LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - This summer, in front of more than 3,000 educators, Luther Elementary received the AVID Teacher Advocacy Award during AVID’s Summer Institute in Sacramento, CA. The award recognizes schools who have gone “above and beyond to create lasting change for students and their communities.”

Being located in a rural, Northern California farming town with a diverse student population, Luther Elementary’s staff has collaborated to address the challenges that come with the territory. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there is a sharp drop off in college enrollment for rural students compared to urban or suburban students (about a 10-15% decline). The drop off is even more staggering when factoring in ethnicity and family careers. In these cases, some research indicates that the number of high school graduates going to college can drop as low as 10%.

Despite the statistics, Luther school staff understands their community, and knows their students are capable, regardless of the unavoidable, real world challenges that are faced.  Their efforts are showing.  According to the California Educational Dashboard, student achievement is in the green (above average) for both Math and ELA despite 87% of the school being deemed as “Socioeconomically Disadvantaged” students. This success gives way for confidence and momentum, asserts Luther’s principal, Parveen Bains.

“It is about creating a culture. Constantly talking about educational goals, including college and lifelong career paths is a big part of it.  It’s not just ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ but, ‘Let’s talk about how to get you there,’ so that students know how to take achievable steps forward,” says Bains.

“AVID strategies are the cornerstone in our classrooms. Paired with a hardworking and dedicated staff, this educational culture flourishes. Our school and entire district has created momentum within the community – last year over 80% of the high school graduating students committed to college or trade school.  The goal is for students to feel like the natural next step is college after they graduate. When they see their older brothers, sisters, or peers doing it, it becomes the norm.  That alone is not always enough, so they are given the support needed to make that happen: intellectually, emotionally, and even financially. That momentum and dialogue starts at an early age, and it continues on up. Our Luther students begin to believe they can (and will) do it.”