Pre-Conference Sessions

Combining the power of AI and AVID strategies can significantly enhance student engagement and achievement in K–12 classrooms. In this session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the potential of generative AI in the classroom and develop concrete ideas for integrating this technology into their teaching practice to foster WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading) skills in their students. The presentation is interactive and engaging, focusing on active learning strategies and collaborative discussions. Participants will experience curated activities deploying AI tools and engage in collaborative brainstorms as they plan applications for their educational contexts. By the end of this session, participants will be equipped with strategies and ideas to help students engage with AI in positive, ethical, and rigorous ways. 

AVID Weekly: Literacy Connections Schoolwide provides teachers with ready-to-go lessons that bring disciplinary literacy to life in every classroom. Monthly content updates include at least one multilingual learner lesson, various texts with readability levels from grades 5–12, and optional blended learning opportunities and support for teachers. In this session, participants will embark on a journey that will allow them to navigate the site, explore an AVID Weekly text and lesson, and investigate resources as they engage in the AVID Critical Reading Process to gain knowledge and understanding of how to cultivate literacy in their classrooms.

AVID® Elementary Weekly: Literacy Connections Schoolwide provides teachers with ready-to-go lessons that bring disciplinary literacy to life in every classroom. Monthly content updates include at least one multilingual learner lesson, various texts with readability levels beginning at kindergarten, and optional blended learning opportunities and support for teachers. In this session, participants will embark on a journey that will allow them to navigate the site, explore an AVID Weekly text and lesson, and investigate resources as they engage in the AVID Critical Reading Process to gain knowledge and understanding of how to cultivate literacy in their classrooms.

Becoming an AVID Certified Educator means demonstrating dedication to continuous reflective practice centered on the AVID Foundations of Instruction. Get a sneak peek into how becoming an AVID Certified Educator supports educators in creating classroom experiences that improve college and career readiness for all students. Participants in this session will learn more about this new opportunity for classroom educators to demonstrate and validate their commitment to applying the AVID Foundations of Instruction through daily instructional design. Site and district leaders will learn how supporting teachers to become AVID Certified Educators can positively impact collective educator agency on your campus and learning experiences for your students.

AVID Elementary Descriptors help bring the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework to life through “What Students Need” and how that looks in an elementary setting. With each grade level represented, educators can apply the Elementary Descriptors to locally defined content and standards to support student success. Participants will learn how the Elementary Descriptors are scaffolded through the gradual release of responsibility from educator encouragement and modeling to monitoring as students become more independent in their skills. Participants will work with other educators to apply the Elementary Descriptors to their professional practice to support student success.

Take the next steps through this timely and imperative NatCon session, where we open the door to building student agency in classrooms invigorated by the unassuming yet effectual use of AI. This session underscores how AI integration helps foster vital skills in students, cementing their college and career readiness in a rapidly digitizing world. Be prepared to delve into practical instances of knowledge and skill activation through responsible and ethical use of AI and consider the unintended ramifications of unequal exposure to such transformative tools. Imagine a classroom where students can access rigorous content on a level playing field and have the opportunity to comprehend and apply their knowledge. This session is targeted at educators aspiring to boost their teaching practice, unlock enriching resources, and redefine perspectives, all while maintaining a firm focus on augmenting student agency.

Join us for an interactive session on utilizing interactive notebooks to enhance critical reading and note-taking skills across content areas. Participants will engage in hands-on activities, including collaborative note-taking and text annotation, to deepen their understanding of the AVID Critical Reading Process. Through shared insights and collaborative learning, attendees will explore the benefits of using graphic organizers and processing activities to showcase their learning. This session is for educators seeking practical strategies to promote collaboration and boost student engagement in both reading and note-taking activities.

In this session, we’ll explore how AVID Professional Learning Modules (APLMs) can enhance educators’ professional development and improve student outcomes. We’ll also discuss strategies for integrating APLMs into educational frameworks to promote college and career readiness. Join us as we navigate the APLMs, equipping educators with the tools to implement APLMs effectively and empower students for their future paths.

Roadtrip Nation captures empowering stories that give students the tools and confidence to find a career that matters to them. Join us for a deep dive into the AVID and Roadtrip Nation partnership and experience how the combination of Roadtrip Nation stories and AVID WICOR® strategies empower students to discover what drives them and use that passion to define their road to college and career. Come experience how this partnership develops opportunity knowledge and accelerates college and career readiness for all students. Digital device and headphones recommended.

This session enables attendees to understand AVID, the AVID College and Career Readiness System, and WICOR^® strategies. Attendees will have the opportunity to examine their contribution to AVID implementation and the way it fosters student success. Furthermore, participants will be actively involved in WICOR strategies, which they can promptly apply in their respective roles.

This session, geared toward participants who are new to AVID Secondary or are interested in implementing AVID, will focus on how AVID helps educators become more engaged so that students may succeed through college and beyond. Participants will walk away with an understanding of the impact that AVID can make by systematically increasing academic rigor, creating engaging learning environments, accelerating the performance of underrepresented students, and delivering results schoolwide

This session will provide an introductory overview of AVID Elementary for participants who are planning to implement or are interested in implementing AVID Elementary. Existing AVID Elementary partners are welcome and may pick up some updated information through this session. Participants will learn what college readiness means in an elementary context as well as the relational connection between AVID Elementary and AVID Secondary. The intended audience is district stakeholders (superintendents, curriculum and instruction directors, and District Directors) and elementary or intermediate principals and assistant principals, teachers, and instructional specialists.

In this session, attendees will explore AVID resources to boost students’ organizational skills, discuss ways to enhance classroom strategies, and review the yearly progression of these tactics to ensure their ongoing refinement and increased application.

Are you looking for impactful ways of engaging students and empowering their learning? Makerspaces support the development of resourcefulness, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills among students. This interactive session will immerse participants in easy-to-implement makerspaces that they can use in their classrooms and schools as tools to promote hands-on learning and foster creativity and innovation among students. Educators and administrators will walk away with resources and tools to help guide the immediate implementation of makerspaces.

This session enables attendees to understand AVID, the AVID College and Career Readiness System, and WICOR^® strategies. Attendees will have the opportunity to examine their contribution to AVID implementation and the way it fosters student success. Furthermore, participants will be actively involved in WICOR strategies, which they can promptly apply in their respective roles.