Summer Institute Speakers

In my early days as an AVID teacher I remember thinking that my students didn't have personal stories that compared to the stories I heard at the summer institute lunches. I was wrong. My kids have been through many adverse and challenging situations. While no one from my classes has been selected to speak yet, the writing has been eye opening.

AVID needs teachers and student speakers for Summer Institutes. Your class might not have a writer selected for presentation, but having your students produce their biography helps them improve writing and you will be surprised about how much more you will know about them. Your personal story might inspire someone else. You never now until you try.

Student essays are due to AVID Center by February 6th. Teacher essay are due February 20th. Additional information can be found on the website at www.avidonline.org or you can email me for guidelines provided by Western Division.

Philosophical Chairs of the Week

You should always tell the truth.

Got a good Philosophical Chairs question or statement? Share the wealth. Blog it for all to see.

Philosophical Chairs of the Week

1. From Teaching Tolerance magazine's January 2009 edition...Do more people in Africa live in cities (government, business, paved roads, infrastructure, etc) or outside of cities (villages, tribal communities, farms, dwellings outside city boundaries, etc)?
2. In a hundred years, who will be remembered more Barack Obama or Martin Luther King Jr.?
3. If you get hit should you hit back?

We need your ideas for Philosophical Chairs. Post them on this blog.

Mission and Rigor

Do you have AVID's Mission hanging on your classroom walls, in the school library, in the staff room and in student portfolios? How about the definition of rigor?

AVID's mission is to ensure that ALL students, and most especially the least
served students who are in the middle:
1. Will succeed in rigorous curriculum.
2. Will complete a college preparatory path.
3. Will enter mainstream activities of the school
4. Will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges.
5. Will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a
democratic society.

Academic rigor means an understanding of content that is complex, ambiguous, and personally and emotionally challenging.

thinkfinity.org

I got to go to Washington's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction's (OSPI) annual conference last week. While I was on my way to the first day's activities, I passed by an electronic freeway sign (the ones that tell you the pace of traffic, accidents are ahead, etc.). The one I passed said "test, test, test". I thought it was especially appropriate given the amount of time assessment would be discussed at the conference.

While at the conference, I did hear about a great teacher resource. Thinkfinity.org has over 50,000 free lesson plans and other teacher resources. It is a Verizon website. There is a great keyword search and several layers of current event projects as well as lessons and ideas for every subject. There are even inquiry specific lessons.

What websites are your favorites for teacher resources? Please share by posting.

Struggling AVID Students

When do you exit a student from AVID? AVID says we need to give students three years of opportunity before we can expect change. That being said, when do you decide that a student is too much of a negative distraction for the classroom?

Probation is an alternative but too many AVID schools do not define it adequately. Here are some suggestions for developing a probation plan:
1. Discuss the contract of AVID and review with students often. Do students have access to their contract?
2. Work as a site to define "struggling".
3. Design a probation plan and make sure students know the plan before they are placed on probation. Make sure to include timelines for success or failure, make probation plans specific and defined (ambiguity leads to confusion) and include parent communication.
4. Design meaningful probation penalties that will lead to improvement (no field trips, no guest speakers so students will have extra time to improve school work, mandatory study hall, etc).
5. Give ample opportunities for students to make amends.

Email me for a short and meaningful powerpoint presentation of 11 slides from AVID that detail key ideas and questions for you and your Site Team to consider when deciding what to do with students that struggle.

What have you done to help struggling AVID students while keeping them accountable?

AVID in the Northwest recently had an AVID Elective Teacher meeting. According to participants, the chance to share ideas was the single greatest portion of the training.

This blog is dedicated to improving quality by sharing AVID strategy for classrooms and schools.