Eagles in the News! Front Page Articles!  K-8 Announcement!

Eagles in the News! Front Page Articles! K-8 Announcement!

Verde Christian Academy to become K-8 school – in three years

In three years, Verde Christian Academy in Cottonwood will be a K-8 school, said school administrator Ben Russel. VVN/Bill Helm

In three years, Verde Christian Academy in Cottonwood will be a K-8 school, said school administrator Ben Russel. VVN/Bill Helm

COTTONWOOD – Verde Christian Academy has decided to take a page from Cottonwood-Oak Creek’s playbook.

For each of the next three school years, Cottonwood’s Christian school will add a grade to its pre-K to 5 population until it is a K-8 school, according to school administrator Ben Russell.

Russel said that though middle school “has been a dream at Verde Christian Academy for a long time,” grades 6 through 8 can be “the most difficult and the most rewarding years for children.”

“It is the time where we question who we are and who we want to become,” he said.

Russel said that “several factors” over the past few years inspired the school that it could expand its curriculum to include middle schoolers.

When C-OC began to offer K-8 curriculum district-wide this year, Russel figured that families “would send students to other schools where students have been together since [kindergarten].”

For the 2019-2020 school year, Verde Christian will add a sixth grade class, followed by a seventh grade class in 2020-2021 and an eighth grade class the following year.

Russel said that he “anticipate[s] being close to full in our sixth grade next year.”

To prepare for the school’s expansion, administration and the school’s fifth graders have “been brainstorming ideas for middle school.”

“They are excited to help us pilot our expansion,” Russel said.

Though the school’s grade 6 through grade 8 offerings will begin each as single classroom, Russel said the school’s plans are to have students will switch between teachers for math, language and science, as well as electives and “separate discipleship classes for boys and for girls.”

“As the school grows, students will be able to participate in interscholastic sports and other extracurricular trips and activities,” Russel said. “We also plan to develop separate multi-age groups within our school called houses.  Houses would provide mentoring opportunities between students and would give a further sense of community and belonging at VCA.”

Verde Christian Academy is located at 102 S. Willard St. in Cottonwood. For more information, call 928-634-8113.

— Follow Bill Helm on Twitter @BillHelm42

Eagles in the News! Front Page Articles!  5 Star Quality First Preschool!

Eagles in the News! Front Page Articles! 5 Star Quality First Preschool!

Verde Christian nets 5-star rating for preschool program

Lizette Farraro, an assistant preschool teacher at Verde Christian Academy, watches as five-year-old Lucas Shires addresses his fellow classmates. The school’s preschool program recently was recognized by Quality First with a five-star rating. VVN/Bill Helm

Lizette Farraro, an assistant preschool teacher at Verde Christian Academy, watches as five-year-old Lucas Shires addresses his fellow classmates. The school’s preschool program recently was recognized by Quality First with a five-star rating. VVN/Bill Helm

COTTONWOOD – A few years back, Verde Christian Academy resolved itself to create what Ben Russel called a “better product for our kids.”

Thanks to First Things First’s Quality First program, the preschool program at Verde Christian Academy has become a five-star program.

Before the school’s winter break, a representative from Quality First visited the Cottonwood Christian school to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

The result, a five-star rating, from the entity that “supports early education,” said Russel, Verde’s Christian’s lead administrator.

“They came to campus and looked at the interactions in the classroom, the environment of the play areas and the open areas, looked at our files,” Russel said. “They follow a rating scale to determine what level we’re at.”

Quality First measures criteria such as: Health and safety practices that promote children’s basic wellbeing; Staff qualifications, including experience working with infants, toddlers and preschoolers as well as training or college coursework in early childhood development and education; Teacher-child interactions that are positive, consistent and nurture healthy development and learning; Learning environments, including age-appropriate books, toys and learning materials that promote emotional, social, language and cognitive development; Lessons that follow state requirements or recommendations for infants, toddlers and preschoolers; Group sizes that give young children the individual attention they need; and Child assessment and parent communication that keeps families regularly informed of their child’s development.

Also important, that the Quality First representatives watched as teachers interact with students, as they asked “open ended questions,” Russel said.

The five-star rating actually came after Verde Christian’s preschool became an accredited program, Russel said.

Moving forward, Russel said that Verde Christian should receive “more grant funding as a result of the rating.”

— Follow Bill Helm on Twitter @BillHelm42

Eagles in the News! Verde Christian students help two brothers fight leukemia

Eagles in the News! Verde Christian students help two brothers fight leukemia

Verde Christian students help two brothers fight leukemia

Both 15-year-old Brady and 17-year-old Aidan Skoch have leukemia. Recently, students from Betty Midkiff’s fifth grade class at Verde Christian Academy donate $1,022 to the Skoch family of Cottonwood to help with medical expenses for Brady and Aidan. Photos courtesy of Verde Christian Academy+-

Both 15-year-old Brady and 17-year-old Aidan Skoch have leukemia. Recently, students from Betty Midkiff’s fifth grade class at Verde Christian Academy donate $1,022 to the Skoch family of Cottonwood to help with medical expenses for Brady and Aidan. Photos courtesy of Verde Christian Academy+-

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Students from Betty Midkiff’s fifth grade class at Verde Christian Academy donate $1,022 to the Skoch family of Cottonwood to help with medical expenses for the family’s 15-year-old son Brady and 17-year-old son Aidan. Both Brady and Aidan have leukemia. Pictured with the Verde Christian Academy students, Kevin Skoch, father of Brady and Aidan. Photos courtesy of Verde Christian Academy

COTTONWOOD – More often than not, folks know Adopt-a-Family as the program that helps families with money for food and presents each year at Christmas.

But Betty Midkiff’s fifth grade class at Verde Christian Academy recently gave to a local family something even more meaningful.

Two brothers – former students at the Christian school in Cottonwood – have leukemia. So Midkiff talked to her students about the meaning of Christmas, and they raised $722 to help 15-year-old Brady and 17-year-old Aidan Skoch fight the disease.

Sophomore Brady Skoch has had to leave classes at Mingus Union High School to go to Washington D.C. with his mother for treatment.

Russel said that Brady is currently entering his second round of cancer treatments and that “this round will be difficult.”

Aiden, also attending Mingus Union, is a junior and recently performed in the school play “A Christmas Carol.”

“After hearing of the Skoch family’s struggle, they decided to get involved,” said Ben Russel, lead administrator at Verde Christian Academy. “Mrs. Midkiff encouraged them not only to ask their families to assist, but to ask others to get involved, and to do odd jobs to raise funds themselves as well.”

In addition to the money the children raised, the school donated another $300, which Russel said allowed the children to give Kevin Skoch a $1,022 check.

“Mr. Skoch grabbed for the tissues as he listened to the students telling their stories,” Russel said. “He then shared how grateful his family is to the class. It was a powerful scene, watching the students as they listened to Skoch tell his story. This Christmas will be a memorable one for those involved.”

The Skoch family has a GoFundMe page as they raise money for medical expenses, www.gofundme.com/skochboys.

 

5 STAR Preschool

5 STAR Preschool

Our Preschool has received a 5 Star rating from Quality First. Verde Christian Academy is the first Preschool in the Verde Valley to receive a 5 star rating, and one of only 3 in Northern Arizona.

We are so proud of our Preschool Team!