Like many high school students, 16-year-old Ja’mon Johnson said he was bored with school. It showed in his behavior and grades, which were dismal at best. A smart yet highly unmotivated student, he was falling through the academic cracks.
“I was failing because I didn’t have anything challenging me,” said Ja’mon, a sophomore at Carnahan High School.
He said he has always desired to go to college, but didn’t know how to get there. His chance came with AVID, a new program that puts underachieving students on the college track.
“It pushed me to do better, and it also helped me to be a better person,” Ja’mon said.
The St. Louis Public Schools is the only district in Missouri to incorporate AVID, known as Advancement Via Individual Determination. The district recently received a $2.9 million grant to add more college preparatory courses in its curricula.
“We’re trying to grow a college-going culture,” said SLPS AVID Director Linda Bell. “We want our students to know that college is a viable option, and not just for ‘smart kids.’”
AVID got its start 28 years ago when educator Mary Catherine Swanson developed it in response to a court-ordered integration policy. Swanson, a former high school teacher in San Diego, believed that low-income minority students were falling behind because they were not given opportunities to succeed. She worried that they might be stereotyped as non-college material. In 1980, she enrolled 100 minority students stuck in the academic middle into a comprehensive college readiness course called AVID.
“The first senior AVID class of 30 found 28 enrolling in four-year colleges and two in community colleges,” Swanson said during a recent interview. “Today, all have graduated from four-year institutions.”
Swanson’s program has since turned into a nationwide movement boasting more than 3,500 schools across 45 states and 15 countries. The St. Louis Public Schools has had AVID for three years now and is using the program to boost its college enrollment rates.
The yearlong program helps students with grade point averages ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 perform at much higher academic levels. Typically, they are the first in their family to attend college, have special circumstances or are historically undeserved in four-year colleges.
“It’s a bridge to get kids from where they are to Advanced Placement,” Bell said. “If a kid is willing to work hard, we give them the tools and they can accomplish great things.”
The district currently has 10 high schools and six middle schools using the AVID curriculum, which is based on a model of reading, writing, inquiry and collaboration. During daily AVID classes, students learn how to study, take notes and manage their time just like college students.
To help them are AVID tutors.
“A lot of students just need a little boost, and that’s what we’re here for,” said Kelly Taylor, an AVID tutor and student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Students like Maureen Poindexter, 16, say college felt out of reach before they entered AVID.
“This class is pushing me more and more to do better,” Maureen said.
“If I want to get to where I want to go, I have to go to college. It’s about getting an education and doing what I have to do … surviving.”
Students enroll in AVID by choice and take the class as an elective. In addition to research projects and community service, AVID students prepare for the ACT and SAT exams and take trips to college campuses.
Often times, they take higher-level courses, such as honors and Advanced Placement, in addition to AVID.
“They’ve set goals for themselves and I see them sticking to the plan,” said Candice DeBoise, an AVID teacher at Carnahan High School.
Teachers like DeBoise are key to a successful AVID program. They serve as a “coach, cheerleader and cop,” watching over their students’ entire school day, and sometimes intervening for students when home becomes seemingly difficult for them.
“She’s like our mom,” ninth-grade AVID student Mercedes Brown said of DeBoise. “If she sees us doing wrong, she’ll call us out. She’ll check on us in class to see how we’re doing.”
AVID student Amanda Ivy said, “We’re like a family. We might fight and bicker, but we all still love each other.”
As Ja’mon continues to improve in school, he says college is beginning to look more feasible. He has already chosen two possible colleges where he plans to study theology. He aspires to become a minister, and someday he wants to preach at the same church where he gave his first sermon.
He said, “It doesn’t matter who you are, don’t give up. You can do anything no matter what your lifestyle is or where you come from.”
For more information, contact Linda Bell at 314-345-4474 or Linda.Bell@slps.org. To become an AVID tutor, contact Tiffany King at 314-345-4478 or Tiffany.King@slps.org.