Danville School District 118’S AVID program was in the spotlight today (Thursday, March 5th) as two local schools hosted some special visitors. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. A key goal of the program is to keep kids engaged giving them the confidence and desire to attend college.
Visitors to Mark Denman Elementary School and North Ridge Middle School were escorted by student hosts as they visited classrooms to learn about AVID’s success.
Ten-year-old Eva Harper (shown in photo) is in the fourth grade at Mark Denman School. She explained how AVID has helped her….
{‘’Well in first grade, and lower grades I was not really a shy kid – but I like judged people by the cover and how other people said they were. And how AVID – like the collaboration skills and stuff, it helped me open up,’’ said Harper. ‘’And now I’m one of the most extroverted kids at our school – so that’s kind of cool,’’ added Harper laughing.}
Lisa Palinski, a fourth grade teacher at Mark Denman Elementary School, thinks AVID has had a positive impact…
{‘’We are teaching kids different strategies to help them become more engaged with the content. We are also teaching them organizational skills that will help them better in life as they continue to get older,’’ said Palinski during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News.
(Some students at Danville’s Mark Denman Elementary School participate in activities Thursday where they traveled from station to station in the classroom and wrote down things they have learned in class.)
A few school administrators from other cities traveled to Danville to see how the program works. Some are considering implementing it in their districts.
