Across the United States, 4,200 schools, including Homestead, implement (Advancement Via Individual Determination) AVID strategies in daily curriculum. Out of those 4,200 schools, 75 were named Schoolwide Sites of Distinction. Homestead was one of them.

According to AVID, being named a Schoolwide Site of Distinction “represents the highest level of AVID implementation fidelity, demonstrating excellence in instructional practice and the promotion of college readiness schoolwide.” This was the first year AVID offered this form of recognition.

For Principal Brett Bowers, the award “affirms the things we’ve been doing. None of what we’ve been doing has been to get any sort of recognition or certificate–that’s not what it was about,” he said. “We’re just trying to be the best school we can be and create the best learning opportunities for kids; that’s what really drives the work. The affirmation just says you’re doing the right thing.”

AVID’s recognition is based on two collections of data, dubbed Process Metrics and Impact Metrics. Impact Metrics begs the question, “What are you doing and how well are you doing it?” while Impact Metrics asks, “What is the impact?” Mr. Bowers believes these questions align perfectly with how educators should look at schools. “I value the things they look at, regardless of whether there is an award or not,” he said.

Some of these things include how schools implement AVID as a class, how they train and support teachers, how AVID strategies are implemented schoolwide and how much access students have to advanced coursework and other opportunities. AVID’s mission is to “close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society,” and thus, AVID also considers aspects related to college preparation, such as the percent of students enrolled in AP or dual credit courses, the percent of students who apply to a four-year college or university and the percent of students who participate in pre-college standardized testing.

Mr. Bowers said the award shines a light on not only Homestead’s curriculum, but also on the work students and teachers do every day. “For teachers, I think it speaks to a sense of unified purpose. We’re really working toward the same goal and toward the same priorities. And they’re working very hard and diligently,” Mr. Bowers said. “For students, I think it’s some of the same things. It’s also about being willing to stretch themselves, and that’s an increasingly large percent of our student body who’s not just going through the motions. They’re willing to go out of their comfort zone and do the extra work.”

Despite attaining AVID’s highest level of distinction, Mr. Bowers, along with Homestead’s AVID site team, are committed to seeking continuous improvement. Homestead’s goals for AVID include continuing to provide training to faculty and continuing to refine instruction by giving students a more centralized role and making classes “authentically challenging,” Mr. Bowers said. “It’s not about just doing more and doing it faster, but going deeper, encouraging more thinking and processing of information being discussed.” Additionally, Mr. Bowers said a major goal is to continue to grow the number of students who are enrolled in the AVID class, which will reach 11 percent of the student body next year.

“The next plans are just to keep doing the things that we’re doing,” Mr. Joe Ciurlik, AVID elective teacher and co-coordinator, said. “Regardless of whether we are an AVID school or not, I think all schools want to seek continuous improvement, not to rest on their laurels and say,  ‘Oh we’re pretty good,’ but to say, ‘We have to achieve our goals.’ That’s why you see when you walk in the building that there are school goals that say, ‘Here is where we’re at, but here is our next target.’”