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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Sellers Middle School in the Garland Independent |
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School District earned designation as an AVID National |
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Demonstration School in January 2013, marking the third time the |
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institution has secured this distinction; and |
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WHEREAS, Advanced Via Individual Determination, or AVID, is a |
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college readiness program designed to increase the academic |
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performance of underserved students and make college enrollment |
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more attainable; with the support of the school's faculty members, |
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participants learn organizational and study skills and practice |
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critical thinking, and they are required to take at least one |
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honors, pre-AP, or AP course; students also receive academic |
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assistance from their peers and college tutors; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2003, with a $25,000 grant from the BEST |
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Education Foundation, Sellers Middle School became the first |
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Garland ISD campus to employ the AVID program, and in 2007, and |
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again in 2010, it was named an AVID National Demonstration School; |
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the initiative was started by former principal Janice Howard, now |
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the AVID director for the district, who noticed that very few |
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minority learners took advanced placement classes; over the years, |
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Sellers implemented the program schoolwide, and today AVID |
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strategies are applied in every classroom; and |
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WHEREAS, Expansion to other campuses has also followed, with |
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AVID currently part of the curriculum at 14 other Garland ISD |
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schools; less than two percent of AVID institutions are recognized |
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as National Demonstration Schools, however, and Sellers is one of |
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just 19 such sites in the entire state; the exemplary results at |
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Sellers have served as a model for AVID programs in other Texas |
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cities as well as for schools in Minnesota, Florida, and |
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California; and |
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WHEREAS, Sellers Middle School has demonstrated an |
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outstanding commitment to academic excellence and college |
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readiness, and its accomplishments are making a positive and |
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lasting difference in the lives of countless Garland students; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Sellers Middle School on earning |
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designation as an AVID National Demonstration School for the third |
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time and extend to its students, faculty, and staff sincere best |
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wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the school as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |