PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 4, 2015
AVID,
continued from Page A1
In the past six years, AVID
at CCMS has grown from one
dedicated class to six, and more
than 180 students in all.
“That’s a little more than 20
percent of our student body,”
Schoepper said. “But it gives us
confi dence in pushing out the
AVID methods to the rest of
the school’s students.”
2013-14
CITIZENSHIP:
ONLY 2% of
AVID Students
received a
grade of N or U
(Needs Improvement,
or Unsatisfactory)
COMPARED
TO 4% of
non-AVID
Students
In OAKS testing for the
2013-14 school year, those 180
students outpaced their peers
in every category. The average
GPA of an average student
was 3.26 compared to 2.55
for the whole of the student
body. AVID students also fared
exponentially better when it
came to grades in citizenship
and work habits.
AVID programming was
originally designed to help
student who were landing in the
gray areas between academic
high-fl yers and those at the
bottom end of the specturm;
those students who would
often graduate high school, but
had no conceivable plan for
what would happen next.
2013-14
WORK HABITS:
ONLY 2.5% of
AVID Students
received a
grade of N or U
(Needs Improvement,
or Unsatisfactory)
COMPARED
TO 13% of
non-AVID
Students
However, Claggett’s AVID
programs have proven so
successful there is now a waiting
list to get into the program
at every grade level, and any
student can apply.
AVID changes have also
made the school a desirable
place to be for students. At the
end of the fi rst semester, CCMS
had a 96.1 percent attendance
rate, the highest of any middle
school in the Salem-Keizer
School District.
“When you cut through
those numbers, it comes down
to strong teacher-student
and strong peer relationships
where students feel safe,” said
Schoepper. “And at the heart of
that is our AVID work.”
Wanted:
Service projects
for CCMS AVID
students
Kelly Greer is looking for
ways for her students to give
back to the community.
Greer, Claggett Creek Mid-
dle School's AVID coordinator,
currently has students serv-
ing as reading buddies for fi rst
and second graders at Weddle
Elementary School. Another
contingent will help serve free
lunches during winter break,
but she's looking to fi ll gaps for
the coming months.
“I'm looking for things
where students also get an ele-
ment of self-worth out of doing
the project itself,” said Greer.
Digging ditches is out of
the question, but anything the
students can do to give back to
local communities is something
she will consider.
“A few years ago, we had
students making cards for sol-
diers, but those efforts have
gone away,” she said. “If it's a
project someone can bring to
our school or is within walking
distance, I will usually give it a
shot.”
She said she is particularly
interested in helping students
fi ll the summer months.
For more information, or to
suggest a project, contact Greer
at
greer_kelly@salkeiz.k12.
or.us.