With the current school year winding down and the 2021-22 academic session just around the corner, Fountain Hills High School is preparing to fine-tune and reinvigorate one of its success-oriented programs, AVID.

Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, was introduced at FHHS in 2017 as a program designed to give students a little push toward heightened academic success. The program was initially described as “empowering students to create their own educational and professional goals, then honing the skills necessary to tackle them.”

Athletic Director Willie Dudley has been heading up the program over the years but, with his impending retirement, the search is on for a new program head.

In the meantime, FHHS Assistant Principal Barrie Pinto has been in charge of an AVID site committee dedicated to preparing the program for the years ahead. The committee formed in the fall and consists of four teacher and four parents.

Over the months, the committee has been tasked with four goals, which Pinto highlighted during the March 10 School Board meeting:

*Establish a site team that can gather colleague feedback regarding existing thoughts about AVID. Use this data to start to change the climate of the campus to a college focus for all students.

*Determine professional development from AVID resources to start sharing the program with staff.

*Develop a site plan for the 2021-22 school year using the assessment tool in AVID.

*Establish the systems, usable school-wide strategies and expectations to implement AVID to further the program for students.

There are currently 16 students taking part in the AVID elective class, including eight freshmen, seven sophomores and one senior. The aim is to recruit enough students to break AVID into two classes next school year, one for freshmen and sophomores and another for juniors and seniors.

“We have discussed the need for a more aggressive recruitment plan, not only for incoming ninth graders, but some of our current students who, we feel, would benefit from the AVID elective,” Pinto explained. “In addition, we need a solid plan for retaining students, as we want students to enter into AVID in ninth grade and exit upon graduation…We have identified the need for a formal process in which students are initially identified for AVID.”

What is AVID?

Pinto explained that, to enhance the AVID program, there needs to be a better understanding of what AVID is. In short, it’s an elective class geared toward “middle to upper middle” academic students who would benefit from additional focus on everything from staying organized, setting and achieving goals and studying habits.

Pinto stressed this is not a program for at-risk students, but instead for those who have the potential for honors, pre-AP and AP work but need academic and emotional support, paired with rigor, to achieve those academic goals.

“AVID’s rigor is combined with a student’s own individual determination and the support of teachers, other AVID students, family, etc.,” Pinto continued.

For students who might be on the fence about attending a four-year university, for instance, AVID aims to provide them with the skills necessary to attend and graduate.

As for what AVID is not, Pinto explained that it is not a study hall, for students who consistently receive low grades or are unmotivated.

Looking ahead, Pinto said AVID will have a formal selection process based on specific criteria which would include an application and interview.

Students interested in learning more about AVID are encouraged to speak with their counselor for additional details.