WHITE SALMON — Columbia High School (CHS) students will have a new opportunity this coming school year with the launch of an AVID elective course beginning in the second trimester, White Salmon Vally School District (WSVSD) Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn told board members at the June 26 meeting.
AVID — or Advancement Via Individual Determination — is a nationally recognized program that focuses on equipping students with critical thinking, collaboration, organization, and self-advocacy skills. It aims to inspire students to pursue higher education and careers, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status.
As previously reported in Columbia Gorge News, the White Salmon Education Foundation made a five-year commitment of nearly $200,000 to bring the program to CHS.
Polkinghorn, CHS Assistant Principal Kelly Hume (who has been promoted to co-principal beginning with the 2025-2026 school year), and four other CHS staff members attended the AVID Summer Institute the previous week.
“This marks an important first-step in our journey towards full AVID implementation at CHS starting next year,” he told board members.
At the Summer Institute, they began developing a site team goal focused on one of the AVID instructional frameworks known as WICOR, which stands for Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading. “These strategies are the heartbeat of AVID’s approach to building rigorous college and career ready classrooms,” Polkinghorn said. “…I’m grateful for the CHS staff’s embracing of AVID and for their leadership and enthusiasm to elevate this work next year.”
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