Rigo Paniagua should have a good story or two to tell his classmates about what he did on his summer vacation when he heads back to school in August.
This June, the Elgin sixth-grader will be heading to Dallas to give a speech at an AVID Summer Institute 2026. He learned the news before the school year ended when it was delivered to him in person by Cindy Gordon, program manager for AVID Center, in front of his McKinley Elementary School classmates, teacher and principal.
“So, there are thousands of educators all across the country that are going to want to come and hear your voice and your story,” Gordon told him at the gathering, which can be viewed on YouTube. “And that’s quite an opportunity, right? But you’ve earned it. You did a great job with your story.”
Rigo said he is to present a 5-minute speech he wrote about how students like himself are gaining confidents as a result of the AVID — an acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination — program, which is available at McKinley.
“AVID makes us feel like family,” Rigo said.
The San Diego-based nonprofit, created more than 45 years ago, designs programming to help “students overcome obstacles and succeed, graduating and attending college at higher rates,” according to its website. “More importantly, they think critically, collaborate and set high expectations to tackle future challenges.”
Its materials and programming for kindergarten through high school students are used in more than 7,400 across the country, the site said.
Beth McKinney, U-46 coordinator of instructional programs and supports in the postsecondary success department, said district has been involved with AVID since 2009, starting initially with programming for middle and high school students.
AVID memberships are by school rather than by district, McKinney said. The memberships provide access to the organization’s various resources, she said.
In an elective AVID class offered in seventh through 12th grade, U-46 students learn study skills, visit colleges and local employers, develop leadership skills and organizational strategies, and prepare for more challenging coursework, she said.
This was McKinley Elementary’s second year of implementing AVID, McKinney said. All grades there are using AVID strategies, but not in every classroom. Channing and Lords Park elementary schools also offer AVID memberships.
In grade schools, AVID is part of the daily curriculum, with a focus on students building strategies for being organized and developing critical reading skills, McKinney said.
“Students take more ownership of learning as they move forward,” she said.
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Rigo said that using AVID this year led to students being more supportive of each other, and helped him set goals and better prepare for subject tests and standardized tests.
Principal Jeron Shelton said AVID is helping build the academic culture at McKinley, where one of its mantras is “excellence is a habit.”
“AVID provides a structure that develops pride in learning and a sense of belonging,” Shelton said.
Shelton, a 19-year U-46 employee who has been principal at McKinley for three years, said he was one of the first teachers to be trained on AVID when he was at Larsen Middle School, which Rigo will be attending in the fall.
He helped Rigo and three other students in submitting videos of their speeches to AVID in November in a bid to be selected to speak at a summer institute.
Rigo’s mother Lara Maricela is a paraeducator at Abbott Middle in Elgin and used an iPhone to videorecord her son’s speech several times before settling on what would become the winning entry.
“We’re all very proud of Rigo. He always goes above and beyond, in his school work and on whatever he sets his mind to do,” Maricela said.
McKinney said AVID Center is covering the cost for Rigo and his mother to attend the conference, including airfare, accommodations, a meal stipend and a $500 honorarium. Maricela said she’s planning to pay for Rigo’s siblings, Juan, Sofia and Angelica, to accompany them, and his father may also attend if can secure vacation time.
AVID Center is holding nine institutes across the country, McKinney said. Each will feature an elementary school speaker and one from a middle or high school.
“I’ve been asking around, and as far as we can tell, Rigo is the first U-46 student to do this,” McKinney said.
McKinney, Shelton and Yvette Gonzalez-Collins, U-46 executive director for Elgin Network, will be attending as well.
Rigo said he’s looking forward to the event and to visiting with relatives who live in Texas. Past the event, he is already thinking about studying electrical engineering in college.
“My favorite subject is math. I’m really good at solving hard problems,” Rigo said. “Electrical engineering combines things I love, math and art, with sketching you do for projects.”
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.