West Cocoa Chat

Hello everyone. Since last Saturday the hotel pictured above (Atlanta Marriott Marquis) has been the home for this West Cocoa Boy. The Marriott was the 50-story home of the East Coast “AVID Conference.”


"AVID" stands for "Advancement Via Indiviual Determination." It is a program that (San Diego) started near Greg's new home. It targets kids in the "middle" who are typically not served by special Programs as are students who are “gifted” and those with “learning disabilities.” Students who qualify for AVID typically have test scores that are average to high but grades that are below their indicated ability. In addition they may come from a home whose parents did not graduate from College. The ultimate goal for an AVID student is college. They are helped in Middle and High School by enrolling in an AVID elective class, agreeing to do a set amount of homework each night, enrolling in Honors and AP (Advance Placement) classes, and receiving “AVID strategies” to help them be a better student.


Some of these strategies include “Cornell 2-Column notes, Socratic seminars in class, and tutorials via tutors brought into the AVID Classroom to help them with a variety of subjects. The goal of AVID is to “AVID-size” an entire school so that all teachers are using AVID strategies so that even non-AVID students are benefiting from these strategies.

O.K., at this point I feel like imitating the boring Economics Teacher (Ben Stein) from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and asking, “Anyone, anyone, Bueller, Bueller?” What a way to end you your week (that providing anyone is reading today since I’ve been away for a while) reading a titillating exposé on an educational program! Yes, please pass the liver and onions!

Well, if you’re still with me let me give you some highlights. First, what would an Educational Conference be like without attending a Braves Game and what a game it was? The Braves beat St. Louis 14 to 6 with their lead-off hitter, Willie Harris; going 6 for 6 with a pair of triples and 6 RBI’s while Chipper (no relation to the psycho-puppy) Jones hit a homerun and had 4 RBI’s. There was a record attendance of 54,900-and-something at the game and most of us had “Braves Flags” which were quite useful with all of the “chopping” we were doing as the Braves seem to score at will.

Side note – I even had some of my colleagues who are Gator and Hurricane fans doing the “FSU / Seminole chop” before they knew it.

Now for some comments about “M.A.R.T.A.” which is Atlanta’s subway and bus system. By the end of the week I think I had MARTA figured out. It is a great way to get around Atlanta but like any subway to a citizen of West Cocoa, it could be intimidating at times. Such as my Tuesday night experience.

A group of 9 of us rode MARTA to “Underground Atlanta” to eat and do some shopping. Well, the ladies were determined to shop. I was determined to eat and then get back to our hotel. The Hilton across the street had a roof-top basketball court on it’s 4th floor and it was calling my name. Not only was the court nice but the views of downtown Atlanta were spectacular.

When we finished eating I told everyone I was going to ride the MARTA back to the hotel. As I started to leave one of my colleagues who is African-American asked me to take his bag back to my room. Being the nice guy that I am I agreed. I quickly hustled to the MARTA Station in the hopes that I would have little time to wait for the train back to Peachtree Center and my hotel. As I came off the escalator I saw the northbound train pull away from the station which meant I had a 12 minute wait for the next train, by myself in the bowels in the subway station.

As I stood there by myself those 12 minutes seem to go on forever. Further compounding my nervousness were the stares that some were giving me as they walked by me. I began to wonder if anyone riding the MARTA had seen a boy from West Cocoa? Why are all of these folks staring at me? I checked my fly but it was in it’s “full and upright position.” Then I remembered!

I looked at the bag that Karl had given me to take back to my room. It was a large bag with big bold letters advertising the name of the store which happened to be, “African Pride.” Yes, this overweight white boy from West Cocoa was standing in the subway with a bag that read, “African Pride.” I thought to myself, “I’m going to kill Karl when I see him.” We all had a good laugh about it later.

The other memory I’ll take away was feeling like an “educational Rock Star.” Our school (Kennedy Middle School) is the only “AVID Demonstration Site” in the State of Florida. I knew this was a big deal and that it had taken a lot of work most of which was done at the hands of our AVID Teacher and Director, Stacy.

On Tuesday we were asked to go to the Room that Hillsbourgh (Tampa Area) County Meeting Room. Hillsbourgh is planning on implementing AVID in each of their Middle and High Schools next year. The “room” ended up being a “Ballroom” with a couple of hundred teachers and administrators from Hillsbourgh. As we (about 9 of us) entered the Ballroom the Facilitator said, “Look, its Kennedy Middle School” to which we received an ovation. We then spent the next 45 minutes answering questions on what it takes to become an “AVID School.” I was proud to be a teacher representing our school.

So there you have it, I’m a “legend in my own mind.” It’s good to be home and blogging again. Oh, I did take my laptop but the Marriott was charging $12.95 a day for Internet service so I opted out. I missed all of you and hope you’re well.