VISTA MAGNET AVID CLASS VISITS COUNTERPART CLASS AT VISTA HIGH SCHOOL

A group of eighth graders currently enrolled in the AVID program at Vista Magnet Middle School recently learned more about how AVID can help them throughout high school.

Vista Magnet’s AVID teacher, Jennifer Eckle, worked with the Vista High School AVID Coordinator to organize a field trip for her students to visit with an AVID class at Vista High School where they shadowed high schoolers to see how the program works at VHS.

AVID is a college prep initiative offered to students at all three comprehensive Vista high schools, from freshman through senior year. 

AVID stands for ‘Advancement Via Individual Determination’ and the program focuses on training students for college and career by teaching a wide range of life and educational skills, including time management, study tools, and organizational techniques. 

The AVID program first started at Vista Magnet in 2015; students can take the course for two years. The field trip was the perfect opportunity for the VMMS students to learn how continuing their participation in the AVID program in high school can help on the journey to college.

“The students are in AVID to be college bound, so we're always looking for ways for them to feel more connected to the high school that they're going to feed into,” explains Eckle. “Our school is pretty unique in that with my classes, around a third of students will go to Vista High, a third will go to RBV, and a third will go to Mission Vista.

“The AVID coordinator at Vista High and I were discussing how we could get the kids excited about continuing the program in high school and we thought it would be great for them to actually experience a day – like a ‘shadow day’ – doing it at Vista High.” It was a great success, as students who attended attest.

Student Feedback
“We took a class to get to know the seniors we were going to be with throughout the day,” says eighth-grader Valeria. “We were all paired up with one senior and followed their schedule. I took an anatomy class and we did a lab. It was pretty cool because we got to see what it was like to be at high school.”

Valeria joined AVID at VMMS because she needed extra support in a few classes. She says she has benefited greatly from the program’s Cornell Note Taking system, the organizational tips, and extra tutoring help. Valeria said she was inspired by the field trip to continue with AVID when she starts high school next year.

Fellow 8th grader, Evelyn, says she was also encountering some challenges when her teacher recommended she apply for AVID.

“It has honestly helped me a lot,” she reveals. “Based on my grades last year and the year before that, I can definitely see the difference in how much it has changed them. Also, learning to use a planner and checklists has really helped me build good work habits.”

Evelyn says encouragement to be more comfortable emailing and communicating with teachers within AVID has kept her focused and on task. “We also have grade reflections and assignment logs,” she says. “So you can both see the work that you're getting done, and then when grades get passed out you can reflect on your grades.”

She plans to continue AVID next year at Mission Vista. And for those considering the program, she adds “I would say that it's definitely going to benefit them because it will help you get better grades.” 

Erik is also in 8th grade at VMMS and says he really enjoyed the Vista High field trip because it is his high school choice: “The experience was very fun because I was able to watch freshmen taking AVID and see the schedules at Vista High.”

He is currently in his second year of AVID at Vista Magnet. “I joined it in 7th grade because my sister took it all through middle and high school,” he says. “She says it really helped and prepared her, and my mom really wanted me to do it since it helped my sister so much.

Erik describes a unique aspect of AVID as “providing a lot of support for your future and education like high school and college, whereas other classes mainly focus on their subject.”

Class projects have included creating and presenting slide shows about the college a student wants to go to. Erik has done presentations on San Diego State University and UCLA. Last year he also enjoyed a field trip to SDSU: “It was really fun. We were able to see the campus experience, meet students, and ask them questions.

“AVID is great. It helps you be more organized with your work habits, like getting homework and classwork done. It has helped me a lot, and I've also told my friends about it. I have added five students to Mrs. Eckle’s class just this year!”