Individual Planning

It is my understanding that individual planning increases as students move from elementary in to secondary schooling. As I consider individual planning, it is the foundation to establishing relationships and helping students build a sense of their own identity over time. Individual Planning consists throughout all three tier levels and involves some level of relationship and accountability. Ways of establishing individual planning includes, helping students to set goals, providing students with avenues for success and getting to know the student holistically.

SMART GOALS

As a means to helping students make informed decisions toward their future I like to follow the SMART Goal acronym in setting goals. In doing this students are able to create a plan that they create with guidance. Individual planning involves career, academic, emotional and social wellness and success. As students mature they move from exploration to determining an endorsement and career pathway.

AVID

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). AVID is one avenue of success for students at HMS. It is an elective course that prepares students for college readiness and success and is scheduled during the regular school day as a year-long course. Each week, students receive instruction utilizing a rigorous college preparatory curriculum provided by AVID Center, tutor-facilitated study groups, motivational activities, and academic survival skills. The course emphasizes rhetorical reading, analytical writing, collaborative discussion strategies, tutorial inquiry study groups, preparation for college entrance and placement exams, college study skills, test-taking strategies, note-taking, and research.

Throughout my years working at HMS I have identified and recommended students to this program. Over the years I have kept in contact with some of the students and it is a joy to see how these students have grown and found success, purpose and desires in their lives.

What I like about AVID is that it is a pretty supportive program. I think AVID is really helpful especially the tutorials because if you are struggling with a certain class someone in your group or the tutor can help you understand it. I also think the grade checks are a crucial part of helping because if you’re not passing it sort of forces you to work harder to get the passing grade and if you are passing but the student has a C it also kind of forces you to work harder for that B. What I like the best about AVID is that it offers that extra motivation you won't find elsewhere and it helps you develop new skills for example like time management and how to be more productive.

KNOWING THE STUDENTS YOU SERVE

I find it necessary to consider individual differences when helping students to create plans for their academic, career, social and emotional wellness in individual planning. I believe students are a reflection of their environment however they are also becoming their own person. Meeting students where they are and providing them with new experiences to add to their own can help students to gain more awareness and opportunities for growth and success within their own culture and beliefs.