Students at Dahlgren School participate in the Fairy Tale Museum. / Kathryn Walseman

Thanks to the innovative AVID program, more students may be ready for the challenge of college

By Ed Jones

Date published: 4/2/2008

GOLDILOCKS was eyeing the por- ridge. Mama and Papa Bear were in the midst of a make-believe tiff. One of the Three Little Pigs was checking the computer program that would track would-be wolves as they tried to "huff and puff" the miniature houses down.

"Remember, stay in character," cautioned teacher Kathryn Walseman.

Moments later, the first class of grade-schoolers paraded through Dahlgren School's Fairy Tale Museum--a creative celebration of last month's Read Across America Day.

But there was another distinction to the fun and games at the school on the King George County naval base. The museum day was organized by Dahlgren School's AVID class-- an innovative program aimed at nudging more students into high achievement and, eventually, on to college.

Rigorous study, collaborative activities, and academic and social support are key elements to the program.

Walseman is sold on AVID, which involves selected sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at Dahlgren. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is also being used in schools in Culpeper, Orange and Westmoreland counties.

They're not alone. Created almost three decades ago, AVID is at work in 3,500 schools in 45 states and 15 countries, including many Department of Defense schools like Dahlgren. The program can be used in grades four through 12. Walseman calls it "life-changing."

"In the five years I've taught the class at Dahlgren," she said, "I have seen it change the lives of students and send them to high school with a one-way ticket down the road to college--a path many did not think was on their road map."

Walseman worries that some college applicants are finding out too late in their high school careers what it takes to get into higher education.

Her AVID students "know that your choices for college start with your performance on Day One of high school," says Walseman. "They know that leadership and community service are important parts of an application.

"Above all, they know they need to take the most rigorous courses offered at their high school, and they have the study skills to be successful in them."

There are other ways to lift students from the academic middle onto the fast track.

THE PROGRAM: AVID focuses on writing, inquiry, collaboration and reading. Trained tutors, often college-age role models, student leaders and teachers, help students become independent learners by exploring ideas and questions generated by class- room learning. ONLINE: avidonline.org.

Date published: 4/2/2008