Mrs. Katherine Stedman has been recently transferred to teaching AVID from algebra.  What is AVID, you may ask. Well… AVID is a nation-wide program that incorporates best practices to improve students achievements and prepare students for college. This is the first time Sahuaro will be an AVID school, Mrs. Stedman and her “energetic sit team” have a goal of helping students to be able to teach non-AVID students the strategies they use. AVID is based on  writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading (WICOR), which are elements many teachers already imply in their classes. 

As I had the pleasure of asking Mrs. Stedman some questions of this change and new beginning at Sahurao, she looked at this change as a challenge to “my being a true teacher,” and as some know Stedman does not like change very much. She spoke about missing the 300 building, in which she was located last year, but she does visit as much as she can. She can still teach math each week, twice a week, as students pose questions from all their subjects and solve them together. While AVID is difficult because it’s Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading tied into one class, it is clear to Stedman that all of her students will become more successful in the rest of their classes as well as in the future. Just as Stedman puts it, “Math is very black and white whereas AVID is a lot of shades of grey.”  She continues to have conference periods to help students with math and/or AVID.

AVID will help students better understand and have a brighter future. As Sahuaro kicks off the new school with this new class Mrs. Stedman and her site team are very energetic and are working very hard to make a great.