• State News
  • National News
  • Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Subscribe For $2.50/month
Print Editions
Henry County Enterprise
  • News
    • Neighborhood News
    • Business
    • Community Calendar
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds
  • eEnterprise
  • Spiritual
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
  • My account
  • Login
  • FAQ
No Result
View All Result
Henry County Enterprise
No Result
View All Result
Henry County Enterprise
No Result
View All Result

Martinsville Middle School showcases nationally recognized learning strategies 

submissions by submissions
December 9, 2022
in Local News, School
0
0
SHARES
58
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
AVID Associate Senior Director Allen Johnson discusses how Martinsville Middle School students worked out the solution to a math problem during an AVID gallery walk.

State and national AVID representatives and regional educators at Martinsville Middle School (MMS)

recently to learn about how the school is implementing AVID learning strategies schoolwide to 

improve student success.  

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is an academic support program designed to 

increase schoolwide learning and performance. The mission of AVID focuses on closing the 

opportunity gap, providing support for students, and allowing them to achieve success and 

activate their desire and commitment to own their present and their future.  

Morgan Belton, Martinsville Middle School’s AVID coordinator, discusses how AVID has created a supportive family environment among students and teachers at her school.

The school’s AVID showcase was designed to demonstrate the variety of AVID strategies at work 

in the school. The morning began by inviting attendees to “think-write-pair-share” about what 

brought them to the showcase. Guests first worked individually, writing about why they were 

attending and what they hoped to gain from the showcase, then discussing those thoughts in 

small groups.  

Following that, attendees had the opportunity to visit classrooms to see how teachers in each 

grade level were implementing various AVID strategies across the whole curriculum. Educators 

witnessed AVID tutoring groups in action, saw teachers in multiple disciplines utilize the four 

corners activity (which requires every student to participate in thoughtful discussion by taking a 

position on an issue), gallery walks (in which rotating groups of students work to answer 

questions posed by the teacher), and more—each activity promoting critical thinking, discussion, 

participation, and collaboration.  

AVID Associate Senior Director Allen Johnson presented Martinsville Middle School Principal Ama Waller with a professional learning voucher as a show of gratitude at the conclusion of the AVID showcase there.

The showcase concluded with a panel discussion, giving attendees the chance to hear directly 

from students, teachers, and even parents about how the school’s implementation of AVID has 

affected them. 

“AVID is like a second home to me,” one student said of AVID’s focus on 

collaboration. “We’re all a big family.” 

One parent shared the story of her son who was struggling academically. “Once he got into

AVID, everything changed,” she said.  

At the conclusion of the showcase, AVID Associate Senior Director Allen Johnson noted 

how impressed AVID staff were with what they saw at the school. “You can see the passion, the 

accountability, as well as the (AVID) system,” he said. 

“Being successful is never surprising,” said Schools Superintendent Dr. Zebedee Talley, who is a member of AVID’s National Superintendents Executive Board. “We have wonderful students and staff who work so hard.” 

He challenged those in attendance “not to schedule an appointment,” but rather “just decide to 

come back and see if we’re real. I just want you to walk in and see if we’re doing it. This is what 

we do every day—I give you that guarantee, you’ll see this every day in our schools. It’s what 

we do.” 

“In our district, we have seen the positive impact that AVID strategies have on individual 

students and entire buildings,” said Cary Wright, city schools Director of Humanities and Advanced Programs. “Other educators may see the student demographics in Martinsville as a challenge, but 

AVID strategies in the areas of writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading have 

proven essential to our success, as evidenced by our full accreditation, even coming out of a 

pandemic. 

“We were thrilled to share our middle school successes with regional colleagues so they could 

see that AVID really works,” Wright said.  

“Our Martinsville City Public Schools family is excited about being a part of the National AVID 

Organization,” Talley said after the showcase. “We are honored to be a division-wide 

member of this effective academic institution. Students are learning to apply academic skills to 

life-changing goals and visions! Our membership will bring enhanced learning to our teachers 

and students as well as benefit our community.”

 

Sign up to our Newsletters.

Enter your email address to receive weekly notifications straight to your inbox.

Please confirm your subscription!
Some fields are missing or incorrect!
Lists
Previous Post

eEnterprise | December 10, 2022

Next Post

Board to hear audit report at meeting Tuesday

Next Post
Board to hear audit report at meeting Tuesday

Board to hear audit report at meeting Tuesday

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up to our Newsletters.

Enter your email address to receive weekly notifications straight to your inbox.

Please confirm your subscription!
Some fields are missing or incorrect!
Lists
  • State News
  • National News
  • Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Call us: 304-647-5724

  • Login
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.
body::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 7px; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-track { border-radius: 10px; background: #f0f0f0; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { border-radius: 50px; background: #dfdbdb }
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Neighborhood News
    • Business
    • Community Calendar
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds
  • eEnterprise
  • Spiritual
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
  • My account
  • Login
  • FAQ