Representatives from several Minnesota school districts spent the morning at Edinbrook Elementary School on April 12, where they took time to learn about the school’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) programming and how to implement it in their own schools.
Kristin Pengra-Anderson, Edinbrook’s academic support teacher, said the day began with an overview of AVID before representatives from Edinbrook’s student council led visitors around to different classrooms so they could see a variety of AVID practices and organizational strategies all around the school. They concluded with a student and teacher panel, where visitors could ask some of the school’s teachers and students about their experiences with AVID.
Mekia Heart from the AVID Center said that AVID programming strengthens what schools already do with their existing curriculum to accelerate learning, and to set common goals and language throughout the school to help students have more agency over their learning. She said these supports ensure that students receive rigorous instruction that prepares them for college and career. Edinbrook has had AVID fully implemented throughout their school since the 2016-17 school year.
