Students from Kurunjang Secondary School will be well and truly ready for university thanks to an innovative educational model being implemented at the school.
The AVID program – Advancement via Individual Determination – is aimed at offering support to students, particularly those in the academic ‘middle’ so they can apply to university and achieve their full potential.
Teacher David Gorton said the program, an elective in the younger year levels, taught students a variety of techniques to make it easier to enter a university course after high school.
Mr Gorton said students of all capabilities had benefited from the program since it was launched last year and the schoool now had three AVID classes.
“By teaching students the skills and behaviours for success, while providing intensive support and developing a sense of hope, social mobility is a real and achievable aim for many of the students in the community,” he said.
“Many students explain that they want to be the first member of their family to attend university.”
Nicole Tomilloso, 14, who has been in the program for two years, told Star Weekly it had helped learning become more natural for her.
“I’m really organised now and I think it’s made me become a better learner,” she said.
Kristen Twite, 13, said she entered the program to improve her marks and learn how to better organise her time so that she could hand projects in on time.
Other AVID students Alesha Laurie, 13, and Trent Fletcher-Gass, 14, said the course had improved their communication skills and they now loved learning.
