Posted March 2022
Kyrene Aprende Middle School has been selected as a National Demonstration School by AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a nonprofit organization that provides educators with proven, real-world strategies to accelerate the performance of underrepresented students so that these students and all students across the entire campus succeed in college, careers, and life.
“It is a tremendous honor to be selected as a National Demonstration Site, and we are proud of our AVID program and our school as a whole,” said Aprende Principal Renee Kory. “The use of AVID strategies schoolwide has positively impacted students and staff, and we continue to see a more engaged and college-ready student body.”
The school joins approximately 200 other AVID National Demonstration Schools and was selected through an application process, screening, and review, which included a site visit. AVID is implemented in more than 7,000 schools in 47 states across the U.S., plus schools in the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), Canada, and Australia, impacting more than 2 million students in grades K–12 and postsecondary institutions.
AVID Chief Executive Officer Sandy Husk, Ph.D., notes the significance of attaining Demonstration Site recognition. “Schools recognized as National Demonstration Sites have proven their ability to successfully implement the AVID Elective course and take the strategies schoolwide to impact all students,” said Dr. Husk. “Kyrene Aprende Middle School was selected as an AVID National Demonstration School because it has implemented the AVID system throughout the school and can serve as a model for new AVID sites.”
The recognition of being an AVID National Demonstration School was established in 1993 with a $250,000 award from the Charles A. Dana Foundation of New York. As part of the AVID Demonstration Sites network, sites are expected to develop a model program with schoolwide participation. With AVID’s proven methodologies used throughout subject-area classes, performance levels improve for all students, but especially for those students who are the least likely to attend four-year colleges. Schools from around the world that are preparing to implement the AVID system will visit Demonstration Schools, such as this one, to observe a highly evolved AVID system.
