December 18, 2024 • 20 mins
Merriam Webster defines the word avid as characterized by enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit. That's exactly how students in our five AVID schools pursue their education with the goal of graduating college- and career-ready.
AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, and it's a research-backed college prep program which is offered at 7,500 schools across the country. Five of those schools are right here in Canyons School District. Eastmont Middle, Mount Jordan Middle, Glacier Hills Elementary, Sandy Elementary, and Jordan High School. Now, Eastmont is leading the charge having just been named an AVID Demonstration School, a rare distinction shared by only 1 percent of the nation’s AVID schools.
In this latest episode of Connect Canyons, Eastmont Principal Stacy Kurtzhals and Instructional Coach Susie Baer Young explain the work that goes into becoming an AVID Demonstration School, and how AVID is changing how teachers teach, and students learn.
Episode Chapters
00:27 Introduction to AVID
We learn what AVID means and how it is used in the classroom.
01:43 Understanding AVID's Impact on Students
Kurtzhals and Young outline how they’ve seen AVID directly impacting students in how they learn and grow.
02:34 Eastmont's Journey to Becoming a Demonstration School
The steps it took for Eastmont to become one of a handful of schools in the country where other educators look to for guidance on how to be an AVID school.
10:29 AVID Elective and College Readiness
We learn about the difference between attending an AVID school and how students can take separate AVID classes.
13:43 Encouraging Parent Involvement
How parents can get involved in their children’s educational journey.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyon School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more.
We meet national experts too.
Learning is about makingconnections, so connect with us
(00:26):
experts too.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Learning is about making connections, so connect
with us.
Merriam-webster defines theword avid as characterized by
enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit.
That's exactly how students inour five avid schools pursue
their education, with the goalof graduating college and career
ready.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
Avid stands for Advancement ViaIndividual Determination, and
(00:53):
it's a research-backed collegeprep program which is offered at
7,500 schools across thecountry.
Five of those schools are righthere in Canyons District
Eastmont, middle, mount, jordanMiddle, glacier Hills Elementary
, sandy Elementary and JordanHigh School.
And now Eastmont is leading thecharge, having just been named
(01:14):
an AVID demonstration school.
Now that's a lot to take in.
So today I'm joined by twopeople who can help us to
understand what AVID is and howit's impacting hundreds of
students across the district.
Joining me are EastmontPrincipal, stacey Kurtzals, and
Eastmont Instructional Coach,susie Baer-Young.
Thank you both for being here,thank you, thank you.
(01:37):
Let's start with the basics,susie, can you tell us what AVID
means when it comes to thedaily education of our students?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
AVID is a program that focuses on college and
career readiness, and it teachesstudents skills to be
successful in the classroom butalso outside the classroom.
So ultimately it impactsstudents by what they're
learning, but it also helpsteachers learn how to teach
better and to engage studentsbetter.
I'd like to dig a little deeperinto that learn how to teach
better and to engage studentsbetter.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'd like to dig a little deeper into that, and you
know, part of the AVIDcurriculum is emphasizing
reading, writing, research,collaboration and I find these
ones so interesting note-takingand study skills.
So how is all of thatimplemented?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Well, a lot of it's implemented through the teachers
, because they learn theseskills to be able to better
teach the students, and so we doa lot of professional
development focused on thoseskills to be able to reach those
students.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Now, last month, Eastmont was named an AVID
demonstration school, and thatspeaks volumes to the dedication
of Eastmont's educators andtheir students alike.
Stacey, can you tell us whatbeing a demonstration school
entails?
Speaker 4 (02:49):
So we've been working with AVID in our school for 12
years, so it's been a long road.
Over the last six years, we seta goal with our school to
become a national demonstrationschool, and so we really had to
hit a lot of markers from AVIDNational I believe there's 60 at
least Wow and you have tocollect data over time showing
(03:11):
that you're working towardsthese goals.
So that includes academic goals.
That includes showing thethings that you're doing within
the classroom.
So we're really working hard tomake this a school-wide thing,
not just a program and anelective.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
You mentioned, avid's been part of the school
curriculum for 12 years now.
What have you seen, as aprincipal, as an instructional
coach, in terms of students'achievements, as AVID has been
implemented into the school?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
It's actually been really exciting.
We started with AVID looking athow we can get students
organized.
Organization was our bigdownfall for students when they
come to a middle school from anelementary.
So going from one teacher togoing into eight different
teachers and how do you keepyourself organized?
How do you know what you needto do each day.
So that was kind of where ourstarting point was and that's
(04:04):
what we focused on the firstcouple of years was just having
a binder system that we taughtevery student to use so that
everybody had the same thing.
