Filling the gap
To fill the need, district officials said Heritage plans to offer a one-semester College 101 course next year. Open to all grade levels, College 101 focuses on helping students fill out college applications, practice writing college essays and more. Currently Union High School is the only district school offering the class.
AVID is an elective class in which a cohort, or group of students, stays together throughout all four years of high school. Currently, students invest eight semesters — four high school credits — to AVID. That’s a significant commitment and may prevent students from taking foreign language, band, choir, art or other electives.
Heritage High School won’t drop its existing AVID/Gateway to College students mid-program, said Oman. Students currently participating in the program can continue via new before- and after-school classes beginning in the fall. Bus transportation will be provided. These before- and after-school intervention classes will be offered not just at Heritage, but at the district’s other three comprehensive high schools and will offer extra help in math, English and other core classes as well as preparing students for college.
Upset students
Some Heritage students have expressed dismay about AVID/Gateway to College ending. Adam Aguilera, who teaches English at Heritage High School, is not an AVID teacher, but he says he was contacted by students who were upset about the program’s demise.
“A lot of students are passionate about saving this program,” said Aguilera. “It’s their opportunity for a better life after high school. How can you put a price tag on that?” he asked. “They deserve a first-class education regardless of their ZIP code. Our school is deserving of having the same equity and opportunities as any affluent school in the area.”
About 140 students wrote letters asking the district to reinstate the program. Three students delivered the letters to the board of directors Tuesday. During the public comment portion of the school board meeting, two current Heritage High School students and one graduate read letters about the impact the program had on them. The students asked the school board to consider keeping AVID at Heritage.
“This class has taught me more about life than any other class I’ve taken,” Vanessa Highsmith, a junior at Heritage, read from her letter to the board. She referred to the program as “a resource all students need.”
Keaton Alexander, 21, graduated from Heritage in 2013 and participated in AVID in high school and at Covington Middle School. Alexander, who is studying business administration at the University of Portland, is beginning his senior year summer quarter. He said that without AVID, he wouldn’t have known where to begin in applying for college because his parents hadn’t attended university.
“In my household, there wasn’t much knowledge about college,” Alexander said. “It was hard for me as a middle schooler or a ninth grader to imagine that what I did now would matter. It made me comprehend that my GPA as a ninth grader would make a difference to what college I could attend.”
Alexander toured several Northwest colleges with AVID and also with the Heritage High School Band. Now his sister, who is involved in Gateway to College as a Heritage freshman, has toured the University of Oregon and University of Portland. Alexander accompanied her on the University of Oregon tour.
“This class actually exposes students to what college is. It gives them a taste of what college is like by taking them there,” he said.
He’s shown his sister around the University of Portland campus many times.
“We talk about college a lot,” he said. “A few years ago, she had no idea what was out there. AVID really gave her exposure to a variety of options that are out there.”
Alexander attributes much of his success to Gateway to College and AVID.
“AVID prepared me to be more independent because we learned good studying habits,” he said. “They encourage study groups. They teach you different note-taking methods. It’s something I could use even in high school. Starting my freshman year of college with those skills and tools made my freshman year a lot easier. AVID provides resources, especially for underrepresented students.”
Vancouver’s approach
While Evergreen district is phasing out AVID, Vancouver Public Schools is increasing the number of schools and students participating in the program. It was launched in the 2007-08 school year with 25 students at McLoughlin Middle School. The next year, the program expanded to five sites and served 225 students. By 2013-14, Vancouver offered AVID in 13 schools and served 1,200 students. This year, it’s in 17 schools and reaches 2,375 students. Vancouver offers the program in high schools, but also has expanded to middle schools and even to six elementary schools. Next school year, Vancouver will add three additional elementary schools to the program.
“We’re in program expansion mode right now. We’ve really embraced AVID systemwide,” said Travis Campbell, Vancouver’s chief academic officer. “AVID is one of our priorities of our strategic plan.”
Vancouver has used some grants for its AVID program, it has also committed money from its regular budget, according to spokeswoman Pat Nuzzo.
Layne Manning, Vancouver’s curriculum director, said AVID teaches students how to frame questions, how to find answers and how to advocate for themselves. She added that those teachers who are trained in AVID practices use those practices in science, math and their other classes.
Manning said the district is seeing AVID’s benefits in students. Among graduating seniors who participated in AVID since middle school, 85 percent were accepted into four-year colleges and 98 percent graduated from high school on time. The average high school GPA for these students was 3.1. Many of them take Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and achieve at high levels, Manning added.
Among graduating seniors who participated in AVID, 71 percent qualified for free- or reduced-price lunch and 26 percent were English Language Learners.
The district selects which students will benefit from AVID. At the secondary level, students have to apply and are interviewed.
“We want kids who will make a commitment. It’s hard work,” Manning said. “We want students who will make a real intentional choice.”
Evergreen’s alternative
The Evergreen district “is replacing the program with more boots-on-the-ground personnel in all high schools,” said Oman.
With more students who qualify for free- or reduced-lunch, he said, the district added transition coaches in all middle and high schools last fall. They meet one-on-one to help students transition to more rigorous secondary coursework. In the high schools, they are often are called graduation coaches and help students consider a post-graduation path.
Certain students who would benefit from that one-on-one connection are selected to work with the transition coaches. These are students who might have been identified with AVID before, Oman said.
He added that AVID focuses on certain benchmark students, but instead, the district has taken the position to embrace and include all students in determining their future plans.
“The students are getting extra help, but also can be doing some college-bound things,” Oman said. “It gets back to the district’s push for no drop outs.”
