PEAK Program Wins Hoffman Award
The Santa Clara County School Boards Association (SCCSBA) has named MVLA's Pathways, Exposure, Academic Connection, Knowledge Program (PEAK) program one of four winners of its 2018 Glenn Hoffmann Exemplary Program Award. MVLA’s AVID and administrative team will receive the award at a special dinner on April 25, 2018.
PEAK is part of AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, an internationally recognized program designed to prepare high-potential high school students for success in four-year universities. The majority of MVLA AVID students will be the first in their family to go to college and pursue a career in business, law, tech, medicine or other field. These students have ambition and talent but don’t always have exposure to professional careers and workplaces from family and friends that could lead them to peak performance. The PEAK program works to bridge this gap by organizing visits to local companies, job shadowing and internships.
This and last year, the PEAK program helped more than 100 MVLA PEAK students visit Facebook, Adobe, LinkedIn, El Camino Hospital, Sobrato and many other companies and employers in the Silicon Valley. The visits are arranged by MVLA’s AVID staff with funding support from the MVLA Foundation.
“The experiences we provide AVID students through PEAK are invaluable,” said Darya Larizadeh, who oversees MVLA’s PEAK program. “They help build confidence, enable students to flex their networking muscles, and most of all, expose them to a wide variety of careers and professionals. It is incredibly rewarding to see students' faces beam as they show their polished resumes to recruiters at our mock career fair or see their confidence grow after they summon the courage to ask a company executive a question. This award recognizes the hard work of many people, especially our wonderful students.”
Co-Chairs of the Hoffmann Exemplary Awards committee Melissa Baten Caswell and Thelma Boac congratulated the program leaders, saying that the program puts students front and center, and embodies the best of public education.
The Hoffmann awards were initiated in 1984 by the Santa Clara County School Boards Association to provide recognition to successful school programs that have a significant impact on student success in Santa Clara County. Each fall, school districts are invited to identify district wide programs they consider worthy of commendations and consistent with a free, public education for all students. Applications are accepted in ten program categories including curriculum and instruction, targeted student populations, technology, professional development, family involvement, community collaborations, accountability and assessment, student leadership, student wellness, and student support services.
Program applications are reviewed by a committee composed of board members and educators. The committee¹s expectations are rigorous and applicants are expected to show measurable outcomes of the programs’ effectiveness on student success. The programs receiving the highest scores are honored with the Glenn W. Hoffmann Exemplary Program Award.