We actually provide those sothat students are prepared with
the same materials as well.
So that was kind of our startingpoint.
From there we moved intonote-taking strategies and this
(04:25):
was before Susie even joined me.
But we moved into note-takingstrategies and at the time when
we were looking at AVID, AVIDwas really focused on that
student in the middle, thatpossible first-time college
student who, or nobody in theirfamily, had gone to college.
But AVID itself has morphedinto a college system for every
(04:48):
student and it hits studentsfrom our special education
students who are in our specialclasses, all the way to our
advanced students, and there arestrategies and skills that they
can use and apply for the restof their life.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Something that we've also seen as we've implemented
AVID, especially after COVID.
We noticed that teaching reallychanged during COVID and a lot
of that went to online schoolingand using Canvas and those are
all wonderful systems andsupports, but what I noticed as
a coach was that teachersstopped having their students
collaborate with each other, soit was a lot of the teacher talk
(05:21):
and then the students maybedoing the work independently,
but there wasn't as muchcollaboration.
So in the last like three or soyears, I've been working really
intentionally with teachers tohelp them improve their
collaboration in the classroomso that students are actually
talking to one another andthey're processing with another
and they're problem solving withone another, which ultimately
deepens the inquiry.
Yeah, While it did start askind of an organizational system
(05:44):
, it now is kind of we're seeingit across all of the indicators
of WICR writing, inquiry,collaboration, organization and
reading and as we're working onall of those elements, we're
seeing the rigor of the teachinggo up and that the students are
able to meet those expectationsand we're also seeing our
student scores increase as wellincrease as well.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
It sounds to me, too, like it's not just focusing on
getting a good grade, but all ofthe little tidbits that you, as
you're in school, you don'treally realize how much those
note-taking skills ororganizational skills are going
to help you down the road inyour career, in your personal
life.
I mean my pantry can be a messsometimes and I need to just
organize that.
I mean my pantry can be a messsometimes and I need to just
(06:26):
organize that.
Never mind, whatever yourworkday influence is, how are
you seeing students utilize thatand are you seeing a change in
them?
Speaker 4 (06:38):
I really think we are .
We've really turned thenote-taking process over to the
students by the time they'releaving our school.
So when they come in they'relearning the process, they're
learning how to do that and bythe time they're leaving our
school they're learning or theyknow which types of notes
benefit them best for whatthey're doing and they're able
(06:58):
to make that choice themselves.
But then they take that notetaking process a step further
where they're applying it andthey're using those notes to
study, which I was never taughthow to study when I went to
school.
So you know, it's just, it'sreally a lot of strategies and
things that make studentssuccessful as they progress on
in their career, educational allof the things that are
(07:20):
happening later in their life.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And just to build off of that, I would also add that
AVID really encourages positiverelationships between teachers
and students, and so one thingthat our AVID students are very
much aware of is how much theirteachers care for them and their
belief that they can besuccessful, that they can go to
high school, that they can besuccessful, whether that is in a
normal four-year collegeprogram or in a vocational
(07:43):
degree.
That's completely different.
In a vocational degree, that'scompletely different.
So one thing that our studentsI think also feel from our
teachers and just a huge shoutout to eSmart teachers is that
they love the positiverelationships and they work to
build that intentionally intotheir lesson plan.
So it's not just, yeah, thenote-taking is amazing, the
collaboration is amazing, butit's also students feeling the
safety and the security to learnand this trust.
(08:06):
And I think that's also whatmakes AVID a little bit
different than just therun-of-the-mill classroom and
what that safety allows is forteachers to push students to go
deeper in their learning.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
And that's where we're getting the growth from
our students.
Students who normally wouldgive up have the confidence to
do things that they wouldn'tnormally do because they know
their teachers believe in themand they've created that safe
space within their classroom sothat they are able to take that
risk.
And it's okay to make a mistake, and the only way to learn is
(08:37):
to make a mistake and to dosomething again and to build on
your learning.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
You know I think that's completely evident in the
school.
When it was announced thatEastmont was becoming an AVID
demonstration school, you heldthis wonderful assembly.
You know, executives from AVIDflew out here to be part of it.
You had the students.
It was just beautiful to seethem cheering as you introduced
(09:06):
teachers.
Just beautiful to see themcheering as you introduce
teachers.
And just even, stacey, as youwere up there talking, I mean I
felt like I just left a concert,like my ears were ringing
afterwards because they weregenuinely so excited about what
was happening, whereas I'mstanding there going, I don't
really know what this means.
