When Diego Serrano-Rubio moved from Venezuela to Whatcom County and started attending Lynden High School midway through what would be his freshman year of school, he needed a class designed to help him learn English. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It turns out Serrano was a quick study and soon he was pulled out of that class and eventually was taking Advanced Placement courses on his way to acceptance into the University of Washington next fall. While the LHS path wasn\u2019t easy, he credits the help of the AVID program and heartwarming help from Lynden staff for helping make it all happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAVID is where I learned everything,\u201d Serrano says about a class focused on helping students without a family history of attending college to explore the opportunities beyond high school. \u201cI learned how to write an essay, ask questions and take notes. That is what helped me get good grades in my classes and I was able to understand how to do what I needed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
AVID is also where Serrano realized UW was his dream school. He visited there during an AVID field trip his sophomore year. \u201cAs soon as I moved here, it was always my dream school,\u201d he says. \u201cI really like it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Serrano, who has also made the cheer squad for Husky athletics, will cheer and study math when in Seattle. The love of math started to grow as he learned English. \u201cI realized English and Spanish are two different languages and science might be a little different [based on language], but math is just math,\u201d he says. \u201cMath is just always going to be math, no matter if in English or Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nationwide AVID program has been powerful in Lynden. An acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination, the program empowers students to solve problems and access available resources. Students apply to join the class that then places a focus on helping them develop the skills, strategies and mindset to achieve in their post-high school education path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe path to college is not an easy one,\u201d says Kevin Richins, a LHS teacher and AVID advisor. \u201cThere are expectations, deadlines and experiences that students need to have. When you may be the first person in your family that is planning on college, you may not have the knowledge about what you need to do to get there. Students in AVID learn what they need to do to qualify for college and to succeed when they get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephanie\u00a0Garza, who was the advisor for the AVID class of 2021 before leaving the district had previously said she had seen firsthand how the program helps bridge the gap between the students who have huge goals to continue in their education, but need the resources and tools to equip them to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy view of AVID has changed because I have heard back from so many of the 2021 graduates who are sharing the impact that AVID has had on their lives,\u201d she says. \u201cIn the moment, I know that AVID is helping students, but teachers often don\u2019t get to see the fruit of their labor in real time. As students have continued to contact me since they\u2019ve graduated, I\u2019m reminded of the great impact AVID truly does have. My approach has stayed the same: Relationships first. If a student knows I genuinely care about their well-being, the teaching part comes easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garza saw a powerful growth from AVID students. \u201cThey display a level of confidence in their learning abilities, confidence in working with others and confidence within themselves,\u201d she says, \u201cthat is usually not there when they first start high school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AVID is a way to expose students to a variety of different post-high school pathways, says Erin Shaffer, Lynden counselor. This doesn\u2019t mean just four-year universities, as AVID also encourages students to explore technical programs, community colleges and apprenticeship opportunities. \u201cOne of the main goals is for students to think about some form of training after high school and prepare them for following their personal pathway,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting involved in Lynden High School was made easier for Serrano by the help of Lynden staff. He credits the support of AVID teacher Keith Soltman for teaching him so much in four years and the help in English from Theressa Carey. But it was Laura Toften, a LHS paraeducator, who really made his entry into Lynden so much easier on the non-academic side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe is awesome,\u201d he says. \u201cThe only reason I have been doing this well is because of her. She always helps me and helps everyone who needs it.\u201d Serrano says she would even ensure he had rides to and from his house so he could play on the baseball team his first spring in Whatcom County. She attended his games to show additional support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout high school, Serrano dabbled in baseball, football and track. But it was cheer that stuck, along with his role as the senior class Inter-High representative for ASB. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDiego is a really successful kid,\u201d says David Kish, assistant principal. \u201cWe put him in our AVID program quickly and he thrived from there. He really assimilated well into our school\u2019s culture and started taking an active role in sports and activities. He became another kid, but then you realize his backstory, moving here only a few years ago.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kish says AVID helps by putting students in touch with a teacher outside of the normal academic side of education. The teaching of study skills and ability to support them individually helps connect students to school and realize the opportunities beyond high school. The small group opportunities give students a peer group where they get to know each other in a safe space. \u201cIt gives them a small family within our school, which is nice,\u201d Kish says. \u201cThere can be a fear, a lot of challenges. We are trying to put those kids on [college] campuses and make them realize they can be there.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pushing the students is part of the AVID way. That\u2019s why so many AVID students are involved in AP, Honors or College in the High School classes. Kish says that confidence helps in other ways. Not only was Serrano one of the few students at Lynden accepted into the University of Washington for the fall, he also went down and successfully made the cheer squad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kish says he\u2019s watched Serrano grow both academically and socially in becoming a more confident person. \u201cHe is kind, and he is excited,\u201d Kish says. \u201cThe way he has high expectations for himself and this vision, I am excited to see what he is going to become.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next steps in Serrano\u2019s life, which begins with his move to the dorms in Seattle for the launch of cheer practices in late July, provide a new start. New starts are scary, he admits, but the move from Venezuela to Lynden for his family to escape the situation in their home country may have been more daunting than the one from Lynden to Seattle. \u201cI am excited I will be doing what I like, which is cheer,\u201d he says. \u201cI am really close to home and can drive back if I want to. I know it is going to be difficult, but I am super excited.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"