Sequoia Middle School is honored for its outstanding AVID teachers | News

Sequoia Middle School in Fontana has received an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Teacher Advocacy Award.

The award recognizes and supports outstanding California AVID teachers and site teams each year. This awards program encourages the implementation of AVID schoolwide and allows for sharing of best practices and professional learning by awardees. Each site is given $10,000 to be used to further AVID implementation at their schools.

The site team members who were recognized at Sequoia included Christine Clark, Lisa Hayes, Antonio Viramontes, Ryan Murphy and Tammy Devries.

The AVID College Readiness System assists first-generation college-bound students and aims to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and beyond.

Sequoia was one of three schools in San Bernardino County to receive the award. The other two were Piñon Hills Elementary in the Snowline Joint Unified School District and Vernon Middle School in the Ontario-Montclair School District.

“I applaud the three AVID school site teams that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in serving our students, their schools and communities,” said San bernardino County Superintendent Ted Alejandre in a news release. “They are making an incredible impact on the lives of students to ensure success throughout their educational journey.”

The sites were nominated by their district director at Riverside, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino (RIMS) AVID.

Each of these three sites has been a model for the RIMS AVID region. They were showcased to visitors from other area sites and used for trainings.

At the elementary level, AVID includes implementing schoolwide strategies where all students are deliberately taught the structures to help them continue to be successful throughout their school experience.

At the secondary level, AVID students are enrolled in an AVID elective class where they are given support to navigate their most rigorous classes as well as access to AVID schoolwide strategies for all teachers and students to utilize.