@Mike King - In Colorado, there are roughly 1 million Avy 1 classes you can take. I took it a few years ago, and plan to take it again because I didn't use it enough - I definitely figure this is a "use it or lose it" situation.
For women, the SAFE AS course is a one-day discussion of avy safety. I took it within a couple of weeks of the Avy 1, and they reinforced each other nicely.
REI also has some free classes, although those tend to focus on how to use your beacon. Which is not a bad thing.
I have no business giving advice in a backcountry thread, and yet - one thing I would like to suggest is playing "hide the beacons." You can do it just about anywhere, and you can do it over the summer to keep your skills up. Many ski resorts have beacon parks to let you work on your skills, too.