2009 AVID National Conference

Taking a Stand: Leadership for College Readiness

San Antonio, TX
March 06-07, 2009

AVID National Conference Featuring keynote speakers Michelle Rhee, Chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools, and Dr. Monte Moses, Superintendent of Colorado’s Cherry Creek School District, and former National Superintendent of the Year.

Co-sponsored by AVID Center and the College Board, National Conference offered superintendents, district leaders, principals, teacher-leaders, counselors and school board members an opportunity to engage in a dialogue on the crafting of a plan to close the achievement gap; a plan that is cost-effective, proven, and easy to replicate.

Participants engaged in dialogue, presentations, and sessions from practitioners on the front lines. Superintendents, site administrators, teachers, and students shared their stories and insights on:

Access to rigorous curriculum for all
Districtwide strategies for closing the achievement gap
Unique collaborative models
Systemic AVID and College Board strategies across the curriculum
How schools can benefit from an AVID/College Board collaboration

Conference Proceedings:

2009 National Conference: Conference Proceedings

Select Event Presentations:

2009 National Conference: Opening Keynote, Monte Moses

Inspiring, Leading and Taking Risks in the Service of Education
Accelerate educational access and equity by expanding beyond content, to practices based on adolescent brain development, and the innate genius and cultural identity of each and every child. Especially useful is the differentiation of instruction to increase access to rigorous and cognitively demanding curriculum for students who range from English learners to Advanced Placement (AP)®. Finally, let’s reconnect the educator with the core passions that animate the endeavor of leading and learning.

Presenters: Billy Madigan, AVID Teacher, Steele Canyon Charter, Spring Valley, CA; Valarie Martinez, AVID Regional

Student Success Through AVID and AP Classes
Student Success Through AVID and AP Classes (Handouts)
The AP and AVID programs are natural allies in preparing students for college-readiness and success in rigorous academic courses. AVID, AP teachers and programs can support academically capable students and lead to their successes in advanced courses by working in an interdependent relationship to develop skills and habits of mind necessary for entry success in rigorous courses. Schools also benefit as AP classes become more accessible to and achievable for student groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the program. In this session, participants will learn how the strategies and expectations within both the AVID and AP programs can be used to provide effective support for their mutual students.

Presenters: Kathy Arno, AVID Texas State Program Manager, AVID Center; Richard McGowan, AP World History Teacher, McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney Independent School District, TX

Districtwide Implementation of AVID on Elementary, Middle School and High School Campuses
This session will present an implementation plan for establishing AVID at the elementary, middle and high school grade levels, beyond the AVID elective. In 2007-08, Uvalde CISD implemented AVID in grades 5-10 and expanded to grades 4-12 during the 2008-09 school year. Schoolwide implementation of AVID can become a districtwide initiative.

Presenters: Dr. Wendell J. Brown, Superintendent, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, TX; Diane Crawford, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction/AVID District Director, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, TX; Dr. Linda Vegh, Director of Advanced Academics/AVID District Co-Director, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, TX

AVID Elementary Awareness: Planting the Seeds for College Readiness
Welcome to AVID Center’s College Readiness Garden, where we tend to quality implementation, plant a love for learning, and cultivate AVID districtwide systems. This session will highlight the seedling program -AVID Elementary. This program supports and provides smoother transitions into middle and high school. Participants will be introduced to the foundational skills students need to acquire prior to entering courses of high rigor and explore the infrastructures and district systems required to support a strong pipeline to college for all students beginning in the elementary level.

Presenter: Shannon McAndrews, National Director of Elementary Programs, AVID Center

AVID and Higher Education: Ensuring a Competitive Edge
All students need rigorous curriculum and acceleration that creates a “College Readiness Culture” to prepare them for success in college. How do you layer curriculum to accelerate students who have not experienced challenging curriculum? What do you do to close the achievement gap that exists along racial, ethnic, gender, and economic lines? What do leaders do to facilitate a seamless transition between middle school, high school, and higher education institutions? A panel of educators, college professors, and AVID staff will discuss what has been accomplished and explore how parents, schools, and higher education institutions can better prepare students for college, help those students succeed once enrolled and ensure their readiness to keep pace with the demands of a global economy.

Presenters: Barbara Smith, Ph.D., Vice President, Government Relations and Equity, AVID Center; Gloria Cox, North Carolina AVID State Director; Mary Slade, Ph.D., Professor, James Madison University, VA; William A. Darity, Ph.D., Professor, Duke University, NC

Award-winning School Shares its Work
The College Board Inspiration Award winner, Edinburg High School, will share its achievements. Inspiration Award winners are selected based on their increase in graduation rates, college-preparatory course enrollments, college application, and college-going rates.

Presenter: Maria Luisa Guerra, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction & Support Services, Edinburg Independent School District, TX

Excellence, Equity and Access: A Plan for Increasing Minority Teachers and Students in AP (Handout)
This presentation focuses on the professional development of miniority teachers so that they are prepared and encouraged to teach AP courses. Success in AP is one of the best indicators of readiness for college/university. The presentation is about a unique and specific proposal to increase both minority teachers and minority students in AP. Participants will learn about a very specific and energetic plan to change “the face” of AP.

Presenters: Dr. Nicholas Colangelo, Professor/Director, Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education, The University of Iowa; Brian Douglas, Administrator, Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education, The University of Iowa