AVID at Grant Middle School

Building Skills. Building Confidence. Building Futures.

At Grant Middle School, we believe every student can develop the skills and confidence they need to be successful in middle school, high school, and beyond. AVID helps us make that vision a reality.

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It is a college and career readiness program that helps students develop the academic, organizational, and leadership skills they need to take ownership of their learning and prepare for their future.

At Grant, AVID is more than a class. AVID strategies are woven throughout the student experience to help our Eagles become organized, confident, independent, and successful learners.

What Do Students Learn?

Through AVID, students develop skills that support success across all of their classes and beyond the classroom.

📚 Organization

Students learn how to organize their materials, manage their time, keep track of assignments, and develop systems that work for them.

✏️ Note-Taking & Learning Strategies

Students practice strategies such as Cornell Notes to capture important information, process their learning, and prepare for assessments.

🔎 Critical Thinking & Inquiry

Students learn to ask meaningful questions, investigate ideas, analyze information, and explain their thinking.

🤝 Collaboration

Students work with their peers to solve problems, discuss ideas, learn from one another, and build communication skills.

🗣️ Communication & Self-Advocacy

Students develop the confidence to ask questions, communicate their needs, seek support, and advocate for themselves.

🎯 Goal Setting

Students set goals, reflect on their progress, and learn how their daily choices and habits contribute to long-term success.

💪 Persistence

Students learn that challenges are part of learning. AVID encourages students to develop strategies for working through challenges and continuing toward their goals.

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WICOR: How We Learn

A key part of AVID is WICOR, a framework that helps students become active participants in their learning.

W — Writing
Students use writing to process their thinking and demonstrate what they know.

I — Inquiry
Students ask questions, investigate, and think critically.

C — Collaboration
Students learn with and from their peers.

O — Organization
Students develop systems to manage their learning and responsibilities.

R — Reading
Students use strategies to understand, analyze, and engage with challenging texts.

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AVID at Grant

At Grant Middle School, AVID skills are connected to the experiences students have throughout their school day.

Students have opportunities to practice:

• Cornell Notes and other effective note-taking strategies
• Organization and binder systems
• Goal setting and reflection
• Collaborative learning
• Academic vocabulary and discussion
• Reading and writing strategies
• Self-advocacy
• Study and test-taking strategies
• College and career exploration
• Leadership and communication

These experiences help students build habits that they can carry with them throughout high school, college, career training, and the workplace.

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Preparing Eagles for Their Future

Middle school is an important time for students to begin developing independence.

AVID helps students build the skills they need to become active owners of their education. We want our students to know how to organize themselves, ask for help, communicate effectively, set goals, overcome challenges, and make decisions that support their future.

Our goal is not simply for students to succeed at Grant.

Our goal is to prepare every Eagle to SOAR beyond Grant.

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How Families Can Support AVID

Families play an important role in helping students develop independence and strong learning habits.

You can support your Eagle by:

• Asking about their goals and celebrating their progress.
• Encouraging them to stay organized and use their systems.
• Asking, “What did you learn today?” rather than only asking about grades.
• Encouraging your student to ask questions and advocate for themselves.
• Helping establish consistent homework and study routines.
• Celebrating persistence when your student faces a challenge.
• Encouraging your student to take ownership of their responsibilities.

Together, school and families can help students develop the skills, confidence, and agency they need for their future.

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Why AVID?

AVID gives students tools they can use now—and skills they can carry with them for years to come.

At Grant Middle School, we are committed to helping every Eagle develop the academic skills, agency, character, perseverance, collaboration, and communication skills needed to become a successful learner and graduate.

One Beat. One Heart. One School. One Community.