So, stacey, now that Eastmontis a demonstration school, that
(09:28):
means people are looking to youand your staff and your school
all across the country.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
It's kind of awesome Right here in Canyons.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
That's beautiful.
So are they coming to Eastmont?
Are they, you know, touring theschool?
Are they calling you?
How does that work being adesignation school?
Speaker 4 (09:48):
So that's part that we're still learning about.
But we do know that we willhold what's called a showcase,
and so during the showcase we doopen up the doors to people who
want to come in and see theschool in action.
We really work on giving themkind of I've seen a couple
showcases where they highlightthings that are happening within
their school.
So you have a purpose of theshowcase, not just a random
(10:09):
walkthrough.
But we also have had schoolsalready reaching out to us this
year looking at our scores, soit's been kind of awesome.
We had a different districtthat came and did a walkthrough
of our school just because theycould compare us and see what we
were doing.
That they weren't, and so thatwas kind of a big pat on the
back as well.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Now there's you're an AVID school, but there's also
an AVID elective.
Can we talk about what that is?
Speaker 4 (10:38):
So the AVID elective is a class that students take to
learn deeper skills.
In this process they reallyfocus on a thing in class called
tutorials, but of course, wecan't get there until we get to
those relationships that Susiewas talking about.
So they do tutorials and whatthat is is really like a college
level study group.
(10:58):
So they're in a semi circlesurrounded by the person who is
leading it and it's a studentand they have created what they
call the problem, the point ofconfusion within their problem.
So, whether you know, math isalways the one that tends to
come out because there's a lotof hard things in math, and so
the kids work through how tosolve the point of confusion
(11:23):
that the student is having.
So they don't tell them theanswer in a tutorial conclusion
that the student is having.
So they don't tell them theanswer in a tutorial.
They help the student to usetheir tools to figure out how to
problem solve themselves.
Wow, and it is the most powerfulthing to watch, because these
kids don't know that.
They know how to find it andwhen they figure out that they
can work through it and do hardthings and get to the answer
(11:44):
themselves and that they had theanswer all along, the
confidence that comes out ofthem.
It goes out into the rest ofthe school.
So, in addition to thetutorials, the students are also
doing things like they dobinder checks because they need
to make sure that theirorganizational skills are there.
They do grade checks to makesure their grades are staying in
check.
(12:04):
They set goals for themselves.
They look at college and careerplanning.
They do a lot of things thatare college and college related.
They go on those field trips.
They've been to the Universityof Utah and they've been to UVU
Weber State, so they go and seethose possibilities that are out
there.
So it's really awesome for themto get those outings because,
(12:26):
like I said before, the AVIDelective is where this all
started and that was reallyfocused on that student in the
middle, that possible first-timecollege student,
first-generation college student, and so a lot of them don't
know that these opportunitiesare out there.
And when you get into the highschool level of the AVID
elective, the high schools arereally focused on the how to do
(12:49):
this.
So they're really focused onhow to apply for scholarships,
how to apply to colleges, and Iknow that a couple years ago I
don't have a data point fromthis year, but a couple years
ago there was 23 seniors thatwere in the AVID elective at
Jordan High School and they madeabout $1.5 million in
scholarships themselves Wow.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Just those 23?
.
Just those 23 students.
That's amazing.
It's really cool to hear thatthe college whether it's college
, whether it's careers, thatthat preparedness is coming
earlier in life is that thatpreparedness is coming earlier
in life.
You know, when I was in school,it wasn't until maybe our
junior year that you know ourcounselors would be like hey, so
(13:32):
where do you want to go tocollege?
What do you want to do?
I don't know.
So to hear that you knowstudents are already picking up
on those skill sets and alreadysetting those goals at an early
age.
That's really beautiful.
If parents want to know moreabout, say, whether it's
permitting into Eastmont Utah isa school choice state or about
(13:54):
joining the elective class, whatshould?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
they do.
Come on in, have a conversationwith us.
We love to talk about it.
We're very passionate about it.
If you couldn't tell, we'rehappy to answer phone calls.
They can email me whatever'seasiest.
I'm happy to answer anything,but we are taking permits.
We're a very small school andwe would like to build up our
school and share the wealth.
We've got some great stuffgoing on.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Also, those parents need to know that we have
top-notch teachers at our schoolwho are working extremely hard
to incorporate a lot ofengagement and a lot of rigor,
but also like scaffoldsappropriate scaffolds into their
teaching.
And so, for those parents whoare looking to maybe switch
schools or to come to Eastmont,just know that you are in for a
(14:38):
treat.
