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Students Avid to Attend College Program Helps Keep Kids on Track

Posted on: Tuesday, 30 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

LANCASTER - New Vista Middle School eighth-grader Destinee Dicrisci already has her sights set on attending college, studying medicine and becoming a pediatrician.

The 13-year-old plans to stay on the college track with the help of a college prep program her school is the first in the Lancaster School District to have called AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination.

"All I know is that it's pretty hard to get into college because it costs a lot of money," Dicrisci said. "The AVID program helps us maintain good grades. If you stay in AVID in high school, maintain your grade-point average, maybe you can get a scholarship for college."

AVID targets bright middle-of-the-road students who because of family or socioeconomic backgrounds might not normally think of going to college. Many of them would be the first in their families to go to college.

The program is in its second year at New Vista Middle School and has a current enrollment of 75 to 80 students, up from 60 in the prior year.

To be in the program, students have to have a grade-point average between 2.0 and 3.5, fill out an application, and go through an interview process.

"We started it because we have programs for students who are exceptionally smart, such as GATE, but we didn't have one for the middle students, students who need that extra push to get into college," said Betty Gunn, AVID program coordinator at New Vista and one of the school's three AVID teachers.

"We have a college student who comes in and tutors two days a week. We teach them test-taking skills, study skills, organizational skills, and we become their advocate," Gunn added. "We tell them what courses to take in high school."

Last year, the AVID students went on field trips to California State University, Northridge, University of Southern California, and University of California, Santa Barbara, Gunn said.

In class, they find out what career fields might suit them by filling out a computer profile and typing in what their interests are.

They correspond with colleges to get more information about the institutions of higher learning.

"They have to know the language. They have to know what they need to do in order to get scholarships," Gunn said. "The earlier they start, they can break down those barriers and they are not afraid."

At a recent Lancaster School District board meeting, former New Vista AVID students who are now in the ninth grade spoke highly of the program.

Rebecca Reyes told trustees the program helped her to become more organized and has opened before her more avenues and challenges.

"During our regular class time, I was taught how to do research on colleges per my interest. To my surprise I did receive a response to my inquiries from Fullerton University. I will continue in my pursuit of a college education," Reyes said.

"Because of my AVID experience at New Vista Middle School, I am enrolled in the AVID program in high school," student Theodore Batcho said. "The most exciting field trip I have had was when we went to CSUN, USC and UC Santa Barbara. I know now that I would like to attend UC Santa Barbara when I graduate from high school and I know the requirements."

AVID was started in 1980 by a San Diego County teacher named MaryAnn Swanson and is now in 36 states and 11 foreign countries, Gunn said.

Among it's aims are to increase student performance and college eligibility among traditionally underserved and underrepresented students, such as minorities, and make college preparatory curricula accessible to all students.

Ninety-five percent of AVID students are enrolling in college and 89 percent of them are still enrolled two years later, an enrollment rate that is 75 percent higher than the national average and a retention rate that is 56 percent higher than the average, Gunn said.

According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, less than 75 percent of all eighth-graders graduate from high school in five years, and in urban schools the graduation rates dip below 50 percent, Gunn noted.

At the high school level, AVID students get tutoring from college students, help in improving study skills and time management, and enroll in Advanced Placement and honors classes.

With AVID programs starting as early as the fifth grade, it's never too early to begin preparing students to think about attending college, Gunn said.

Dicrisci agrees, saying the program has helped her in her math studies and study skills. "If any student asks how AVID is, I would recommend it to them because it will help them," she said.

Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

Source: Daily News; Los Angeles, Calif.

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