MAKING COLLEGE DREAMS REALITY

AVID AT TWELVE YEARS

Time flies - it seems like just yesterday that the AVID programs began its Boise District run at Fairmont Junior High School, with a small group of seventh graders who were recruited to take part in a brand new program that encouraged habits for successful entry into and completion of post-secondary degrees.

For those who are not familiar with AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination), it began in San Diego, California  in 1970, and has spread across the country. Participation in AVID requires that schools identify non-traditional students from the "forgotten middle" - kids have potential but who likely would not choose college without the benefit of the AVID program.

These students are recommended by their elementary school teachers, and enrolled in an AVID "elective" in seventh grade, along with enrollment in Accelerated Math and English classes. In the AVID elective class , they receive subject-matter tutoring, along with organization and study skills and a belief they will succeed in college.

In high school, AVID students visit college campuses around the northwest, apply for grants and scholarships, and typically enroll in one or more Advanced Placement classes. The expectation is that they will "go on" and be successful.

College-Going and Persistence

One of the things that the AVID program has done particularly well is to get students off to a good start in college. A far higher percentage of AVID students enroll the fall after high school graduation than enroll from the Boise District as a whole or statewide.

Insofar as the number of students who have persisted from among the multiple classes and are either still enrolled in college or have graduated, here are the data 

As you can see, a substantially higher percentage of  AVID college students are still enrolled as of the fall of 2018 than are enrolled from the District as a whole. Comparable statewide data were not available.

College Degrees, Locations, and Fields

Thus far, 76 AVID students have graduated from college with a certificate or a  2- or 4-year degree. These students have earned 52 Bachelor's degrees, 17 Associate's degrees, and 7 certificates.

AVID college grads have earned degrees and certificates from 20 different colleges and universities. 19 degrees have come from Boise State University, 14 from the University of Idaho, 11 from the College of Western Idaho, 7 fro the College of Idaho, and 5 from Idaho State University. Other colleges of note from which AVID grads have earned degrees include Baylor University, University of Southern California, Oregon State University, Pepperdine University, Northwest Nazarene University, University of Utah, Lewis-Clark State College (4), Whittier College, and Northern Arizona University.

The largest number of AVID college grads have received degrees and certificates in Arts and Humanities majors (24),  followed by STEM degrees (17), and degrees in Business (12).

We will continue to update our AVID students' progress on a regular basis Looking to report 100 college grads next year at this time!

CLASS OF 2018 COLLEGE DESTINATIONS

This is the time of year when we receive our National Student Clearinghouse report on the status of our high school grads from previous years. We can examine the progress of graduating classes, analyze trends with student majors, and look at "go-on" trends for our students.

Here's some information about the Class of 2018, the most recent high school graduating class from the Boise District.

Destinations

Boise District Class of 2018 graduates are attending college in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 2/3 of our grads are attending school in Idaho. Of the rest, the highest percentage is attending in Utah (9%). 

The most popular individual colleges are Boise State (280 attendees, 29% of the total) , the College of Western Idaho (143, 15%), the University of Idaho (89, 9%), the University of Utah (55, 6%), Idaho State University (30, 3%) and Montana State University and the College of Idaho (19 each, 2%). 

By way of comparison, BSU, CWI, and ISU received about the same percentage of Boise District students from the class of 2018 as they did from the class of  2013. The University of Idaho, however, is down 3% compared with 2013, from 12% to 9%, and the University of Utah received 25 students (about 3% of the total) in 2013 and 55 (6%) this year. Overall, colleges in Utah received 6% of Boise District grads in 2013 and 9% in 2018.

Here are the most popular individual college attendance figures broken down by high school:

It's interesting to note that the enrollment to the University of Utah is almost entirely from Boise and Timberline, and that U of U enrollment from those schools now almost matches that of the University of Idaho.

In-State and Out-of-State Enrollment

Though almost 2/3 of Boise District students are enrolled at in-state schools, the percentages vary among District high schools.

As you can see, Boise is the only high school from which the majority of college-going students attend out-of-state schools. Four of five Borah grads attend in Idaho,  75% of Capital grads stay in the state, and just under 2/3 of Timberline students attend in the state, which is about the District average.

2-Year and 4-Year College Attendance

In  the high school graduating class of 2013, 78% of college-going students attended a 4-year college. In the class of 2018, the percentage attending 4-year colleges is...79%.  So not much has changed.  But the pattern varies among the five District high schools.

Boise and Timberline have the highest percentages of students attending 4-year colleges, but the strong majority of Borah and Capital students attend 4-year schools, as well.

Among the notable 4-year schools our students are attending are (by state):

Arizona - Arizona State 4, University of Arizona 7, Northern Arizona 4

California - California Institute of Technology, Pitzer College 2, Pomona College, Scripps College 2, UCLA, USC

Colorado  - Colorado School of Mines 5, Colorado State 3, University of Colorado 7, University of Denver 2

District of Columbia - George Washington 3

Florida - Embry-Riddle 3, University of Florida

Georgia - Emory University

Illinois - Northwestern, University of Chicago, University of Illinois 2

Kansas - Kansas State, University of Kansas

Louisiana - LSU 2

Massachusetts - Emerson College, MIT 2, Northeastern 2, Wellesley

Minnesota- Macalester College 2, St. Olaf College 3, University of Minnesota

Montana - University of Montana 10

New Hampshire - Dartmouth College 3

Nevada - Nevada-Reno 2

New York - Columbia, Pratt Institute

Ohio - Bowling Green 2

Oklahoma - University of Oklahoma

Oregon - Lewis and Clark College 2, Oregon State 4, Pacific University, Portland State University 3, University of Oregon 3, University of Portland 4, Western Oregon University, Willamette University 2

Pennsylvania - University of Pennsylvania

Rhode Island - Brown University

Tennessee - Union University

Texas - Baylor, Texas Christian University 3,  Texas Tech

Utah - Utah State University 9, BYU 10, Westminster College 6, Weber State 2

Virginia - William and Mary, University of Virginia 2, Virginia Commonwealth 

Washington - Central Washington 2, Gonzaga 4, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific, University of Washington 6, Washington State 6, Western Washington 5, Whitman  3, Whitworth 4