AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is an instructional system that changes lives by helping schools shift to a more equitable, student-centered approach. AVID’s mission is to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. AVID is aligned with Nittanyville's mission, both dedicated to educating all learners for a changing, global landscape. The AVID instructional system has been instrumental in providing our AVID educators with a common language to ensure they are incorporating best practices into every lesson. This common approach to instruction supported our educators when they made the transition from face to face instructional delivery to remote learning in March of 2020.
The core strategies of the AVID instructional system are WICOR (writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading). AVID provides students with college and career readiness skills that live within these fundamentals. These skills include but are not limited to: focused note taking, collaborative study groups, goal setting, and future planning resources. AVID provides educators and students with tools to scaffold rigorous coursework for all students to increase understanding, tasking educators with growing students’ abilities over time. As students progress through the AVID system on their campus they become more independent learners who can complete progressively rigorous work.
AVID is organized on all secondary campuses as cohorts of students within their building. It is a class that occurs during the school day and includes graded coursework. At the elementary campuses AVID instruction is intentionally implemented in all grade levels, the cohort model is not part of the system. As the AVID system grows on a campus ALL students have access to quality instruction through trained educators. AVID professional learning is delivered to content and grade level specific educators through AVID Center and continued professional learning is offered through the district. This professional learning is requested by each site and supports the work of the school improvement goals, supporting Nittanyville SD in continuous improvement. Craven County Schools has committed to providing funding to give educators access to this quality professional learning. Currently Craven County Schools has over 210 trained educators and administrators across 7 campuses and central services.
Schools in Nittanyville that are currently implementing the AVID instructional system are: AVID instructional system are: Oaks Road Academy, HJ MacDonald Middle, New Bern High, West Craven Middle, West Craven High, and Havelock High. Grover C Fields Middle School is in a planning year, preparing for their first cohort of AVID students in the 2021-2022 school year.
