Schools
Redwood City Students Targeted to Get on AP Track
The district is looking to enroll eighth graders in the outreach program, AVID, to prepare them to take more AP classes in high school.
Administrators in the are hoping to increase enrollment of students coming from low-income areas in higher level college preparatory classes.
According to a report given by Assistant Superintendent Morgan Marchbanks at the district Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday night, the purpose of the effort is to close the district's existing achievement gap between students coming from low-income areas, and those from more affluent regions.
The district will begin targeting elementary school students in East Palo Alto and as early as eighth grade and get them on the track toward thinking about taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes once they reach high school, according to a district report.
Advanced Placement courses are those designed to be more challenging than standard high school curriculum that students can take to earn college credit, if they pass a test at the end of the semester.
"We are opening up a chance for kids who do not think of themselves as AP kinds of kids," said Trustee Olivia Martinez. "There is no doubt this will make a huge difference."
Marchbanks said that the district wants to have more students, especially those coming from low-income areas, enrolled in higher level courses by their sophomore and junior years.
In order to do that, the district will begin reaching out to its elementary feeder school districts to identify possible candidates for more challenging courses early on in their education, said Marchbanks.
Should a student show potential for increased achievement but need additional guidance to boost them into an area of preparedness for the demands associated with that, the district may look to enroll them early in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program.
AVID is a program designed for students who have showed potential to perform at a high level academically, despite underachieving in the past.
The program not only offers increased levels of interaction between students and teachers in order to boost achievement, but it is also is designed to teach students skills that can be used in higher education such as note taking and how to properly analyze lessons.
According to the report, the district is also looking to add new sections of the AVID program in the future, as well as summer bridge programs, that are intended to help incoming freshman to the district adjust to high school.
Woodside High School Principal David Riley spoke highly of his school's AVID program at Wednesday night's meeting.
He called it the heart and soul of Woodside's ability to boost academic performance of students who have traditionally not achieved their fullest potential.
The district is currently searching for grant funding in order to sponsor more AVID programs, and other similar programs which will help identify students from low-income areas who show potential for increased academic performance, according to the district report.
Trustee Lorraine Rumley praised the achievement that is generated by the programs, and expressed her desire to see the district tie down a sustainable and long term funding source for them.
She went so far as to suggest that funding for AVID and other outreach programs should be connected to the revenue generated by a parcel tax, which the district has repeatedly expressed interest in pursuing.
