1 RISD staff member has been certified as an AVID Excel staff - PDF document

RISD College and Career Readiness Program Executive Summary January 8, 2018 Date: Submitted by: Tabitha Branum, Dr. Kristin Byno, and Elizabeth Swaner Background: The Richardson ISD College and Career Office report is conducted as a continuous improvement process and erves to identify strengths and challenges to help develop next steps. The College and Career Readiness office oversees AVID, Gifted and Talented, Naviance, Elementary to Junior High Transition, Advanced Placement, Dallas County Community College Dual Credit, University of Texas OnRamps, SAT, PSAT, ACT, TSI, and National Student Clearinghouse. K EY T ERMS : These alphabetized key terms will help when reading the Executive Summary.  ACT - college readiness assessment is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States.  ACT Aspire Summative - a standards-based system of assessments to monitor progress toward college and career readiness.  Advanced Placement - created by College Board offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students.  APSI – Advanced Placement Summer Institutes provide teachers with at least 30 hours of pedagogical- and content-rich training designed to strengthen how they teach AP courses.  AVID - Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other postsecondary opportunities. AVID Excel - changes the trajectory of long-term English language learners in junior high by accelerating language  acquisition, developing literacy, and placing AVID Excel students on the path to high school AVID and college-preparatory coursework. DCCCD- Dallas County Community College District   Dual Credit - enrolls students in college courses while they are still in high school, allowing them to earn credit for both. EBRW- Evidence Based Reading and Writing. On SAT and PSAT, College Board takes reading and writing together for  one score.  FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form that can be prepared annually by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.  Gifted and Talented (GT) - means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience or environment and who:  exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative or artistic area;  possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or excels in a specific academic field.   National Student Clearinghouse - is the leading provider of educational reporting, data exchange, verification, and research services to help track students’ progress in higher education opportunities outside of high school. Naviance - is a college and career readiness solution that helps districts and schools align student strengths and  interests to postsecondary goals, improving student outcomes and connecting learning to life. PSAT - Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is a standardized test administered by the College  Board and cosponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in the United States.  PSAT 8/9- The PSAT 8/9 tests the same skills and knowledge as the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and PSAT 10 — in a way that makes sense for eighth and ninth graders. 1

SAT-Scholastic Aptitude Test - standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States provided by  College Board.  TAFSA- Texas Application for State Financial Aid is used to collect information on Texas residence who are not US citizens to help determine eligibility for state financial aid programs that are administered by the state of Texas.  TSI- Texas Success Initiative – designed to help colleges or universities determine if students are ready for college-level course work in the general areas of reading, writing, and mathematics.  University of Texas OnRamps – innovative dual-enrollment program that brings rigorous courses aligned with the high standards and expectations of The University of Texas at Austin to thousands of students across Texas. College and Career Student Support Programs AVID: Elementary and Secondary RISD has 10 elementary schools that are designated as AVID sites. Due to changes in teachers and administrators at these campuses, the decision was made to refocus professional development at these campuses during 2017-2108. Teachers had an initial kick off training in August to begin the process of sharing AVID methodology. Follow up trainings were conducted throughout the fall and will continue into the spring as we work to rollout additional AVID learning strategies. There are 12 secondary schools that are designated as AVID sites. During 2016-2017, Richardson High School and Berkner High School were both awarded National Demonstration site status for 3 more years. The Class of 2017 had 98% of students apply to 4 year colleges and 91% of those students were accepted. 243 students earned $18.7 million in scholarships, which is an increase of $11.1 million from the Class of 2016. 4 Dell Scholarships were awarded and this is an increase of 3 from 2016. During 2017-2018 we have already seen AVID grow from 95 to 97 elective sections, 4 AVID teachers have been selected by their campuses to be STAAR nominees, Berkner and Richardson have been asked to field test the new AVID note taking strategies, and AVID has invited 10 of our secondary schools to apply for their Schoolwide Site of Distinction recognition. An AVID 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 elite group of candidate schools represents less than 10% of all AVID middle and high schools worldwide. AVID Excel is provided to English Language Learners at Liberty, North and Parkhill junior highs. The program has expanded from 5 sections in 2016-2017 with 60 students to 11 sections in 2017-2018 with 142 students. North and Liberty have completed their first years with 8 th graders and 70% of those students have continued with AVID in high school. Partnerships  UTD Work-Study program funds AVID tutors for our junior high AVID classes. UTD Comet Tutors has 20 undergraduate students who are volunteering for tutorial sessions at Pearce High  School. Pearce was chosen as the campus to begin this program due to their close proximity to UTD. Next semester they hope to expand the program to Richardson High School. Their goals are to establish a scholarship fund, expand to AVID junior high schools, and create a “Comet Mentor” program where a Comet tutor will help AVID seniors through the entire college application process. Free Tutoring Foundation connects financially disadvantaged students with free tutoring support in upper level  subjects. Lake Highlands High School has just entered into a partnership with the Free Tutoring Foundation to provide tutoring support to our students beginning in the spring 2018. Professional Development  RISD developed AVID Path Training during the summer of 2017 provided AVID methodology training for 31 elementary and 74 secondary RISD teachers.  Designated AVID elementary teacher professional development, is ongoing throughout 2017-2018 for AVID methodology and strategies.  Elementary and Secondary Counselors are being provided with AVID updates during their monthly counselor meetings. 9 RISD staff members have been certified as AVID staff developers.  2