Friday, February 15, 2008

McKinney North High School honored as an AVID National Demonstration School

By Pegasus News wire

McKinney North High School, one of three high schools in the McKinney Independent School District, recently received the honor of being named an AVID National Demonstration School. The school is one of only 100 other schools in the nation to earn the distinction through a rigorous application, screening and review process by the National AVID organization.

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a college preparatory program for students who have potential for success in advanced academics programs in high school and college, but who need a support system outside of the content-area classes in order to achieve success in rigorous curricula. Students in the program take an AVID elective class that has a curriculum emphasizing strong academic and personal skills necessary for college or university success. In addition, the students are required to take Advanced Placement or Pre-Advanced Placement courses and are given academic support for those courses by college-age tutors.

Adriana Fletes, Tyke Chisholm and Terra Boyko are the AVID teachers at McKinney North High School. In addition, a campus site team composed of teachers, administrators and counselors provide support for all aspects of the AVID program. The AVID program at McKinney North serves 90 students in grades 9-12 and is currently in its sixth year of existence.

The school began the process to become an AVID National Demonstration School in 2007 by submitting an extensive application to the AVID national office. The application required detailed information on the exemplary features of the McKinney North High program and the concepts and strategies the campus will share with other school districts. Demonstration Schools host visitors from schools nationwide that want to implement or improve their existing AVID programs.

A team of reviewers, including the National Director of Research and Evaluation, visited McKinney North High on Monday, Feb. 11 for evaluation. The reviewers met with AVID instructors, administrators and AVID students and visited classrooms to observe strategies and tutoring being implemented. The reviewers also studied documentation illustrating that the program routinely implements AVID essentials throughout the school. The AVID Essentials focus on appropriate student selection and enrollment in rigorous courses. In addition, the AVID Essentials also include an emphasis on writing, inquiry and collaboration, tutoring and data collection.

The McKinney North High School AVID program received accolades for the AVID student’s deep attachment to the AVID program and clear evidence of school-wide support. Other areas highlighted by the reviewers were the leadership and performance of McKinney North High seniors, as well as the quality of tutorials within the AVID classroom.

“The AVID program at McKinney North High School is outstanding because of the deep involvement of the campus principal, Jimmy Spann, the campus AVID coordinator, Adriana Fletes, and the active support of the teaching and counseling staff,” said Matt Bolinger, McKinney ISD Coordinator of Advanced Academics and the district’s AVID Director. “Mr. Spann actively supports and promotes the mission of AVID. His primary focus is to create an academic atmosphere at McKinney North High School; Mrs. Fletes is a creative AVID coordinator who is passionate about kids, and the site team members continuously work at helping students open the doors for college success.”

McKinney ISD offers AVID in grades 7-12 at all district middle schools and high schools. More than 600 students are enrolled in the AVID program district-wide for the 2007-2008 school year.

Source: McKinney ISD

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