For immediate release
March 17, 2009 |
Contact: Larry Slonaker, SCCOE
(408) 453-6662 |
AVID Students Learn
How Writing Boosts Success
SAN JOSE, CA – AVID students from throughout the area will hear
first-hand how the ability to write is a key to college success, at the 8th
Annual Writers Conference on March 24 at Santa Clara University.
More than 500 AVID students and teachers, representing 31 middle and high
schools from Palo Alto to Salinas, will participate in the conference, where the
students will have the chance to hear from former AVID students—now enrolled at
SCU—about how skills they developed in the program have helped them in college.
"I am such an avid AVID fan," says Dolores laGuardia, (cq) founding director
of "The Hub," which is SCU's writing center. Representatives from SCU
departments such as math, environmental studies, art history, ethics and English
will discuss how good writing skills are necessary in any academic discipline.
"Writing is at the hub of everything we do," laGuardia said.
The conference, with writing workshops led by university faculty and staff,
follows the participation by more than 2,775 AVID middle and high school
students in a "Write-Off," a timed writing exercise modeled after the CSU
English Placement Test essay. The write-off is designed to heighten students'
enthusiasm for writing, and to sharpen their skills for on-demand writing and
other college entrance exams.
AVID--Advancement Via Individual Determination—is an in-school academic
support program for grades 4-12 that prepares students for college eligibility
and success. The program places academically average students in advanced
classes. A goal is to present opportunities to minority, rural, low-income and
other students without a college-going tradition in their families.
The Region V AVID Program, which serves the conference students, comprises 87
middle and high schools in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz
Counties. It is based at the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
The keynote speaker for the event is SCU professor and author Francisco
Jimenez.
Date last updated: March 17, 2009
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