Since its conception in 1980 by Mary Catherine Swanson, the AVID program has expanded its mission statement to incorporate, “college readiness and success for all students, with the principal goal being to close the achievement gap,” (AVID, 2017). The program was originally created to provide lower-income minority students with the skill sets that they would need to perform well in the more academically challenging environment of the Clairemont High School in San Diego, California (AVID, 2017). To date the program has been implemented in 46 states, and 16 other countries/provinces with an estimated 1.5 million students currently being enrolled (AVID, 2017). One of its central focuses is still to help minority students reach their academic potential
