A national program that prepares middle-of-the-road and first-generation college students for higher education could soon be implemented in Lawrence’s high schools.

Known as Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), the program targets students who get B’s, C’s and D’s, have a desire to got to college and a willingness to work hard. The students are often the first in their family to go to college, are from low-income families and are minorities.

The AVID program is in 4,800 schools nationwide and serves more than 425,000 students.

“Many of our kiddos and families have the support and ability to navigate the system, what AVID does is provide support for kids to navigate the system who might not otherwise have those tools,” said, Lucy Haines Dechairo, the Lawrence district’s director of administrative services.

At the high school level, the program involves a daily class where students are taught organizational and study skills, work on critical thinking and learn to ask probing questions. The program would also include visiting college campuses, working with college student tutors and receiving help with college applications and financial aid forms.

Haines Dechairo has worked with the program as a school administrator in California and believes it would serve Lawrence well.

On Monday, the Lawrence school board will be asked to approve the program at Lawrence High School and Free State High School. The program is expected to cost $64,000 a year. The money would cover the membership fee, library materials, tutors, work shops and professional development.

For the first year, Haines Dechairo said the program will focus on ninth-graders and will be offered to about 60 students.

Typically, teachers and staff recruit students who are then enrolled in the class through an application process. To be part of the program, the students also have to take one of the school’s most academically challenging classes, such as advanced placement or honors classes.

“I’ve definitely seen the benefit of kids’ participation in AVID,” Haines Dechairo said and noted the program has the potential to extend to the lower grades.