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Eagles in the News – Educator of the Week Mrs. Rice

Eagles in the News – Educator of the Week Mrs. Rice

Q&A with Verde Valley Teacher of the Week Natalie Rice

Verde Christian Academy’s Natalie Rice said that teaching “is a calling, not just a job.” VVN/Bill Helm

Verde Christian Academy’s Natalie Rice said that teaching “is a calling, not just a job.” VVN/Bill Helm

COTTONWOOD – Quality teachers are “dedicated, caring, and talented.” According to Ben Russel, lead administrator at Verde Christian Academy in Cottonwood, Natalie Rice is a quality teacher.

Russel said that the school’s fifth-year kindergarten teacher “spends much time and energy planning interesting lessons for students.”

“I remember a few weeks back coming in to work early in the morning to get something done,” Russel said. “Who did I find here already preparing for the day – with three kids in tow? Natalie.”

It’s her love of kids that inspired Rice to become an educator in the first place. Once she became a parent, Rice also became involved in foster care.

Though she had earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Rice said that “God really showed me in many ways that he wants me working with children and the path to education was laid out right in front of me.”

Russel said that Rice uses “some very effective tools to inspire students and to keep them actively engaged.” Perhaps her greatest tool, the “refreshing gift of optimism.”

“She is always positive with students and shows care and concern,” Russel said. “She welcomes students into her classroom each day with a choice. Would they prefer to give her a high five, fist bump, hug or handshake? Kids get excited to go into her room each day.”

Besides her love of children, Rice said she “love[s] that this job is never boring.”

“You never know what to expect, and you never know where your group discussions will lead to,” Rice said. “I find out the sweetest and funniest things about kids during circle time. I also love the thought of making a difference in a person’s life, I really believe that teaching is a calling, not just a job.”

Verde Valley Newspapers: Explain your teaching style.

Natalie Rice: “I love a student-centered classroom. In all my lessons, I try as best as I can to give students choice of how they want to learn and let them lead our discussions.

“Student centered classrooms are big on collaboration with peers and cooperative learning where students are still learning from me but, also from and with each other. I am also very big on active participation which means that all students are participating and engaged all the time.”

VVN: Do you have a favorite quote?

Rice: “My goal as a kindergarten teacher is to make all my students know they are loved and treasured. I desire for my classroom to be not only creative and fun, but a safe place to learn. I believe that when a teacher creates a climate of love, safety and respect, great learning will follow.”

VVN: If you were not a teacher, what could you see yourself doing?

Rice: “If I were not a teacher, I would be a professional world traveler or vacationer. I would figure out a way to make money from traveling.”

VVN:Tell us something that not too many people know about you.

Rice: “I have a huge passion for missions and helping children in other countries be able to reach their goals. When my children graduate high school I would love to go to third world countries with a mission of helping as many kids as I can.”

— Follow Bill Helm on Twitter @BillHelm42

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!

Eagles in the News! EDUCATOR OF THE WEEK Debra Terrey

Eagles in the News! EDUCATOR OF THE WEEK Debra Terrey

Q&A with VERDE VALLEY’S EDUCATOR OF THE WEEK Debra Terrey, first grade teacher, Verde Christian Academy

Longtime Verde Christian Academy teacher Deb Terrey says that teaching is the “most rewarding job I can imagine.” VVN/Bill Helm

Longtime Verde Christian Academy teacher Deb Terrey says that teaching is the “most rewarding job I can imagine.” VVN/Bill Helm

COTTONWOOD – Ben Russel recently sat behind Verde Christian Academy first grade teacher Deb Terrey during the school’s chapel time.

What the school’s lead administrator noticed was a “rather energetic” former student of Terrey’s wrap an arm around the teacher’s waist. They stood together, the student and Terrey, while they sang a song.

“It was evident that this was a relationship formed deeper than most,” Russel said. The school, and its students, are “blessed to have had Mrs. Terry working with, and loving on, our elementary students for these years.”

More than 30 years in education, the past 26 at Verde Christian Academy. Terrey was in high school when she first decided that she wanted to become a teacher.

In the classroom, Terrey said that she “really enjoy[s] seeing my students learn new concepts.”

“They are very enthusiastic about learning and it is so rewarding to see the light bulb come on when they make a new connection,” Terry said. “I also thoroughly enjoy teaching piano lessons and seeing the growth that my students are making on a weekly basis.”

Terrey has a “calm and quiet classroom” with “many opportunities to learn,” Russel said.

“She blends her teaching with myriad opportunities for students to gather together in pairs and in groups to process and work together on information that they have been learning,” Russel said. “Her students are often found engaged and having fun. They love her and strive to perform well for her.”

