AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It is a program that is designed to increase student learning and performance and prepares students in Years 7–12 to enter tertiary education at the end of their secondary school studies. AVID is an essential part of our strategy to create a school culture that supports high expectations and levels of achievement. Teachers use AVID strategies to develop students' critical thinking, literacy & mathematics skills and explicitly teach students the skills, mindset and behaviours necessary for academic success.
At Matraville Sports High School, we encourage all of our students to strive to be the best they can – we understand that not all students need or want to go to university, but the AVID Program will assist our students to become the kind of people employers will want to hire, companies will want to give apprenticeships to, and develop skills that would assist them to succeed.
Currently, students in years 7, 8, and 11 attend the AVID class three times a week and year 9 three times a fortnight. In this class they are initially taught skills and routines to get organised, stay organised and to use their time effectively. Later in the year they will look at goal setting, social skills and career development, all of which are designed to develop our students into positive members of society. They are also introduced to the Cornell Note making method – which gives them a structure for taking notes in classes and a way to use these notes to revise and study the material. They are asked to take notes in this manner in all of their classes.
Students are also taught WICOR (writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading) strategies in their AVID class and these strategies are also implemented in all content areas, to help develop deep understanding of the content. Other important elements of the AVID program are its support for leadership development and engagement with the community and with students' families.
AVID was developed in the USA in 1980. It now impacts approximately 1.5 million students annually in more than 5,600 schools across more than 16 countries. In the USA the AVID program has had great success and has now made a promising start in Australia. Currently there are 40 AVID teaching sites across Australia, with 6,500 students enrolled and 2,500 AVID trained teachers. AVID Australia has achieved its success in less than 5 years.
This is a new initiative for MSHS, although the program has been running since 1980, we are currently the only school to use the AVID system in Sydney. The school is providing meaningful and motivational professional learning for our staff to deliver WICOR strategies to our students.
Parents are also seen as an important partner in the AVID Program. We encourage parents to be involved with their student's learning, to encourage them to be organised, make good use of their time and to help them succeed in school and beyond.
For more information about AVID and the structure of the AVID program at Matraville Sports High School visit AVID Australia Website or contact Ms Tamara Amatto (AVID Coordinator)or Ms Nerida Walker (Principal).