As AVID expands from six to eight sections, the student-run club AVID council now plays a larger role in managing the AVID program. Although it did not have much of a campus presence last year, AVID council president junior Mary Mendoza plans to revitalize the club by meeting on a regular basis and by introducing more activities.

“The people who were running AVID council weren’t really sure how to bring together the community and weren’t sure how to run the club,” Mary said. “[This year], I want to [continue with] senior buddies [and also] do fundraising, and I think that could bring everyone together.”

With over 200 students in AVID this year, AVID council is responsible for planning activities in order to maintain a sense of community among the students. The influx of students and district funding means that AVID will continue to grow, and AVID council will continue to expand its reach.

“We just have so many qualified students… who are really motivated and prepared,” AVID teacher and coordinator Keren Dawson-Bowman said. “The district has really decided that it is a priority for them that they want to support the AVID program, so they’ve given us extra funding because they really believe that this is important for us to do.”

Currently, AVID students are not given many opportunities to interact with students from different sections. AVID council plans to create a designated time for all the program’s students to meet.

“[We plan on having] all-AVID meetings where we can get together in the theatre, so that’s going to give [the council] a new purpose and a new lease of life,” Dawson-Bowman said. “We’re hoping for a vibrant and well-developed AVID council this year, and we have a lot of ideas.”

Instead of focusing on the academic aspects of AVID, Mary hopes that hosting activities such as the all-AVID meetings will allow students to connect on a more personal level.

“We sort of want to bring the AVID community together because there are over 200 AVID students,” Mary said. “Personally, I only know like 50, so we want everyone to know each other and form a better community.”