Goal 4: Ready to Embrace a Diverse & Changing World

In elementary school, Khaliyah Tintera always felt a step behind. School papers were scattered across her bedroom and stuffed into her backpack. She worried about missing assignments and scrambled to finish big projects at the last minute. Losing her daily struggle to stay organized took a toll on her confidence.

Feeling disheartened as she prepared to enter middle school, Khaliyah found a reason for optimism during an orientation at Kenyon Woods Middle School. The visit included a tour of a classroom used for AVID, an academic support program students could apply to join. She immediately liked the classroom's vibe — it felt calm and safe, a place where she could focus. When her mom, Lindsay Tintera, learned AVID helped students build strong organizational skills and study habits, they decided it might be just what Khaliyah needed.

Five years later, Khaliyah is now thriving as a junior at South Elgin High School. She maintains a B average, is enrolled in an Advanced Placement class, mentors younger AVID students, and was recently selected by the Department of Children and Family Services to serve on a statewide youth advisory group. Public speaking, which used to make her extremely nervous, is now a breeze, and she plans to become a lawyer after college.

“AVID is like having an extra person in your corner,” Lindsay said. “You know that someone is going to be able to guide you to get your work done and be successful.”

Khaliyah agrees. “Without AVID, I don’t think I’d be challenging myself as much. I know I’d have a lot of missing assignments. I would not have as good of grades; AVID definitely pushes me and holds me accountable,” she said. “With AVID, I have that reassurance — I know that if I’m stuck, I’m going to be able to ask questions in class because I’ve learned to self-advocate, and also outside of class, because I have a whole AVID period (to work on academic challenges).”

AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, began in California in 1980. Since then, it has been adopted by approximately 7,500 K-12 schools across the United States and in 16 countries. Introduced in U-46 in 2009 and now offered at all of U-46’s middle and high schools, as well as five elementary schools, it aims to make a difference in the lives of about 2,500 U-46 students a year.

AVID is an elective class that students attend daily. Guided by teachers using AVID’s structured approach, students learn how to organize materials, manage their time, take effective notes, ask thoughtful questions, set goals, and advocate for themselves. Students meet regularly with their classmates in small-group tutorial sessions, where they support each other’s learning. As students get older, field trips introduce them to careers and colleges, and other sessions focus on scholarship and financial aid opportunities, aligning with U-46’s Strategic Goal 4 to help prepare students for success after graduation.

For Melany Aguilera, a member of the Elgin High School Class of 2026, those experiences led directly to where she is now — attending Aurora University on a full-tuition scholarship. She never even considered attending a four-year university right out of high school, but then she visited Aurora University with her AVID classmates. “Looking around campus, I felt like maybe this university would be a good fit for me,” she said.

Now, Melany — a first-generation college student — is using the techniques she learned in AVID to keep up with the fast pace of university life as she works toward a nursing degree. “If I wasn’t in AVID, I wouldn’t have had all these great opportunities open up for me. I had help in finding resources and scholarships, and I learned to keep my grades up,” she said.

Each fall, U-46 offers informational meetings so students and parents can learn about the AVID program and application process. A virtual session is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. and will be offered in both English and Spanish. Those interested can join at tinyurl.com/AVIDINFO1105.

Lisa Christner, an AVID teacher at Hawk Hollow Middle School in Bartlett, said her own belief in AVID is rooted in her own experience as the child of a single-parent household whose academic journey did not follow a traditional path.

“What makes AVID truly special to me goes beyond academics. It's the relationships, the confidence students develop, and the sense of family and belonging it creates,” Lisa said.

Her passion for the program led Lisa to ask the City of Elgin to issue a proclamation honoring National AVID Day in September. “I wanted our students and educators to feel recognized and proud of what we're building together. AVID is about so much more than preparing students for college. It's about helping them recognize their potential and believe in what's possible for their future.”

The future is exactly what prompted Brian Nava, a senior at Streamwood High School, to join AVID during high school. He intends to become a psychologist, and he knew that it would help him with college applications, tours, and scholarships. Yet as he nears graduation, he said his favorite part of the experience has been the “inclusivity” and the way it teaches students “valuable skills like teamwork and cooperation.”

For Larkin High School senior Alexis Castillo Diaz, AVID has provided him discipline and responsibility in his schoolwork, as well as close relationships with classmates and teachers. He gets frustrated with students not in AVID who criticize the program as just extra work; in fact, he says it helped lead him to a summer internship with first responders that lines up with his ultimate career goals of working in law enforcement, either as a police officer or social worker in a police department.

Fellow Larkin senior Joanna Morales said her favorite part of AVID is the twice-weekly tutorial sessions, where students present a problem they are struggling with in another class, and their classmates help them solve what AVID calls a “point of confusion.”

“Helping each other understand concepts the presenter doesn’t quite understand really helps to improve our communication and connect each other academically and socially,” she said.

As younger secondary students decide now what courses they will take for the 2027-28 school year, Joanna has advice for those considering AVID.

“If you have doubts whether the AVID program is right for you, ask yourself this: ‘Am I willing to challenge myself, improve my study habits, connect with others, and take steps toward reaching my academic goals?’ This decision is all up to you. You know how you are with organization, study habits, and schedules. If you are lacking them, AVID is a great program to teach you how to change that.”

Lindsay understands that AVID can be a complex topic to explain to fellow parents unfamiliar with it, but she considers it a game-changer for her daughter and urges all U-46 families to at least consider the opportunity.

“That’s the thing about AVID; everything they’re learning is applied to the rest of the school day,” she said. “Khaliyah gets not only taught, but she’s also implementing at the same time, so it sticks. …. For her, it was a methodology that allowed her to succeed.”