AVID Program provides assistance for teens who want to go to college

By VICTORIA PARDINI
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

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Fernando Carrillo knew when he was in seventh grade that he wanted to go to college, but he also knew that it would be hard to do it on his own.

This is where the Advancement Via Individual Determination, or the AVID program, came in. AVID is an elective class that aids primarily students who are first-generation college applicants. It's a support network designed to help these students enter a four-year university. In addition, it helps teens who don't have anyone at home who can help.

"I always wanted to go to college," Fernando said. "Without this program, it would be pretty hard to get in."

However, budget cuts are about to affect AVID. Four high school AVID programs, as well as one junior high program, will be cancelled. Modesto High is one of only two AVID programs that will remain, along with Downey.

Amy Chavkin, AVID adviser at Modesto High School, said that because of the cuts, the Modesto High AVID program cannot be expanded. In addition, training for AVID teachers will most likely decrease, and field trips students take to check out colleges will no longer be paid for. The students must pay on their own through fund raising.

Nevertheless, Chavkin said that students who are interested in the AVID program but do not have the AVID program at their school can apply for an inner-district transfer. Also, high schools without the program next year still want to create a support system for students.

Students have found many advantages and gains from the AVID program.

It worked for Laura Sanchez, a Modesto High senior and three-year member of AVID.

"At first, I didn't get good grades," she said. "A teacher encouraged me and got me into it (AVID) to make a better future for myself."

The AVID program teaches study skills, and provides tutoring and study groups to help teens get into four-year universities. Seventy-five percent of 2006 AVID graduates were accepted into colleges, according to AVIDonline.org.

At Modesto High School, of the 36 seniors enrolled in the program, 27 are set to attend four-year universities next fall, while the other nine are attending junior colleges. Of the 27 students, 12 are receiving grants and aid that cover the entire expense of college.

Also at Modesto High School, in a three-year period, the rate of students going to a four-year college rose from 20 to 30 percent, and AVID organizers think their program was a big factor.

Said Chavkin, "I think for Modesto High School, it's done a lot for our student body, and it's done a lot for our students to be successful in CP (college prep)."

AVID has specially-trained teachers and tutors, who integrate valuable experience, as they are primarily former AVID students now in college. They give teens role models.

Said Annita Sieng, Modesto High School graduate and a six-year member of AVID, "My favorite part was the tutorials, and getting together and letting others help you."

AVID also organizes a three-day tour of colleges twice a year. Students have gone both to Southern California, including San Diego and Los Angeles, and to Oregon. The group averages seven to 10 colleges in a three-day period.

"What their parents can't do for them, we're able to do in one weekend," Chavkin said.

The field trips give teens an introduction to campus life. Students see first-hand why they are working so hard to reach college.

"My favorite part was the field trips to colleges and seeing what the whole campus and atmosphere is like," said Tyree Hayes, a three-year AVID member at Modesto High School.

The program gave the teens the opportunity to be educated in what it takes to get into and afford college.

Said Yareli Lobato, a two-year member of the program and a graduate of Modesto High School, "I learned more about scholarships and how they can help you and it's made me more aware of what colleges there are and what they look for."

"I wanted to do something with my life," said Fernando. "I wanted to get a good education so I could get a good job and get money. I didn't want to be struggling or broke."

Fernando is going to California State University, Chico, next year. Yareli is going to a community college with hopes of transferring to the University of San Francisco. Both Laura and Annita are going to California State University, Stanislaus, to major in health fields and psychology. Tyree plans to go to a college in Texas and major in business management, and return to the valley to branch out to other businesses.

Chavkin notes that 70 percent of AVID graduates express interest in coming back to the area, creating a more educated local workforce due to AVID.

Finally, Chavkin notes the bond that comes from being a part of the AVID program.

"You watch them grow up, watch them mature, watch them expand their skills," she said. "You see joys, and you see bad times that come. We pester, poke, prod, encourage, share joys, and keep them focused. You're giving them an opportunity they might not have otherwise had."

Victoria Pardini is a junior at Modesto High School and a member of The Bee's Teens in the Newsroom journalism program.