AVID at Three UCS Secondary Schools

Dr. Christine Johns serves as superintendent of Utica Community School (UCS). Students within the UCS system have been performing above state and national averages. Three of the secondary schools that Dr. Christine Johns oversees as superintendent offer the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program.

AVID was started by Mary Catherine Swanson in 1980. It is now a global nonprofit organization with a guiding principle of having students adhere to the highest standards while providing the necessary academic and social assistance. AVID methodology believes students will rise to the occasion.

Annually, AVID programs provide training to over 30,000 educators, who learn to use proven techniques to prepare students to achieve success in high school, college, and in a chosen career. There is emphasis on traditionally underrepresented students in higher education.

While the AVID College Readiness System is intended for elementary, secondary, and higher education, a school district may implement independently the part that it needs.

Ninety-nine percent of students under the AVID system graduate from high school on time.