Fall is the season for applying to college, and the 22 seniors in Sonoma Valley High’s AVID – Advancement Via Individual Determination – class are no exception. The computer lab hums with energy as the students write away, stopping occasionally to ask a question or encourage each other. Their teacher, the AVID coordinator Tammy Rivara, circulates among the students, who are earnestly focused on the required forms and essays. What is unusual about these students from the Class of 2010 is the vast majority will be first generation, or even the first ever, in their family to go to college.
Getting into college is more than just grades and tests. It requires jumping through a lot of hoops – ones that are familiar to those who have already been there. Since almost all of the AVID students are first-generation college bound, in their senior year the program helps them with the complicated steps of applying to colleges.
As I watched them in the classroom in small study groups and in the computer lab working on their essays and applications for college, I was struck by the spirit of sharing that filled the room. These students care about each other and are working together so they all reach their goals. Rivara confirmed this, and added that not only do they help each other, but all 22 also serve as peer tutors in a freshman, sophomore, and junior level AVID class.
AVID is a nationwide program. Although the acronym emphasizes the individual, interactive learning is fundamental to the program. The aim of AVID is to help academically average students succeed in advanced classes by giving them the tools and skills they need. The program is designed to “level the playing field for students without a college-going tradition in their family.” It is not a remedial program. It does target the achievement gap between whites and Latinos which has persisted for years at our local high school, and across the state and nation.
Many in this group first learned English when they started school. Almost all are bilingual, bi-literate and proud of it, with some having already earned college credit by scoring well on the Advanced Placement Spanish language exam.
Each year the group takes a day trip to visit colleges. Over the four years students have seen a variety of campuses, including UC Berkeley, Sonoma State University, St. Mary’s College of California, Dominican, San Jose State, Stanford and UC Santa Cruz. Rivara points out these visits are one of the most powerful motivators. “When the kids come to a campus, take the tour, see college students, visit a class . . .they begin to understand what they are trying to accomplish.”
The students talk a lot about their parents who, together with their child, the AVID coordinator and an administrator, have to sign the AVID contract. Lupita Padilla hopes to go to college to “accomplish her dream and so her parents can be proud of her.” Manuel Heredia, aspiring architect, wants to be able to help his mother, and Jennifer Rivas plans to support her parents when she is a therapist. Christian Palominos sees a college education as the opportunity “to accomplish the things my parents weren’t able to accomplish.”
This is the season for feeling thankful for our opportunities and successes. It is a good moment to consider supporting this program which is creating an opportunity and an avenue to success for students in our Valley.
AVID Coordinator Tammy Rivara identified
three ways you might help:
1) Come to talk to the AVID students about your own career path
2) Provide a community service opportunity for AVID students
3) Contribute money for the annual field trip to visit colleges
Please get in touch with Rivara at TRivara@sonomavly.k12.ca.us
Anna Pier is Director of Educational Programs for CommonBond Foundation, whose mission is to bridge the cultures of Sonoma.
