More than 30 LA County educators visited Graves Middle School in South Whittier on Tuesday, November 14, for AVID training.
Graves Middle School is an AVID demonstration site which gives them the opportunity to share with other educators what is taking place in their AVID program. Dr. Fraijo, principal of Graves Middle School, gave visitors a tour of classrooms and a presentation about the site’s AVID transformation. The visit also included a Socratic Seminar and a training about how to take an AVID program school wide. The seminar was given by Carmen Serret-Lopez, who is from the AVID Center.
The visit ended with the educators having the opportunity to speak with a panel of Graves students who are a part of the AVID program.
“They were very impressed by our kids,” Dr. Fraijo stated. “We are so proud of our students and our staff. We want to show off the great work that they do every day.”
Graves Middle School became an AVID demonstration school after a site visit that placed them as one of the top 2.7% of all AVID schools in the entire country. They were honored with this prestigious award earlier this year.
AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. The goal of AVID Programs is to close the achievement gap and prepare all students for college and post secondary opportunities. The program strives to bring research based strategies to the classroom providing educators with methods that develop critical thinking, math skills, and literacy.
Along with being an AVID demonstration site, Graves Middle School has also received the prestigious Golden Bell Award. They will be officially honored with this achievement Thursday, November 30th, in San Diego.