Federal grant helps high school students succeed

For many Yuma teens whose parents did not go to college, higher education seems like the impossible dream.

But thanks to a federal grant, Kofa High School is helping launch some students to a professional career.

The Advanced Placement Incentive Program made through the U.S. Department of Education was made available to area schools last fall. Yuma Union High School District, Crane, Somerton and District 1 shared a $2.4 million grant. A key component of the program is the Advanced Via Individual Determination Program (AVID) aimed to expand existing curriculum.

The purpose of AVID is to make college possible for first-generation college-bound students to not only gain admittance but obtain a degree, said Anasone Silivongxay, AVID site coordinator at Kofa. Silivongxay led an informational presentation at the Kofa cafeteria for students and parents on Monday.

"Our goal is to get these kids in Advanced Placement courses to challenge themselves. The main idea is to have them become well-rounded students with extracurricular activities so they can succeed in life."

This fall is the first time Kofa received funds from the grant that began disbursements last fall. Jackie Valenzuela, 17, a junior, said AVID inspires her not to give up on her dreams.

"AVID pushes me to work harder, going over my notes every day so the night before a test I don't have to smash in everything at once."

One of the AVID techniques that Jackie said helped her was Cornell Notes, a study model created at that university. Cornell Notes requires students to jot down questions in the margins about any concepts they do not understand. They must also write a reflection of what they learned and review it daily.

Jackie said she meets regularly with her guidance counselor about adhering to a program to get her accepted to Arizona Western College, where she can do her general credits and then transfer to a four-year college. She has her sights set on Harvard University, which she said would be the best possible school for her goal of becoming a lawyer.

What is even more remarkable is that Jackie is a single mother to a 1-year-old son. AVID has not only helped her organize her academic career but helped her organize her life as a young mother as well.

Joel Hoekstra, world history instructor and AVID tutor, said he has seen the steady progress Jackie has made, raising her grades from Cs and Bs to Bs and As.

Many students do not know how to reach their full potential, he said. Many work hard but they need to refine that process just by changing a few things.

"If you tell a student the answer to a math problem, they don't really understand how to arrive at the answer themselves," Hoekstra said. "But if you teach them step by step how to arrive at self-discovery, then they will figure out the very point that was tripping them up in the first place."

The intent is to guide students to the answer in any subject by answering their questions with additional questions to ultimately lead them to an answer.

Another purpose of the informational session was to have students sign "contracts" pledging their commitment to AVID, Hoekstra noted. Fifty-one students signed contracts - 27 sophomores and 24 juniors.

Eric Parrish, 17, is one of the juniors to commit himself to the AVID program.

Last year, he said, he was having trouble preparing for exams because he was stashing all his notes in one big bundle in his backpack.

"Before, I used to lose my notes and wouldn't have any more material to prepare for tests. But when you join AVID, they give you a three-inch binder with plastic tabs to separate each class. Now when I study for a test I just open a binder and find just what I'm looking for."

William Roller can be reached at wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.