How AVID Helps Students, Part II

2025-12-10

AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a highly regarded, comprehensive educational program which has been used in schools all over the U.S. for 45 years. In one DCSD feeder system, students can learn AVID-based skills throughout their K-12 journey: first at Franktown Elementary, where AVID concepts are infused throughout all grades and subjects, then Sagewood Middle School and Ponderosa High School, both of which have AVID elective classes and more. In this episode, the principals from all three of those schools talk about how AVID makes a difference for all ages of students – plus parents, teachers, and pr...

AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a highly regarded, comprehensive educational program which has been used in schools all over the U.S. for 45 years.

In one DCSD feeder system, students can learn AVID-based skills throughout their K-12 journey: first at Franktown Elementary, where AVID concepts are infused throughout all grades and subjects, then Sagewood Middle School and Ponderosa High School, both of which have AVID elective classes and more.

In this episode, the principals from all three of those schools talk about how AVID makes a difference for all ages of students – plus parents, teachers, and principals building an identity for their schools.

From elementary students learning “You can do hard things” to middle schoolers starting to think about careers and college, to high schoolers mastering the skills to excel in each, these school leaders are helping pave the way to success for students with all kinds of learning styles and abilities. This whole conversation carries the core AVID message of “empowerment to unlock every student’s greatness.”

This is the second of three parts of the DCSD Notebook podcast miniseries focusing on the AVID program, which is used at several schools in Douglas County. The previous episode focused on the core aspects of the program and its implementation at the district level. This one is at the school level, and our next episode will have DCSD graduates talking about their experiences at the individual level and how AVID prepared them for the real world.

Guests this week:

Chandra Baca, Franktown Elementary School principal
Sarah Fields-Hasler, Sagewood Middle School principal
Ryan Hollingshead, Ponderosa High School principal

Resources

AVID homepage
The AVID College and Career Readiness Framework
AVID National data
AVID in Colorado data

Current AVID Schools in DCSD:
- Legend High School
- Ponderosa High School
- VALE High School
- Cresthill Middle School
- Sagewood Middle School
- Franktown Elementary School
- Frontier Valley Elementary School

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