Need a way to relieve stress? Want to have a good time with your friends? Interested in throwing projectiles at other people? Come play dodge ball!
On Thursday, March 28 in the Albion High School gym, high school students, college students and adults can participate in a dodge ball tournament that will benefit the school’s advancement via individual determination (AVID) program.
“We take kids that are identified as ‘middle of the road’ and help them prepare for college,” said Kimberly Waito, one of the program’s teachers at the high school.
Most of the AVID participants are the first of their family to potentially go to college. They partake in the program during a school day, going to their “AVID class” once a day.
“The kids break down college essays and look at the application process,” Waito said. “They do a lot of writing, and we have speakers come in. Kids and their parents really like it.”
Since AVID has only been in effect for four years, last year’s 2012 high school graduates were with first ones to complete the whole program.
“Every student to graduate from the program was accepted into a college or university,” said Willie Lewis, Albion High School vice principal. “We saw this as our first success.”
The program also takes the kids on field trips to various colleges and other educational institutions. The dodge ball tournament is aimed to raise money in order to ensure the kids have this opportunity. The more teams that participate, the more support this program will gain.
“The cost is $10 a team,” said Erick Jenkins, AmeriCorps service member in Albion College’s education department. “This all goes to fund AVID field trips, food for events and other things needed by the program.”
The fundraiser will also feature T-shirts for sale and a “pie in the face” contest. High school teachers will be collecting pennies and the teacher with the most gets a pie to the face.
“[It] sounds like a cool way to raise money,” said Carles Summerour, Albion first-year and previous AVID student. “They didn’t do this when I was in high school.”
Teachers also anticipate this will be a fun, new way to support the program and get the community involved.
“The high school students are also excited about the possibility of college students coming to the event,” Waito said.
Jenkins and other teachers have been encouraging various students on campus to participate in this event. Contact Erick Jenkins at ejenkins@albion.edu if interested.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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