Dr. Trish Alley and Principal Matt Schumacher shared their excitement and success of program | Goal to reduce public high school dropout rate that now stands at 25% in the Sedona/Verde Valley area
Dr. Trish Alley, Cottonwood Oak Creek Educational Services, and Cottonwood Middle School Principal Matt Schumacher, lauded Yavapai Community College at the District’s Governing Board meeting on March 22 for its cooperation in developing the Career and Technical Education 3 ½ week courses for eighth grade students that were held on the Yavapai Campus in Clarkdale earlier this year.
Schumacher said the program is putting the Community School in a position where it can take students without a particular direction and see them become excited about pursuing a profession in law enforcement, culinary arts, or any of the other subjects covered by the short courses.
Before her resignation, former Sedona/Verde Dean Dr. Tina Redd said of the program that: “We know it’s lifechanging. We know hands-on experiences will resonate with these students for years to come,” because the eighth grade is a “formative” year in which a lot of decision-making about the future happens. She also said that additional partnerships may be forged in the future to make Community College career education programs available to more students in the Verde Valley,
The short courses offered for eighth grade students include: Law enforcement, construction, culinary arts, nursing, machining, and greenhouse growing. The partnership between the Community College and the Cottonwood Community School District is described as groundbreaking for both schools.
A short 6 minute video clip (mostly audio) of Dr. Alley and Principal Schumacher explaining the program to the District Governing Board is posted below. The entire video of the Governing Board meeting will be posted sometime in the future by the Community College.
Sources: March 22, 2022 Governing Board meeting; Community College press release of March 3, 2022.