Students at Clearview Elementary are getting a jump-start to success with the St. Cloud school system’s district-wide AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program initiative. 

 

AVID is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing students for college readiness and success in a global society, and Clearview fourth through sixth grade students are benefiting.

 

“AVID looks at best practices for teaching and how to embed them in the curriculum,” said Clearview Principal Sheri Rutar. “Part of the program is organizational strategies for students. It helps prepare them for that calendar of life.”

 

Teachers attend a weeklong training, and the program has an online bank of resources for them to use with lessons for every area of WICOR, which stands for Writing to learn, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading to learn.

 

“They’re really efficient, engaging lessons for kids,” said Rutar.

 

For many students, just knowing where to begin with their schoolwork is difficult. Rutar explained that every teacher and student has the same agenda to help with this, a three-ring binder in which everything is kept and subjects are colored coded. Teachers model the AVID principles by sharing their completed agendas with the students.

 

Students are taught study skills, learning skills and how to prioritize their homework.

 

“Each student fills out a time management sheet at the beginning of the program,” said fourth grade teacher Andrea Coulter. “Many of them are shocked when they first start and realize how much time they spend doing things like watching TV.”

 

She explained  part of AVID is discovering how much time everything takes. Teachers walk through the process with the students and teach them organizational and time management techniques.

 

“AVID is a perfect buy in at the fourth grade year because fifth and sixth grades start going faster and faster,” Coulter said. “It gets them excited and they see and experience the success of it.”

 

One area the fourth grade focuses on is the SLANT strategy, which is also known as active listening or whole body listening. SLANT is an acronym for Sit up straight, Lean forward and look at the speaker, Acknowledge, ask and answer questions, Nod your head, and Track the speaker. Every component of the strategy contributes to creating efficient learners and improving their performance.

 

Supervisors from the AVID corporation visit the school on a regular basis to assess how the program is working for them. They speak with individual students and ask them about their organizational strategies. 

 

At the end of the year the fourth grade holds a luncheon for the students who were chosen as the top monthly AVID achievers. 

 

“In order to be chosen for the month students had to have their agendas completed and signed each day,” explained Coulter. “Their weekly goals had to be written out, their homework written down and highlighted for the night. They also had to include their own events, [basketball practice, piano lessons, etc.] because it all helps with time management.”

 

She said the program becomes contagious; one student starts off well and shares their information with another student. That student shares the information with another student and so on.

 

“The nice part about the AVID program is it’s preparing them for their post-secondary education and career,” said Rutar. “A lot of kids wouldn’t have these skills without it.”