You will be meeting a lot ofamazing teachers.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I mean, you know, teachers of the Year, yep, new
York Times bestselling author.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Exactly Just a few, just to name the Year Yep, new
York Times bestselling.
Author.
Exactly Just a few.
Just a few, just to name a few,yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
What would you say, as educators, is your biggest
takeaway from AVID?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I think okay, first it's relationships.
I know I mentioned that earlier,but when you recognize how much
relationships can enhance youreducational experience and you
see that in action, I thinkfirst that is the most important
thing to know is that AVIDenhances relationships.
When relationships are enhanced, as Stacey mentioned before,
(15:18):
learning can enhance.
So that would be my firsttakeaway.
My second takeaway would bethat rigor is very possible in a
middle school setting and thatif you want your kid to be
challenged, you want them tounderstand the AVID program.
And I'm not just saying theelective that's wonderful, for
sure do the AVID elective butthat when teachers understand
(15:39):
how much power they can leveragewith the WICR strategies and
how that can enhance thethinking that the students are
doing and the buy-in from thestudents.
And it's not just teacher talkdown to the kids while the kids
write notes, the kids, theteachers are talking.
That leverages the learningopportunities for students and
their thinking increases.
And they are the ones doing thework and doing the
(16:01):
collaboration.
I think those two are my toptwo and I would ditto those for
sure.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
But adding on to that , I think it's really important
that one of the big focuses ofAVID and the mission statement
of AVID is that we close theopportunity gap.
And yes, we always are lookingat achievement, but there is a
gap in opportunity for ourstudents.
That opportunity knowledge forour students, that opportunity,
(16:30):
knowledge To know how tonavigate these systems and to
know that these systems arepossible for every student is
something that is very importantto me and that I'm very
passionate about.
And I believe that everystudent has the ability to move
on to whatever they want to,whether that be straight into
college, straight into a career.
I want every student who walksthrough the doors at Eastmont to
leave knowing that they havethe ability to do that.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Amen.
Yeah, I was.
You know, I was going to askwhat message you would like to
share about the work going on atEastmont, but I kind of feel
like you just hit the nail onthe head.
Yeah, what would you likepeople to know about the work at
Eastmont, about AVID, aboutjust the incredible things going
(17:14):
on here at Canyons?
Speaker 4 (17:16):
There are.
You know Susie kind of hit itearlier but there are the most
dedicated teachers that I haveever worked with on the staff at
Eastmont that I have everworked with on the staff at
Eastmont.
They are putting in the time tomake sure that what they are
teaching is relevant, what theyare teaching is rigorous and
what they are teaching issomething that students can take
(17:37):
beyond their classroom andapply.
And I don't know that you getthat in every situation in every
classroom.
I haven't, I mean, when I wentto school myself.
I guarantee that there arethings that I sat through that I
have no idea because I tunedout.
But with the instruction that'shappening at our school,
there's no time to tune out.
Our teachers are on it and theyare just rocking it and they
(18:00):
are the most dedicated peoplethat I have ever worked with.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
I would also echo what Stacey said about the
teachers.
Of course I work really closelyto the teachers so I can't say
enough good things about them.
But I also think that there's aculture at Eastmont that is not
always something that you feelat other schools, and I think
that a lot of that goes to theteachers, that a lot of that
goes to the students and theirfamilies, but also a shout out
to the administration for allthat they've done to create that
(18:26):
culture.
And so I think if anyone walksthrough our doors, we might have
like the oldest building in thedistrict, but you will feel the
culture coming in and you willfeel how much everyone is there
to work together and to worktogether as a team.
And for those of us who'veplayed sports I played a lot of
sports growing up there'snothing like it when you have a
(18:48):
team that you know has your back, and that is what it is like to
be at Eastmont.
It really is a team that youfeel safe and trust and you feel
like you can be pushed and youcan go the next level, but you
have people there to support youthrough it all.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
And I do want to say we couldn't do all this.
There's some really cool keyplayers at the district level.
Jesse Hennifer has been ourguidance for AVID all the way
through from the district andJay Rudell is amazing as our
district level AVID coordinatorAlso no longer with us anymore
in our district, but Bryn Cookwas very, very relevant to
(19:22):
getting AVID going in ourdistrict.
So awesome people to gettingAVID going in our district.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
So awesome people.
It's really great to hear howeveryone from every level
whether it's elementary schools,middle schools, high schools at
the district, our instructionalcoaches you can see that work
coming together and, like yousaid, when you set foot in
Eastmont, every time I've walkedin there the students are happy
to be there, they're excited tolearn and, like you said, you
(19:46):
feel it.
