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Plano ISD highlights AVID program growth, recognizes 36 Plano West National Merit semifinalists
Summary
At its Nov. 18 meeting Plano ISD recognized 36 Plano West seniors named National Merit semifinalists and received a detailed AVID program update covering AVID Excel, schoolwide implementation, principal training priorities and student outcomes including scholarship totals.
Plano Independent School District trustees honored 36 Plano West Senior High School students named National Merit semifinalists and received a district AVID program update at their Nov. 18 meeting.
Executive Director Kristen Edney opened the recognition, explaining the scale of the National Merit process: "Each fall, approximately 3,500,000 students take the PSAT NMSQT ... and around 16,000 out of 3,500,000 high scoring students are named National Merit semifinalists." Edney called up the students and acknowledged Plano West staff and families for supporting the honorees.
Kristen Anderson, the district's AVID coordinator, presented an AVID program overview and implementation plan. Anderson described AVID as "Advancement Via Individual Determination," outlined the program's progression from a selective elective to a broader schoolwide model, and said the district currently has about 20 secondary AVID campuses. She highlighted AVID Excel (a seventh‑ and eighth‑grade elective focused on long‑term English learners), schoolwide AVID components (vertical alignment of note‑taking, organization and CCR skills), and principal training as a priority to ensure fidelity of implementation.
Anderson noted positive outcomes: the previous senior class produced hundreds of honors, AP and dual‑credit enrollments and "earned over $8,400,000 in scholarships and grants," and district persistence back to college averaged about 89% over the last three years. In Q&A trustees asked about the program's evolution and how it will expand to serve more campuses; Anderson and others described training options scheduled across the year to build principal and teacher capacity.
The presentation included alumni testimony from AVID graduate Bruna Tavares, quoted in the AVID compilation reading: "When I started in AVID, I felt like it was a turning point ... For the first time, I felt hope." The board received the report as information; no action was taken.
