BPS College/Career Readiness Programs
AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a K-12 school-wide approach that provides a framework for all teachers to incorporate research-based best practices into their daily lessons. All AVID schools promote a “college-going environment” by developing a school-wide culture of post-secondary enrollment and success.
In addition, at the secondary level, AVID incorporates an elective class for students who are falling short of their potential and need extra support to find success along a college pathway. AVID elective students are typically in the academic middle, the first in their family to attend college, come from a demographic that is underrepresented at 4-year colleges/universities, or have a life circumstance that may be preventing them from receiving the support they need to acquire the skills/strategies necessary to find success in middle school, high school, and college/career.
What Is AVID?
AVID Essentials
Instruction: Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, Reading (WICOR)
Leadership: Leaders support, guide, and facilitate AVID implementation for all students.
Systems: Systems within the school are aligned through accountability, articulation, assessment, and calibration.
Culture: An environment that promotes college readiness for all.
What Is SPARCSS?
SPARCSS, or Success Pathways Achieved through Readiness, Community, Strategies, and Skills, is a system designed to support each student in their academic growth and nurture their individual needs.
This K-12 school-wide approach provides a framework for all teachers to incorporate research-based best practices into their daily lessons. Schools with SPARCSS promote a culture of success beyond high school, including support and preparation for a variety of pathways to and through college and career.
In addition, at the secondary level, SPARCSS incorporates an elective class for students who have high potential but need support to find success along their chosen pathway to college and/or career. SPARCSS elective students are typically in the academic middle, the first in their family to attend college, come from a demographic that is underrepresented at 4-year colleges/universities, or have a life-circumstance that may be preventing them from receiving the support they need to acquire the skills/strategies necessary to find success in middle school, high school, and college/career.
SPARCSS Pillars
Leadership: The way the school is run
Community: The environment within which learning takes place
Instructional Strategies: The tools through which content is delivered
Foundational Skill Development: The ways students learn through understanding, considering, and manipulating content
SPARCSS And AVID School-Wide Components
Goal-setting: Students, teachers, administrators, and leadership teams regularly develop goals, benchmarks, and action plans; reevaluate their goals/plans; and reflect upon outcomes.
Planners: Every student writes in a planner on a daily basis. Students keep track of assignments, special school events, outside-of-school events, etc. The planner can be shared with families every night as a communication tool.
Binders: Students keep a binder with tabs for each subject. They learn how to keep the binder organized so that materials are easily accessed.
Note-taking: Students are taught to take two-column, three-column, and Cornell notes in many subjects, with a focus on Social Studies and Math.
Critical and creative thinking/problem-solving: Students collaborate, use inquiry, explore curiosities, use knowledge to generate new ideas, and communicate newfound understandings to others in the classroom and beyond.
Community/Culture/Environment: The importance of college/career readiness is emphasized by participating in Personal Growth Plan (PGP) activities, decorating walls, doing college research, doing career research, completing interest inventories, raffling off college gear, and having college/career gear days regularly.