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.



Yavapai Community College and the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District have partnered in a unique training program for eighth-grade students. Students in the District are given an opportunity to sign up for one of six three-week classes designed and taught by the Community College. There is no cost to the school district or the students. Students receive hands on training at the Community College in a selected mini-class.
Valerie and Daniel Wood were named Yavapai Community College’s 2021 Verde Valley Alumni of the Year. The award exemplifies the recipients commitment to scholarship, character and public service.
Yavapai Community College president Dr. Lisa Rhine outlined some of the future considerations for improving the College’s educational opportunities in the Sedona/Verde Valley area of the County at the September 14 District Governing Board meeting on the Verde Valley Campus. She offered no specific details about the future plans and did not identify by campus where the improvements might occur in the future.
Ms. Ruth Wicks spoke of Ms. Mikles’ work at the college during the Governing Board meeting. Bob Oliphant commended the president and faculty for its support of this honor. Mr. Paul Kirchgraber, then executive director of the Community College Foundation, presented the resolution to the Governing Board.
Yavapai Community College will have an in-Person Open House at the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale on Saturday, August 7, 2021, from 10 a.m. to noon.