About early admittance

Andrew Edwards

Picking a college can be tough, but building the skills needed to get

into a top school can be even harder. Hoping to get an early start on

the college race, some students at Dwyer Middle School are getting by

with a little help from their friends.

Eighth-graders in Kerry Sawdon’s class participate in a program

called AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual

Determination. The program is designed to help bolster the skills

needed to get into and succeed in college.

AVID students help each other out through bi-weekly tutorials and

get some extra assistance from college students who drop by Dwyer on

Tuesdays and Thursdays.

During a tutorial, Sawdon’s classroom was like a hive full of

students buzzing with questions. The eighth-graders broke off into

groups to study different subjects, like math, biology or physical

science.

“They’re all learning new stuff, everyday, and they end up helping

each other,” said Brian Zitt, a student at Cal State Long Beach who

works with the class.

“It’s a pretty good little system they got,” he continued.

Students wanting math help sat in a row to join forces on an

algebra problem that was written in front of them on a white board.

Typically, the students brainstorm over puzzling homework

assignments.

“If we can’t figure out a problem we bring it here,” 14-year-old

Carina Green said.

Others in the class had science questions ranging from arteries to

electrons.

“I’m figuring out, with my two friends right here, what’s the

stuff inside an atom,” 13-year-old Anzac Houchen said.

Students said their grades have improved since they joined AVID.

“I went from a 2.4 [GPA] to a 3.5,” 14-year-old Dana Hassan said.

“I took this class and then I started getting 4.0s,” 14-year-old

Brittany Saichek said.

When not honing their study habits in tutorial, AVID students

research and visit colleges and welcome guests who tell the students

about their careers.

The class has already visited UC Irvine and plans to take a trip

to Cal State Long Beach, Sawdon said. Guests the class has hosted

include a psychologist, fitness expert and magazine editor.

At Dwyer, AVID class is currently only for eighth-graders, though

plans are in the works to expand into the seventh grade, Principal

Duane Cox said.