Thousands of Teachers Becoming Avid Fans Of AVID Teaching

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - More than 2,200 educators attended the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Summer Institute in July in downtown Philadelphia, including 100 from the School District, part of the 28,000 trained nationwide this summer.

Joined with educators from AVID member schools, the focus was on critical thinking, study and organization skills, and giving students the support they need to achieve post-secondary success.

Educators from all content areas and experiences attended with nearly 70 percent participants for the first-time and 30 percent from multiple years. Teachers received 14 hours of professional development in their job roles, and five hours for site team meetings to plan implementation at their school.

AVID's WICOR, the acronym for Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading, is a key component in all content strands, giving teachers tools to help engage all students and raise the rigor in all classes.

Sixty-one percent plan to attend a four year college; 30% plan an Associate's degree and 76.6% reported taking at least one AP course.

Read more motivating information at AVID.com.