More than 100 people packed the Jackson Middle School Cafeteria to watch about 50 students sign their letters of intent to commit to the AVID program.
AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination and is a college-readiness system designed to help students make a path to college. To highlight how important this is to the students, the Jackson team set up a signing day similar to one student-athletes do as they prepare to play sports for colleges.
“Your parents, your family, the administration here, your counselors… we all believe in you, and we want to help guide you and make sure you end up in college,” said Jackson Principal Cynthia Rubio. “Your parents left other commitments to be here. They want you to know how important this is. We want you to be the best you can be. We love you. We care about you, and all of us here want to support you all the way through.”
Seventh grader Tomas Salazar signed his letter of commitment today with his proud father watching from the audience.
“I think it was important for me to be here because I want my son to know how important this is, and so he knows he has my support,” said Tomas’ dad. “It makes me feel proud that he is taking the plunge to decide on his future.”
Tomas says he’s really looking forward to some of the cool field trips AVID takes and learning to be more organized. His goal is to one day go to the University of Texas at Austin.
