Course Description: In the AVID course, we are preparing students for college through essay writing, vocab building, SAT prep, collaborative tutorials, career and college exploration, organizational development, field trips and speakers, and other motivational activities.

Grading Policy: Grades will be determined on a point system using the following percentage cutoffs:

90-100% A

80-89% B

70-79% C

60-69% D

below 60% F

Students will be evaluated in the following areas: classwork, essays, activities, projects, tests/quizzes, and binder/notebook checks. Class participation is critical as students will be encouraged to become inquiring, active learners. Students are required to keep a grade record sheet so that they always know their grade and can discuss any concerns with me immediately. AVID students who are consistently getting low grades will be put on a contract.

Classwork: Students copy down a weekly schedule of in class activities and assignments every Monday. Check for this in order to find out the week's events. You can also find postings of the weekly schedule on my web page, http://www.paly.net/~brimhall/avid.html

Attendance: Good attendance is a must!! The school policies will be enforced with regard to absences and tardies.

1) Absences" Students who have 5 verified unexcused absences per semester will be dropped.

2)Tardies: Students are expected to be in their assigned seats when the tardy bell rings. Students who accumulated 8 tardies within a semester will be dropped.

Make-up work: After an absence, it is the student's responsibility to get make-up work on the day of return, from a classmate, myself before school, or our weekly schedule. The due date for an assignment is extended by the number of days missed. However, a long-term (i.e. multiple week) project is still due on the day of return. Students must make-up tests within one week or forfeit the make-up opportunity.

Conferencing: I enjoy meeting with parents or guardians to discuss ways of improving student success. If you are interested in setting up an appointment or just in keeping in touch, please email me at ebrimhall@pausd.org. I am available MTWF before school to help students with work or by appointment.