You can feel that teamcamaraderie Stacey's sitting
there wearing her team Eastmontjersey right now.
Go Patriots.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
I would have worn mine, but I was at a Christmas
party for the district.
Shout out to my instructionalcoaching friends.
Shout out Love it Go.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Patriots Go instructional coaches and thank
you both for being here.
It's beautiful to hear the workthat's being done at Eastmont
and we can't wait to see whatthe future brings.
As an avid demonstration school, we can't wait to show you
Awesome, thank you.
And thank you for listening.
If there's a topic you wouldlike to hear discussed on the
(20:21):
podcast, send us an email tocommunications at
canyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,facebook or Instagram at Canyons
District or on our website,canyonsdistrictorg.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyon School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more.
We meet national experts too.
Learning is about makingconnections, so connect with us
(00:26):
experts too.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Learning is about making connections, so connect
with us.
Merriam-webster defines theword avid as characterized by
enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit.
That's exactly how students inour five avid schools pursue
their education, with the goalof graduating college and career
ready.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
Avid stands for Advancement ViaIndividual Determination, and
(00:53):
it's a research-backed collegeprep program which is offered at
7,500 schools across thecountry.
Five of those schools are righthere in Canyons District
Eastmont, middle, mount, jordanMiddle, glacier Hills Elementary
, sandy Elementary and JordanHigh School.
And now Eastmont is leading thecharge, having just been named
(01:14):
an AVID demonstration school.
Now that's a lot to take in.
So today I'm joined by twopeople who can help us to
understand what AVID is and howit's impacting hundreds of
students across the district.
Joining me are EastmontPrincipal, stacey Kurtzals, and
Eastmont Instructional Coach,susie Baer-Young.
Thank you both for being here,thank you, thank you.
(01:37):
Let's start with the basics,susie, can you tell us what AVID
means when it comes to thedaily education of our students?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
AVID is a program that focuses on college and
career readiness, and it teachesstudents skills to be
successful in the classroom butalso outside the classroom.
So ultimately it impactsstudents by what they're
learning, but it also helpsteachers learn how to teach
better and to engage studentsbetter.
I'd like to dig a little deeperinto that learn how to teach
better and to engage studentsbetter.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'd like to dig a little deeper into that, and you
know, part of the AVIDcurriculum is emphasizing
reading, writing, research,collaboration and I find these
ones so interesting note-takingand study skills.
So how is all of thatimplemented?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Well, a lot of it's implemented through the teachers
, because they learn theseskills to be able to better
teach the students, and so we doa lot of professional
development focused on thoseskills to be able to reach those
students.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Now, last month, Eastmont was named an AVID
demonstration school, and thatspeaks volumes to the dedication
of Eastmont's educators andtheir students alike.
Stacey, can you tell us whatbeing a demonstration school
entails?
Speaker 4 (02:49):
So we've been working with AVID in our school for 12
years, so it's been a long road.
Over the last six years, we seta goal with our school to
become a national demonstrationschool, and so we really had to
hit a lot of markers from AVIDNational I believe there's 60 at
least Wow and you have tocollect data over time showing
(03:11):
that you're working towardsthese goals.
So that includes academic goals.
That includes showing thethings that you're doing within
the classroom.
So we're really working hard tomake this a school-wide thing,
not just a program and anelective.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
You mentioned, avid's been part of the school
curriculum for 12 years now.
What have you seen, as aprincipal, as an instructional
coach, in terms of students'achievements, as AVID has been
implemented into the school?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
It's actually been really exciting.
We started with AVID looking athow we can get students
organized.
Organization was our bigdownfall for students when they
come to a middle school from anelementary.
So going from one teacher togoing into eight different
teachers and how do you keepyourself organized?
How do you know what you needto do each day.
So that was kind of where ourstarting point was and that's
(04:04):
what we focused on the firstcouple of years was just having
a binder system that we taughtevery student to use so that
everybody had the same thing.
We actually provide those sothat students are prepared with
the same materials as well.
So that was kind of our startingpoint.
From there we moved intonote-taking strategies and this
(04:25):
was before Susie even joined me.
But we moved into note-takingstrategies and at the time when
we were looking at AVID, AVIDwas really focused on that
student in the middle, thatpossible first-time college
student who, or nobody in theirfamily, had gone to college.
But AVID itself has morphedinto a college system for every
(04:48):
student and it hits studentsfrom our special education
students who are in our specialclasses, all the way to our
advanced students, and there arestrategies and skills that they
can use and apply for the restof their life.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Something that we've also seen as we've implemented
AVID, especially after COVID.
We noticed that teaching reallychanged during COVID and a lot
of that went to online schoolingand using Canvas and those are
all wonderful systems andsupports, but what I noticed as
a coach was that teachersstopped having their students
collaborate with each other, soit was a lot of the teacher talk
(05:21):
and then the students maybedoing the work independently,
but there wasn't as muchcollaboration.
So in the last like three or soyears, I've been working really
intentionally with teachers tohelp them improve their
collaboration in the classroomso that students are actually
talking to one another andthey're processing with another
and they're problem solving withone another, which ultimately
deepens the inquiry.
Yeah, While it did start askind of an organizational system
(05:44):
, it now is kind of we're seeingit across all of the indicators
of WICR writing, inquiry,collaboration, organization and
reading and as we're working onall of those elements, we're
seeing the rigor of the teachinggo up and that the students are
able to meet those expectationsand we're also seeing our
student scores increase as wellincrease as well.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
It sounds to me, too, like it's not just focusing on
getting a good grade, but all ofthe little tidbits that you, as
you're in school, you don'treally realize how much those
note-taking skills ororganizational skills are going
to help you down the road inyour career, in your personal
life.
I mean my pantry can be a messsometimes and I need to just
organize that.
I mean my pantry can be a messsometimes and I need to just
(06:26):
organize that.
Never mind, whatever yourworkday influence is, how are
you seeing students utilize thatand are you seeing a change in
them?
Speaker 4 (06:38):
I really think we are .
We've really turned thenote-taking process over to the
students by the time they'releaving our school.
So when they come in they'relearning the process, they're
learning how to do that and bythe time they're leaving our
school they're learning or theyknow which types of notes
benefit them best for whatthey're doing and they're able
(06:58):
to make that choice themselves.
But then they take that notetaking process a step further
where they're applying it andthey're using those notes to
study, which I was never taughthow to study when I went to
school.
So you know, it's just, it'sreally a lot of strategies and
things that make studentssuccessful as they progress on
in their career, educational allof the things that are
(07:20):
happening later in their life.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And just to build off of that, I would also add that
AVID really encourages positiverelationships between teachers
and students, and so one thingthat our AVID students are very
much aware of is how much theirteachers care for them and their
belief that they can besuccessful, that they can go to
high school, that they can besuccessful, whether that is in a
normal four-year collegeprogram or in a vocational
(07:43):
degree.
That's completely different.
In a vocational degree, that'scompletely different.
So one thing that our studentsI think also feel from our
teachers and just a huge shoutout to eSmart teachers is that
they love the positiverelationships and they work to
build that intentionally intotheir lesson plan.
So it's not just, yeah, thenote-taking is amazing, the
collaboration is amazing, butit's also students feeling the
safety and the security to learnand this trust.
(08:06):
And I think that's also whatmakes AVID a little bit
different than just therun-of-the-mill classroom and
what that safety allows is forteachers to push students to go
deeper in their learning.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
And that's where we're getting the growth from
our students.
Students who normally wouldgive up have the confidence to
do things that they wouldn'tnormally do because they know
their teachers believe in themand they've created that safe
space within their classroom sothat they are able to take that
risk.
And it's okay to make a mistake, and the only way to learn is
(08:37):
to make a mistake and to dosomething again and to build on
your learning.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
You know I think that's completely evident in the
school.
When it was announced thatEastmont was becoming an AVID
demonstration school, you heldthis wonderful assembly.
You know, executives from AVIDflew out here to be part of it.
You had the students.
It was just beautiful to seethem cheering as you introduced
(09:06):
teachers.
Just beautiful to see themcheering as you introduce
teachers.
And just even, stacey, as youwere up there talking, I mean I
felt like I just left a concert,like my ears were ringing
afterwards because they weregenuinely so excited about what
was happening, whereas I'mstanding there going, I don't
really know what this means.
So, stacey, now that Eastmontis a demonstration school, that
(09:28):
means people are looking to youand your staff and your school
all across the country.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
It's kind of awesome Right here in Canyons.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
That's beautiful.
So are they coming to Eastmont?
Are they, you know, touring theschool?
Are they calling you?
How does that work being adesignation school?
Speaker 4 (09:48):
So that's part that we're still learning about.
But we do know that we willhold what's called a showcase,
and so during the showcase we doopen up the doors to people who
want to come in and see theschool in action.
We really work on giving themkind of I've seen a couple
showcases where they highlightthings that are happening within
their school.
So you have a purpose of theshowcase, not just a random
(10:09):
walkthrough.
