VACTE to pay college tution for students in program
The just hired Valley Academy Career and Technical Educational (VACTE) superintendent, Bob Weir, has launched a new Career and Technical Education program for high school students to be taught on the Verde Campus. It is described as a “Film and Media Arts program.” Students will be bused from Camp Verde High School to the Verde Campus to attend the program.
According to Weir, “Students who start the program in their junior year have the chance to graduate high school with their FMA Production certificate become AVID-certified and be well on their way to obtaining their animation certificates in the program,”
The College benefits from this type of program because VACTE pays full College tuition for each student in the program. The College can also count the students as enrolled, which will help stop the enrollment slide it is experiencing.
It is unclear whether adults wanting to enroll in the program will be allowed to do so. The newspaper announcement of the program in the Verde Independent indicated it was only open to high school students. Programs similar to this on the West side of the County mingle adults and high school juniors and senior. The mingling is cost-effective and makes the program sustainable. However, the program must be offered by the College before “mingling” can occur and it may be that the College is not willing to offer the program.
You may read the article in the Verde Independent written by Bill Helm by clicking here.