AVID and USA Funds Help Indiana College-Bound Students Prepare for Postsecondary Success

A group of college-bound Lawrence Central High School graduates are better prepared to begin college this fall thanks to the help of AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, and USA Funds^®.

USA Funds recently approved a $70,000 grant to support the AVID program during the 2005-2006 academic year — the fourth year that USA Funds will be the primary sponsor of the AVID program in the Lawrence Township school system on the northeast side of Indianapolis.

For the local AVID program, 2005 is a milestone year, featuring the first Lawrence Central graduating class to include AVID participants. In 2001 school officials selected 18 academically average middle-school students to take part in a pilot program including a rigorous curriculum and additional support from teachers, peers and tutors. The expected outcome for the AVID program was improved standardized test scores, greater advanced-level course enrollments and an increased number of students pursuing and attending college.

Fourteen students from the original AVID group now are enrolled for classes at various postsecondary schools in Indiana and across the country. With the support of the AVID program during high school, the students enrolled in more-rigorous course work and increased their overall grade-point averages. Many of the students will be first-generation college attendees, from families that might not have considered college as an option or goal.

Following the success of the pilot in 2001, AVID now is active in all five Lawrence Township middle and high schools (Belzer, Craig and Fall Creek Valley middle schools, and Lawrence Central and Lawrence North high schools). Nearly 150 middle- and high-school students currently participate in the township’s AVID program.

The local AVID program is modeled after a successful program in California founded in 1980. The national AVID program serves students from more than 1,900 middle and high schools in 30 states and 15 countries.

Student Support System
A support system for students serves as the base of the AVID program’s success. That support includes the following elements:

• An elective class that meets daily.
• Structured time with peers and a trained mentor-counselor tutor. 
• Instruction on the Cornell note-taking method.
• An AVID organization binder for use in all classes.
• Training for effective study skills.
• Family workshops.
• Writing instruction.
• Motivational presentations by guest speakers.
• Training on study skills specifically for college-entrance and placement exams.
• Field trips to colleges and businesses.

According to Christie Love, executive director of the Lawrence Township School Foundation, there is a huge commitment among teachers, tutors and students of the program. As a result, even non-AVID classroom teachers see the value of the strategies used in AVID and are using some of them in their own classrooms.

The mother of one Lawrence Central graduate and AVID participant noticed a remarkable improvement in her daughter’s study habits after her daughter’s involvement in the program. “Emily had the skills to study for a test, but AVID helped her hone those skills and, in the process, built her confidence in her knowledge of the subject matter, thus improving her grades,” said Sheila Blankenship. “AVID pushed Emily to excel and take courses that she could handle but never felt she could before. To say these skills will help her as she enters her freshman year at Marian College is an understatement.”

Since 1990, more than 30,000 AVID students have graduated from high school and gone on to college.  Ninety-five percent of AVID students report enrolling in two- and four-year institutions. Among Lawrence Central’s 15 AVID graduates, the college-going rate is 93 percent.