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?