But we also have had schoolsalready reaching out to us this
year looking at our scores, soit's been kind of awesome.
We had a different districtthat came and did a walkthrough
of our school just because theycould compare us and see what we
were doing.
That they weren't, and so thatwas kind of a big pat on the
back as well.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Now there's you're an AVID school, but there's also
an AVID elective.
Can we talk about what that is?
Speaker 4 (10:38):
So the AVID elective is a class that students take to
learn deeper skills.
In this process they reallyfocus on a thing in class called
tutorials, but of course, wecan't get there until we get to
those relationships that Susiewas talking about.
So they do tutorials and whatthat is is really like a college
level study group.
(10:58):
So they're in a semi circlesurrounded by the person who is
leading it and it's a studentand they have created what they
call the problem, the point ofconfusion within their problem.
So, whether you know, math isalways the one that tends to
come out because there's a lotof hard things in math, and so
the kids work through how tosolve the point of confusion
(11:23):
that the student is having.
So they don't tell them theanswer in a tutorial conclusion
that the student is having.
So they don't tell them theanswer in a tutorial.
They help the student to usetheir tools to figure out how to
problem solve themselves.
Wow, and it is the most powerfulthing to watch, because these
kids don't know that.
They know how to find it andwhen they figure out that they
can work through it and do hardthings and get to the answer
(11:44):
themselves and that they had theanswer all along, the
confidence that comes out ofthem.
It goes out into the rest ofthe school.
So, in addition to thetutorials, the students are also
doing things like they dobinder checks because they need
to make sure that theirorganizational skills are there.
They do grade checks to makesure their grades are staying in
check.
(12:04):
They set goals for themselves.
They look at college and careerplanning.
They do a lot of things thatare college and college related.
They go on those field trips.
They've been to the Universityof Utah and they've been to UVU
Weber State, so they go and seethose possibilities that are out
there.
So it's really awesome for themto get those outings because,
(12:26):
like I said before, the AVIDelective is where this all
started and that was reallyfocused on that student in the
middle, that possible first-timecollege student,
first-generation college student, and so a lot of them don't
know that these opportunitiesare out there.
And when you get into the highschool level of the AVID
elective, the high schools arereally focused on the how to do
(12:49):
this.
So they're really focused onhow to apply for scholarships,
how to apply to colleges, and Iknow that a couple years ago I
don't have a data point fromthis year, but a couple years
ago there was 23 seniors thatwere in the AVID elective at
Jordan High School and they madeabout $1.5 million in
scholarships themselves Wow.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Just those 23?
.
Just those 23 students.
That's amazing.
It's really cool to hear thatthe college whether it's college
, whether it's careers, thatthat preparedness is coming
earlier in life is that thatpreparedness is coming earlier
in life.
You know, when I was in school,it wasn't until maybe our
junior year that you know ourcounselors would be like hey, so
(13:32):
where do you want to go tocollege?
What do you want to do?
I don't know.
So to hear that you knowstudents are already picking up
on those skill sets and alreadysetting those goals at an early
age.
That's really beautiful.
If parents want to know moreabout, say, whether it's
permitting into Eastmont Utah isa school choice state or about
(13:54):
joining the elective class, whatshould?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
they do.
Come on in, have a conversationwith us.
We love to talk about it.
We're very passionate about it.
If you couldn't tell, we'rehappy to answer phone calls.
They can email me whatever'seasiest.
I'm happy to answer anything,but we are taking permits.
We're a very small school andwe would like to build up our
school and share the wealth.
We've got some great stuffgoing on.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Also, those parents need to know that we have
top-notch teachers at our schoolwho are working extremely hard
to incorporate a lot ofengagement and a lot of rigor,
but also like scaffoldsappropriate scaffolds into their
teaching.
And so, for those parents whoare looking to maybe switch
schools or to come to Eastmont,just know that you are in for a
(14:38):
treat.
You will be meeting a lot ofamazing teachers.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I mean, you know, teachers of the Year, yep, new
York Times bestselling author.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Exactly Just a few, just to name the Year Yep, new
York Times bestselling.
Author.
Exactly Just a few.
Just a few, just to name a few,yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
What would you say, as educators, is your biggest
takeaway from AVID?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I think okay, first it's relationships.
I know I mentioned that earlier,but when you recognize how much
relationships can enhance youreducational experience and you
see that in action, I thinkfirst that is the most important
thing to know is that AVIDenhances relationships.
When relationships are enhanced, as Stacey mentioned before,
(15:18):
learning can enhance.
So that would be my firsttakeaway.
My second takeaway would bethat rigor is very possible in a
middle school setting and thatif you want your kid to be
challenged, you want them tounderstand the AVID program.
