Popular education program considered

Suzie Harrison

Steve Keller, the Laguna Beach Unified School District assistant

superintendent, said the board was looking into adopting an education

program designed to improve mid-level students.

The academic program, Advancement Via Individual Determination, also

known as AVID, came to fruition 22 years ago and is currently implemented

in more than 1,200 schools nationwide.

“The main premise is to help students rise to the occasion, bringing

up mid-level students to be eligible for California colleges,” said Sally

Arellanes, the program’s coordinator.

It is designed as a support system to identify the students that need

to be targeted, putting together a rigorous academic study that focuses

on acceleration.

It facilitates the student test score average and overall academic

grade-point average.

The board is looking further into AVID’s benefits and will make a

determination whether or not to adopt the program at a later date.