To apply for an AVID tutoring position, visit Work for ECISD.

 

AVID Tutor Qualification

AVID tutors ideally should be enrolled at four-year colleges or universities. As such, they are academically qualified and dedicated to the students in the school. The tutors should represent balanced academic backgrounds, some liberal arts majors, other science or mathematics majors; however, today's students are generally well-rounded academically because they are required to take a breadth of courses. The tutors should be people who will work in a supportive manner with secondary students and be able to understand the delicate position they will occupy; they are advocates of students, yet ultimately they are responsible to the teacher. They must be willing to meet regularly (perhaps during the lunch break) to discuss student progress and to confer with the teacher about future plans. Finally, the AVID tutors themselves should be excellent role models of motivated, organized, successful college students who believe that AVID students will succeed, too.
 

AVID Tutor Job Description

Under direct supervision of the AVID coordinator, tutors perform the following tasks:

• Become familiar with the materials in the AVID library.
• Become familiar with the textbooks and materials used by AVID students.
• Tutor students in small study groups or individually, assisting them in all subject areas based on the class and text notes they have collected in their AVID binders.
• Determine from student notes and discussions the concepts that need to be taught or re-taught.
• Conduct brainstorming and clustering sessions.
• Work individually with students in any phase of the writing process.
• Lead peer critique groups in the Writing Conference.
• Respond to student writing in the form of AVID discourse mode writing assignments, which students have had the opportunity to revise and edit.
• Evaluate student binders, including calendars, class and text notes, book notes, etc.
• Conduct mini-lessons in the process of writing in all subject areas, study skills, and other aspects of college preparation.
• Contact teachers regarding course outline and assignment schedule as directed by the AVID coordinator.
• Assist in developing a resource file of enrichment materials for use in tutorial sessions.
• Communicate frequently and honestly with the AVID coordinator regarding student progress and areas of concern.

   

 

Expected Outcomes:

• Identify the roles and responsibilities of classroom tutors
• Lead an effective tutorial group
• Employ Socratic questioning techniques to help students attain mastery of the material
• Assist students with mastery of the writing process
• Communicate effectively with students to amplify motivation and subject area mastery
• Communicate effectively with classroom teachers
• AVID Tutor Certification

The Unique Responsibilities of the AVID Tutor

Success in AVID lies in a solid curriculum developed collaboratively by college instructors and high school teachers, in the Socratic tutorial method, and in motivational activities. Another very important key is the tutor as a role model and as part of the support system for the students. Because students should be enrolled in AVID for all years of their secondary school experience, they form strong attachments to those who are part of the program. Therefore, each tutor's commitment to this relationship is important. AVID tutors must be dependable and, ideally, stay with the program throughout their college careers.

Tutors are advocates for the students' academic and social growth. The students learn to trust the tutors. The tutors need to share their enthusiasm for learning and for college. They need to share what they have gained through hard work and inspire students to overcome their own difficulties. Students look up to the tutors - tutors are truly their role models.

Tutors also have a very important relationship with the AVID coordinator. Since it usually has been several years since coordinators were enrolled in undergraduate work, college tutors keep the coordinator informed of the most recent college requirements, emphases, and trends. High school and junior high school students will often tell tutors problems they are hesitant to discuss with the teacher. Tutors can constantly advise the coordinator of students' needs.

The AVID coordinator is responsible for delineating the tutor's classroom responsibilities and for guiding him or her in the tutorial process. The coordinator is also the tutor's buffer with the students and faculty members. For example, the tutor is not the student's disciplinarian. The tutor should not be expected to answer to the faculty regarding AVID students. Any task with which a tutor feels uncomfortable needs to be discussed with the AVID coordinator.

Most AVID tutors do not intend to become teachers when they first take the job. Nevertheless, many of the tutors have chosen careers in teaching because of the positive experiences they have had within the AVID classroom -experiences in planning lessons and discussing student progress with the coordinator and other tutors, experienced in working with students in an organized, effective manner, and in seeing the results of the work being done.

Part of the reality of being a teacher is that some time must be expended to type assignments, photocopy, enter grades in record books, clean rooms, etc. Although this work must be done, it is not "the stuff" of teaching and is not what allows tutors to enjoy their jobs. The majority of the tutor's classroom time should be spent with students.

Finally, research shows that most new teachers who leave the profession do so because they feel isolated, i.e., they don't take the time to practice collegiality. The AVID tutors truly become colleagues of the AVID coordinator. Be sure to set aside regular times to make plans as a group of tutors guided by the coordinator. It is participation in both formal and informal discussions with one another, setting goals together, and sharing the successes and failures of the students that make working in the AVID program so enjoyable.