Reflections

“Summer time and the living is easy” or so the song says. Vacation for teachers has been whittled down to a precious few weeks. If you are the type of teacher who wants to improve your skills, summer time means professional development. These workshops can be one day or a couple of weeks.

I have just returned from the capital city ~ Austin, where I attended an AVID conference. The acronym stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. The program is designed to help students take more rigorous classes in middle and high school with the final goal of attending a four- year university or college and graduating. The targeted students for this project is to reach those that have somewhat decent grades, first in their family to graduate from high school, low socio-economic background and other criteria. AVID teaches students organizational skills, acts as a mentor and gives support to ensure success for the student. We heard from real students who have been in the program or are still in it. The stories they shared, the obstacles they overcame brought tears to the eyes of many attendees. “Failure is not an option” was expressed several times over the five day conference.

Each campus that adopts AVID also has a site team that helps the coordinator of the program. All of our teachers will be using the Cornell Notes within their classrooms so that all students can benefit even if they are not in the program. Our campus is an inner city school with a 99% Hispanic population that is about 87% at risk. In plain English this means that too few of our students will graduate much less attend college. I attended this seminar because I feel with the correct motivation our students will acquire the skills and achieve their goals.

Adopting a new program on campus implies more work but in the long run it will pay off. I am anticipating the new academic year ~ the fires have been stoked.


~butterfly angel~


-p.s. I enjoyed being able to walk wherever I needed to go. The Convention Center and the hotel were within two blocks of each other. Along the Colorado River there is a walking/bike/jogging path for all to use. It was so easy to be motivated to exercise and it wasn’t a chore. Another plus, the entire city is wireless, so no need to pay for internet access. I plan to return for a non-business vacation ~ hopefully soon.

~b.a.~