Rosie Thluai and Sher Moo Ku. Photo courtesy of AVID.
Richardson ISD announced last week that 12 district seniors have been selected for the Dell Scholarship program. Nationally, 500 Dell Scholars are named each year by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation to receive a $20,000 scholarship plus additional non-monetary support including textbooks, laptop computer and resources to aid with debt, childcare and other stressors.
Most of RISD’s Dell Scholars are part of the first generation of college hopefuls in their family and participate in AVID — Advancement Via Individual Determination. AVID encourages students to enroll in rigorous coursework and carves out one period per day to give them the additional academic, social and emotional support needed to succeed in those classes. Effective notetaking, keeping an organized calendar and communicating with instructors are some of the critical skills taught in AVID classrooms.
RISD Dell Scholars are (LHHS) Rosie Thluai and Sher Moo Ku; (Pearce) Mercedes Perez Rodriguez, Franco Fernandez and Jose Luis Mendoza Acosta; (Berkner) Jannat Hussain and Kolten Gonzalez-Gerth; and (Richardson) Fiona Habte, Zain Ali, Daisy Parada, Oswaldo Merlan and Jetzamany Mata.
Northlake became an all-AVID elementary in 2018 and hosted their first AVID Elementary Showcase in March with attendees from various districts in the area. The school has a growing “7-UP Club” for students who increase their MAP scores (measures of academic progress) by seven points or more. The most recent testing period saw 93% of Northlake kids join the 7-UP crew, and they’re still hard at work.
“The growth mindset is pushing students at Northlake to achieve at an incredible rate,” says Josh Eason, RISD’s district director for AVID. “93% of students grew by more than 7 points. That’s a huge accomplishment and indicative of what is going on in many parts of RISD.”
Congratulations, all.