If Terrey was not a teacher, she “would like to be a guidance counselor to help high school students as they transition into college.”

VVN: Tell us about your teaching style.

Terrey: I am really enjoying using Cooperative Learning Strategies in my classroom. The students work in small groups and every student is accountable for participating in the assignment and answering questions about what another team member’s ideas were. This is a great way to keep all the kids on task and they also learn from each other.

VVN: Tell us something notable about your career.

Terrey: I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with an Endorsement in Music Education.

I finished my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education with a 3.95 GPA.

VVN: Do you have a favorite quote or saying?

Terrey: When students know that teachers care about their lives, they will strive to do their best work in class.

VVN: Tell us something most people don’t know about you.

In college, I wasn’t sure if this was the profession I was best suited for.

When I started my student teaching program, I found that I loved teaching and have ever since.

I thoroughly enjoy getting to know my students and their families and I love the different ways kids think.

It is the most rewarding job I can imagine and I keep an encouragement file with notes and letters the kids have written to me over the years.

Prop 305 Yes or No?  Eagles in the NEWS 10-27-2018

Prop 305 Yes or No? Eagles in the NEWS 10-27-2018

Proposition 305: It’s all about your choice on what is best education ‘fit’ for your child

Ben Russel is the administrator of the Verde Christian Academy in Cottonwood.

Ben Russel is the administrator of the Verde Christian Academy in Cottonwood.

As a school administrator I’ve been asked numerous times about Prop 305. I am a strong supporter of school choice because I have seen its powerful effects in action. I am a supporter of school choice because it offers great benefit to all schools, including district schools. I am a supporter of school choice because of Robby.

Recently I watched young Robby stand proudly on stage. His face was filled with a shining smile. Robby was being recognized in front of our whole school. He is a great friend, always an encourager, and knows very clearly what he believes. The students clapped for him as he walked happily back to his seat.

Robby came to Verde Christian Academy very timid and shy. He had a hard time interacting with others. He wasn’t a sports guy and he wasn’t extremely academic. He had struggled to find the right fit at his previous school. His parents brought him to VCA based on the AZ tax credit program and it has made all the difference for him and his family. I have watched Robby change from a shy student to a confident and passionate one. It happened at a school that puts a lot of emphasis on helping students find their gifting and their passions.

Robby is not a perfect fit for every school. He is definitely a perfect fit at VCA. In most states, Robby’s family would not have been able to choose to send him to a private school. This is because Robby’s family struggles financially. In the past, only families with extra income could afford to pay school taxes as well as tuition for their children.

Poorer families were forced to go to their closest district school. Thanks to Arizona’s strong stance on school choice, many families like Robby’s have the ability to choose between a number of quality schools; district, charter, private, or home school.

More and more families are realizing what a powerful thing school choice is. Our school is increasingly serving families of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds as a result of our unique mission and vision. Other schools are doing the same. Watching whole families flower under a school that fits their vision is unbelievably fulfilling for an administrator. This relatively young program in Arizona is having a great effect on our students.

Here are some facts about school choice based on the research of Edchoice.Org.

• Every fiscal study looking at school choice has found either positive or no effect on a state. This means most programs save the state money (effectively allowing more dollars per student to be invested in public ed).

• Nearly all academic studies of school choice programs have found that they drives academic improvement in district schools

• Arizona is the only state to improve on all 8 NAEP exams from 2009-2015

• Most studies on parent choice found that school choice programs increased students’ civic values including tolerance, volunteering, and voting.

School choice saves the state money, which can then be put back into public schools. School choice increases parents’ overall satisfaction with schooling. School choice also raises student performance in district schools. This is an important program for our district schools.

It is unfortunate that so much misinformation surrounds school choice in Arizona.

School choice is in no way about attacking our district schools. They are an extremely important part of our community. We have had the fortune to work closely with our local district schools here in the Verde Valley and they are passionate about students and their progress. District schools need our support and proper funding. This is about choice.

Why did you choose your bank? Your grocery store? Your cell phone? The pants you are wearing? Because someone worked hard to make them your BEST FIT!

Whether it is Prop 305 or other school choice initiatives, let’s come together as a community around the idea that we all support a family’s right to choose the best fit for their child.

Ben Russel is the administrator of the Verde Christian Academy in Cottonwood.

