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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 16, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 16, 2020
 
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Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal Page A—21, Students at North Mason High School are receiving special support to raise their readiness for college and careers. Herald Isabella Breda Program prepares futre North Mason graduates By Isabella’Breda isabe/la@masoncounty.com Middle-of—the-road students are learning tactics'to help them excel in classes and beyond graduation thanks to the newly implemented Achieve— ment Via Individual Determination (AVID) program at Hawkins Middle School and North Mason High School. " “To be honest, if I had this in mid— dle school, I probably wouldn’t be in the same classes I am right now. I’d probably be in a little more advanced classes,” North Mason High School ju- nior and AVID student Andres Gaspar Gonzales said. “Me being the first in the family (to pursue college), I had nobody to look up to or ask questions if it is going to be college after this,” Gaspar Gonza- les said. “(Teacher Jeff) Bevers is a re— ally talkative person and if I dropped a grade level he’d come and talk to me and ask what is happening and how he can help. He always lets me know the importance of school.” . ‘ AVID is a national college readiness nonprofit that provides educational programming based on promoting good study habits through organiza- tion, note-taking and communication for teachers to assist first-generation, ‘ low-income, minority students in suc- cess through and after graduation. Bevers, physical education special- ist and track and field cOach, was the first teacher to lead an AVID class of about 20 students at NMHS' during the 2018-2019 schobl year. The class is a one-period, discus- sion-based course, leading students through AVID methods for hinder or- ganization, Cornell note taking and addressing students’ “Point(s) of Con- fusion” both in school and in life. Gonzales said students are expect— ed to share any of their own points of confusion during class with the goal of peers guiding each other to the an- swer, rather than giving the answer di- rectly. “We try not to answer the ques- tion, just make the person remember things about the subject and look at their notes,” he said. Meanwhile, other students take notes to learn from oth- ers’ reasoning processes. . Tess Nix, history teacher at North Mason High School, is leading the sec- ond group of about 30 students, which began during the current school year. Students enrolled in AVID classes are first identified by teachers for their academic diligence, consistent atten- dance, maintenance of a GPA of at} least 2.0, and they are selected based on their ability to meet the national AVID criteria of first-generation, mi- nority or low-income status. AVID students, however, are not the only students who can learn A/VID learning ' Andre‘s Gaspar Gonzales North Mason High School junior; ‘ strategies, because at least one teach: er in each subject area is also AVID- trained. ' “These teachers are being taught AVID strategies very intensely, but teachers are sent from other depart- ments to use those strategies in their classes,” Principal Chad Collins said. . The program is designed to target each cohOrt directly but also touch each student in the district, Assistant Principal Steve Hackett said. “We have centered all of our teaching pro-, fessional development days to AVID strategies,” Hackett said. “N o matter if you’re teaching PE or , you’re teaching English — here is this strategy and here is how you can use it,” he said. In 2018, statewide statistics re- . ported 92% of AVID Washington se— niors took the ACT, the SAT, or both, 99% graduated from high school and 89% successfully completed four-year college entrance requirements. The program’s positive outcomes, how- ever, have been directly experienced in both Superintendent Dana Rosen- bach’s and Principal Robert Kalahan at Hawkins Middle School’s former districts. “The whole idea is to support kids that are — with just that little bit 'of extra support —~ able to do high level work,” Kalahan said. Hard—working students who are considered middle-of-the—road or low- er—end academic performers and stu- dents who are first-generation US. citizens were prioritized in Hawkins’ AVID student selection, according to Kalahan. “It is ideally designed for‘ students Whose parents have previ— ously not gone to college, and that way we are supporting really our lower eco- nomic need students here,” he added. Hawkins’ first AVID group began during the current 2019-2020 school year, with the goal of automatic ac- ceptance into the AVID program at 'NMHS as they transition into high school. , p \ This first step of introducing the program into the middle and high schools is part of avision to expand the AVID program districtwide. “If we can get our kids trained and talking about college in elementary school —— for ex- ample, Mr. Bevers’ son in third grade at Bremerton is doing focused Cornell note taking—then imagine by the time they get to high school,” Collins said. , According to Collins, the program is funded by i the general education budget, but 'if it were to expand from beyond middle and high schoolthe dis— trict would seek additional resources. “Thisis really important to get‘in’to school,” Gonzales said. “But, it’s also helpful in both educational and real; life purposes.” “