Danville District 118 School Board members agreed this week to spend $150-thousand dollars to send seventy-five educators to an AVID forum this summer in Dallas, Texas. The vote came after principals and others in the AVID program lined up to tell the board the program is helping student improvement. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.
Amber Davis, Principal of Liberty Elementary School, was one of those who addressed the school board….
{AUDIO: “AVID is not what we teach. We teach science, social studies, language arts. AVID is how you teach it. So, it’s very integral to our building and our district…I feel like we’re getting a new breath into Liberty and AVID is one of those key pieces.”}
Robin Fluno, Principal of South View Upper Elementary School, said AVID has had a positive impact on her students…
{AUDIO: “Getting the kids up and engaged. Not only is it for English Language Arts and Math, but it also is part of the attendance. Because if kids like what they’re learning, and they feel engaged – then they come to school. So it also should help with our attendance.”}
The AVID program teaches students different strategies to become more engaged in the content, according to local educators.
Also during this week’s school board meeting, two Danville High School students were recognized for earning the Impact Award for donating blood. Rachel Seibert, the blood driver coordinator at DHS, introduced them to the school board….
{AUDIO: “This is Sophia Foley. She’s a senior. She has donated six times – six pints of blood while in high school. And we hope she continues that as she continues on into her adult life. And then we have Colton Morgan. Colton has donated eight times, so he has donated a full gallon at this time.”}
Morgan explained why he donates blood…
{AUDIO: “The main reason why I decided to help people, like by donating, is because with me donating it does save lives. And it also provides me the opportunity to help others with benefits. So, I’m glad to be able to do something like that.”}
Seibert teaches math at Danville High School. She noted that each pint of blood that is donated has the potential of saving three lives. So, Seibert added that Sophia has potentially saved 18 lives, and Colton has potentially saved 24 lives.
