Advancement via Individual Determination

Advancement via Individual Determination, commonly known as AVID, is a nationally recognized college readiness system designed to increase learning and performance for marginalized populations. Participating students develop behaviors and skills needed to experience academic success with demanding curriculum, usually taught in an elective class setting with a trained educator.

With instructional strategies and support systems, AVID students have the potential to succeed in a rigorous course of study and meet four-year college entrance requirements. Although secondary schools are the focus, AVID's support structure, curriculum, and training can span from elementary to higher education. The AVID program can effect change and systemic reform at the school and district levels through influencing the culture, beliefs, and instructional methodologies of K–16 schools.

Mary Catherine Swanson, a veteran teacher in San Diego, California, founded AVID in 1980, when she headed the English Department at Clairemont High School. After a federal desegregation order mandated busing inner-city students to her school, Swanson wanted to develop a program that aligned with her philosophy: When students are held accountable to the highest standards, and provided appropriate academic and social support, they will rise to the challenge. Swanson created an academic elective and called it “Advancement Via Individual Determination.” Along with her colleagues, the Clairemont faculty merged academic rigor with support services and “untracked” their college preparation classes.

AVID targets students in the academic middle (Bs and Cs), especially those from groups underrepresented in college attendance, who experience generational poverty and potential “first-generation” students (the first person in the nuclear family to attend a four-year university). AVID coordinators and site teams help choose students who are capable of succeeding at the university level but whose circumstances could impede their attendance. Students are commonly selected through an interview process to identify those with the willingness to work hard and the heartfelt desire to attend college.