Page 7 - Dinuba Sentinel 5-24-18 E-edition

The Dinuba Sentinel Community Thursday, May 24, 2018 | A7
Orosi High Avid program awarded grant
Lincoln school royalty
Contributed
Contest winners for Lincoln School’s Family Fun Night, earned by students who earned the most donations through raffle tickets, were: (TK, Kindergarten, first grade and second grades) Jr. Prince Albert Gonzalez Lilis and Jr. Princess Chevelle Prieto; (third and fourth grade) Prince Adrian Gonzalez Lilis and Princess Jaylyn Barragan; and (fifth and sixth grades) King Alexander Gonzalez Lilis and Queen Mya Martinez. The Jr. Prince, Prince and King are all brothers.
By Rick Curiel Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
When the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program first started at Orosi High School back in 1997, it had about 25 total students. The program has since grown to well over 300 students, nearly a third of the entire student body population, who are eager to grow in the experience of preparing for college.
Next year’s Orosi High AVID students will have a leg up in their quest for college readiness as the program recently received a $10,000 grant from the state to go towards reinforcing the already successful program.
“The award is the recognition that your site team has affected change at your school in one of three categories,” said Cutler Orosi Joint Unified School District AVID Director Kathleen Giannandrea. “Our category was an effective site team. So as a whole school site, the counselors, the administrators, the AVID site team itself, the group of teachers that support the AVID system. In the district, we’ve all made in effort to assure that all of the arrows align in the direction of student success.
“We were recognized for that, and that recognition came with a $10,000 grant...Our plan is to bring AVID professional development to the district so that we don’t have to train people little bits at a time during the summer, we can bring them to us.”
This year’s AVID class is the largest group in the school’s history at 325 students, 62 of which are seniors, also the school’s largest graduating class from the program. Over the last 15 years the program has sent an average of 84 percent of its students to college.
“Every year we just build on what we do the previous year,” said Laurie Stohl, AVID Coordinator for Orosi High School. “This year we’ve really
been focusing on meeting the emotional and mental needs of our students, not just preparing them for college but also giving them the tools they need to succeed in life.”
Orosi High School senior Aaron Castillo is one of the 62 seniors who has benefited from the program. Castillo has been in the program since the eighth grade and will be attending San Diego State next year. He credits the program for helping him get organized for college.
“I was very disorganized,” said Castillo. “Ever since I joined AVID it has changed my life completely. Now I know where all my assignments and I’m kept on track.”
Another student who took advantage of the program is Orosi High senior Fernando Ybarra. After six years in the program, Ybarra will be heading off to attend University of California Irvine next fall.
“I think the best part, I’ve noticed recently, has been the community within AVID,” said Ybarra. “We’ve been together for at least four years now and so we’re close.”
Ybarra said the tight-knit community within AVID helps everyone involved because they all offer a way to help one another and understand the common direction of the program, to go to college.
Orosi High School senior Alexis Reyes says the program helped develop her communication skills and was instrumental in getting her to open up on social setting.
“I usually had a really hard time going out of my bubble and being able to present myself in front of individuals comfortably,” said Reyes. “I think the AVID program has really influenced me with that category. They encouraged me to get out there and be more involved with extracurricular activities and pointing out the importance of those things.”
Reyes said she was encouraged by her high school English teacher to join the program but admitted to brushing the subject off because it would require her to go outside her bubble. But then after a parent-teacher conference, the subject was once again brought up, this time to her parents.
“I’m glad I did it,” said Reyes. “I really don’t regret it at all.”
Western Regional Vietnam Memorial Wall Committee
Spaghetti Dinner
Fundraiser
Sat. May 25, 2018
5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
100% of monies raised will go to the Permanent Wall Fund
Dinuba Veterans Memorial Hall 249 S. Alta Ave, Dinuba, CA 93618
$10.00 per plate • Take Outs Available!
For more information call:
Frank Nunez 559-970-5177 or: Ruthie Padilla 559-696-0614 www.vvmwall-dinuba-ca.com
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