And I'm not just saying theelective that's wonderful, for
sure do the AVID elective butthat when teachers understand
(15:39):
how much power they can leveragewith the WICR strategies and
how that can enhance thethinking that the students are
doing and the buy-in from thestudents.
And it's not just teacher talkdown to the kids while the kids
write notes, the kids, theteachers are talking.
That leverages the learningopportunities for students and
their thinking increases.
And they are the ones doing thework and doing the
(16:01):
collaboration.
I think those two are my toptwo and I would ditto those for
sure.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
But adding on to that , I think it's really important
that one of the big focuses ofAVID and the mission statement
of AVID is that we close theopportunity gap.
And yes, we always are lookingat achievement, but there is a
gap in opportunity for ourstudents.
That opportunity knowledge forour students, that opportunity,
(16:30):
knowledge To know how tonavigate these systems and to
know that these systems arepossible for every student is
something that is very importantto me and that I'm very
passionate about.
And I believe that everystudent has the ability to move
on to whatever they want to,whether that be straight into
college, straight into a career.
I want every student who walksthrough the doors at Eastmont to
leave knowing that they havethe ability to do that.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Amen.
Yeah, I was.
You know, I was going to askwhat message you would like to
share about the work going on atEastmont, but I kind of feel
like you just hit the nail onthe head.
Yeah, what would you likepeople to know about the work at
Eastmont, about AVID, aboutjust the incredible things going
(17:14):
on here at Canyons?
Speaker 4 (17:16):
There are.
You know Susie kind of hit itearlier but there are the most
dedicated teachers that I haveever worked with on the staff at
Eastmont that I have everworked with on the staff at
Eastmont.
They are putting in the time tomake sure that what they are
teaching is relevant, what theyare teaching is rigorous and
what they are teaching issomething that students can take
(17:37):
beyond their classroom andapply.
And I don't know that you getthat in every situation in every
classroom.
I haven't, I mean, when I wentto school myself.
I guarantee that there arethings that I sat through that I
have no idea because I tunedout.
But with the instruction that'shappening at our school,
there's no time to tune out.
Our teachers are on it and theyare just rocking it and they
(18:00):
are the most dedicated peoplethat I have ever worked with.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
I would also echo what Stacey said about the
teachers.
Of course I work really closelyto the teachers so I can't say
enough good things about them.
But I also think that there's aculture at Eastmont that is not
always something that you feelat other schools, and I think
that a lot of that goes to theteachers, that a lot of that
goes to the students and theirfamilies, but also a shout out
to the administration for allthat they've done to create that
(18:26):
culture.
And so I think if anyone walksthrough our doors, we might have
like the oldest building in thedistrict, but you will feel the
culture coming in and you willfeel how much everyone is there
to work together and to worktogether as a team.
And for those of us who'veplayed sports I played a lot of
sports growing up there'snothing like it when you have a
(18:48):
team that you know has your back, and that is what it is like to
be at Eastmont.
It really is a team that youfeel safe and trust and you feel
like you can be pushed and youcan go the next level, but you
have people there to support youthrough it all.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
And I do want to say we couldn't do all this.
There's some really cool keyplayers at the district level.
Jesse Hennifer has been ourguidance for AVID all the way
through from the district andJay Rudell is amazing as our
district level AVID coordinatorAlso no longer with us anymore
in our district, but Bryn Cookwas very, very relevant to
(19:22):
getting AVID going in ourdistrict.
So awesome people to gettingAVID going in our district.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
So awesome people.
It's really great to hear howeveryone from every level
whether it's elementary schools,middle schools, high schools at
the district, our instructionalcoaches you can see that work
coming together and, like yousaid, when you set foot in
Eastmont, every time I've walkedin there the students are happy
to be there, they're excited tolearn and, like you said, you
(19:46):
feel it.
You can feel that teamcamaraderie Stacey's sitting
there wearing her team Eastmontjersey right now.
Go Patriots.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
I would have worn mine, but I was at a Christmas
party for the district.
Shout out to my instructionalcoaching friends.
Shout out Love it Go.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Patriots Go instructional coaches and thank
you both for being here.
It's beautiful to hear the workthat's being done at Eastmont
and we can't wait to see whatthe future brings.
As an avid demonstration school, we can't wait to show you
Awesome, thank you.
And thank you for listening.
If there's a topic you wouldlike to hear discussed on the
(20:21):
podcast, send us an email tocommunications at
canyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,facebook or Instagram at Canyons
District or on our website,canyonsdistrictorg.
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