College provides transportation, faculty and facilities at no cost to the District; hopes to expand these “hands- on” courses throughout the Valley
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.
Students attend their chosen class for four days a week for three weeks. The six mini-classes are: Law enforcement, construction, culinary arts, nursing, CNC machining, and Greenhouse growing.
Verde Valley Campus Dean Dr. Tina Redd explained to the Sedona Council on January 25 that she hoped to expand the program to other school districts in the Verde Valley.
There are benefits to the Community College and the school district. For the Community College, it is developing a pipeline that will encourage these future potential students to consider enrolling there once they graduate. For the District, it is an opportunity of getting the eighth-grade students involved at an early age in the skilled trades and a particular profession.
The classes are very “hands-on.” For example, the course in law enforcement involved classes showing students how to run radar detection, bike safety, crime scene investigation, crime searches, and real-life reenactments. The police officer instructors are from the Verde Valley.
You may view Dr. Redd’s short report on this program made to the Sedona Council January 25, 2022, on the video below. You may review all of her presentation to the Sedona Council on video by clicking here.
Sources: Sedona Council meeting video of January 25, 2022; story in the Verde Independent by Vyto Starinskas published January 23, 2022.