November 03, 2012    |  By Gerald Morales

For the past five years, Inglewood High School has graduated a greater number than before of students who are pursuing college. Yanick Clay, who leads the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, has nourished her students to college aspirations. Since 2007 the AVID program at IHS has graduated hundred of seniors who have attended institutions of higher education including: UCLA, UCSB, UCSC and Harvard University.

The goal of AVID is to enlighten students on the college preparation process, to assist them to raise their grade point averages and to become active leaders on campus. By pursuing extra-curricular activities, engaging in an active life on campus and being educated about the opportunities to attend college, students are in a prime position to attend a university of their choosing. Depending on the structure of the education program in the school district, students are recruited in either high school or middle school; there have been cases where they are recruited from elementary grades.

Since the flagship AVID class at Inglewood High School graduated in 2007, there has been a steady increase in the number of colleges to which students have been accepted. Over the years, the AVID program has seen a steady increase of average GPA, from a 3.05 overall average in 2007 to 3.16 average by the graduating class of 2012. This increase is one of the many indicators of the steady progression IHS is achieving with the AVID program.
Inglewood has seen an expansion of the AVID program from Inglewood High School to both Crozier and Monroe middle schools. The biggest attribute AVID seeks to give its students is to prosper as much as possible through self-motivation. The goal of AVID is to not only send students to college, but to help them take as many opportunities as possible while in college.

Students are encouraged to take advantage of study abroad programs, become active in school clubs and take initiative in being leaders in whatever atmosphere they’re placed. In a community that can be overlooked for its potential, AVID opens the doors to help many local students realize attending college is not out of the realm of possibility. IHS has seen a surge of more students studying and completing degrees at four- year universities since the inception of its AVID program. In the coming years, it is hoped that there will be an expansion of the program to more local middle and high schools, and possibly, in time, to our elementary schools as well. In doing so, doors will be opened, opportunities pursued, and dreams realized. To be sure, the introduction of AVID to every level of public school is an opportunity that should not be overlooked by any student, teach or parent.