There’s a new class that’s come to Sahuaro this year. It’s called AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination. Now, what does this class do? Katherine Stedman, former math teacher and now the teacher of all the AVID classes said the class is about, “Closing achievement gaps by preparing all students for college readiness and success.” Within the class students will learn pertinent skills through activities like, Cornell notes, inquiry, collaborations, organization, and reading.

Cornell notes are a more professional way of taking notes and it’s more organized, helping students study a lot faster. You can include test questions right into the notes to make studying time more efficient. Rather then taking 30 minutes to study, it can be condensed down into 15 or even 10 minutes. Inquiry is when you ask for help and information. This class will help a lot with asking questions and finding the answers you need. During collaborations you’ll learn skills that’ll help when working with groups and other people. It also helps with your reading. It will teach skills that will help you condense a reading down to the main idea and find key points within it too. Mrs. Stedman says that collaboration is the best way to learn because, “You learn how to work in a team, asking for help when it’s needed and it helps getting through that first year of college.”

So far, it seems like students enrolled in this new class are finding it useful and enjoyable. I was able to interview  one of the students that take the AVID class. Jasmine Ordonez, 10th grade, likes the class saying, “It helps me with a lot of things and helps me take better notes.”

AVID is a really nice class, for any grade, to help and prepare you for that starting year of college. It teaches you things that you don’t learn as much in your regular core class that you need to be successful at the university level. It’s a class any upcoming student looking to go to college should take.