Eagles in the News! Rhonda Johnson EDUCATOR OF THE WEEK! 5-29-18

Eagles in the News! Rhonda Johnson EDUCATOR OF THE WEEK! 5-29-18

VERDE VALLEY EDUCATOR OF THE WEEK: Rhonda Johnson

Preschool assistant director, Technology Teacher, Librarian Verde Christian Academy Cottonwood

In her eighth year at Verde Christian Academy, Rhonda Johnson is the school’s assistant preschool director, technology teacher and librarian. (Photo by Bill Helm)

In her eighth year at Verde Christian Academy, Rhonda Johnson is the school’s assistant preschool director, technology teacher and librarian. (Photo by Bill Helm)

COTTONWOOD – Jack of all trades, master of none. Nobody at Verde Christian Academy would say this about Rhonda Johnson.

As the school’s assistant preschool director, technology director and librarian, Johnson wears “a lot of hats and wears them all well,” said Ben Russell, the school’s lead administrator.

“Mrs. Johnson’s skills vary from teaching and loving on preschoolers, to teaching technology class and managing the library,” Russell said. “These myriad responsibilities necessitate a lot of skills and talents on her part.”

To handle a variety of tasks at the proverbial drop of a hat, it helps that Johnson is “always calm and has a positive outlook,” Russell said.

“She is a passionate gift-giver and often showers staff with blessings and gifts,” Russell said. “She brings a great spirit to our staff, spreading cheer like Arizona sunshine.”

In her fifth year at Verde Christian Academy, her eighth year as an educator, Johnson did not know until college that she wanted to teach.

“In high school I told everyone that I just wanted to be a good mom,” Johnson said. “When I went to college, I went into Elementary Education. Now part of my teaching is the littlest (preschool) and feel like I am now able to be a mama to my littles, as I call them.”

What Johnson likes most about her work is the “variety of subjects and students that I get to teach and reach.”

TEACHING STYLE

Johnson said that her teaching style is “inquiry based.”

“In preschool, I allow my students to do centers that are open to them using a variety of developmentally appropriate items and letting them discover how to use them,” Johnson said. “This open center time is over half of their time in preschool each day and also leads to differentiated instruction, play-based learning, and kinesthetic learning. These are all vital parts of a child’s learning and development.”

NOTABLE

“In the area of education, this public award of educator of the week would be my first notable recognition.”

QUOTABLE

“We are not born with empathy. We have to be taught it.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Johnson is a third-generation teacher. Her mother and grandmother were teachers.

Tax Credit Scholarship Program – The Facts

Tax Credit Scholarship Program – The Facts

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May 1st, 2018

Tax Credit Scholarship Program – The Facts

First of all, we want to thank each of you for your commitment to Christian Education and the emphasis you place on your students first. We realize the sacrifices the administration, office staff, teacher aides, and teachers make to provide a strong academic learning environment that is centered on Truth and spreading the Good News.

Over the last several weeks, we have all seen what is happening in our public schools across the state. Overall, we agree that teachers are underpaid in this state, and we pray this will be rectified quickly. We also recognize that personnel at Christian schools in this state are further underpaid by at least 10-20% compared to the teacher in the public school system. Again, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for pouring into your students’ lives and having an impact that has an eternal value!

Over the last week, ACSTO has seen the attacks in news publications and on social media that suggest scholarship tax credits somehow have contributed to issues relating to public education funding in Arizona. This is a false narrative that the opponents of school choice want people to believe.

The truth is that scholarship tax credits help public school funding. The average cost to taxpayers for district and charter public school students is about $9,500 per year from all sources (state general fund, federal funds, local property taxes).  This information comes from the 6/26/2017 Joint Legislative Budget Committee report, “Overview of K-12 Per Pupil Funding for School Districts and Charter Schools.

According to the most recent Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR), School Tuition Organization Tax Credits in Arizona Summary of Activity: FY 2015/2016 report, the following information was derived:

  • 352 Private Schools receive tax credit scholarships
  • The Average Original Tax Credit Scholarship – $1,724.00
  • The Average Overflow Tax Credit Scholarship – $1,360.00
  • The Average Low-Income Tax Credit Scholarship – $2,165.00
  • The Average Disabled/Displaced Tax Credit Scholarship – $4,696.00

The average scholarship from individual and corporate scholarship tax credit sources is roughly $2,500 per student. Corporate source funded scholarships are slightly above the average and individual funded ones slightly below.

As you can see, the average scholarship ($2,500) is far less than what the public/charter schools receive ($9,500) on a per student basis in funding, this is savings to the tax payer at the expense of parents with children in private schools. If all of the students enrolled in Private schools were to enroll in the public school system it would cost the State of Arizona more than half a billion dollars to educate these children. There would not be enough schools, classrooms, teachers, or resources available. For each child enrolled in a private school, the state of Arizona and School Districts are saving money. There are at least 50,000 students enrolled in private schools, which is a very conservative estimate.

According to the ADOR FY 2015 and FY 2017 Annual Reports, the following information about tax payers and tax credits was obtained for FY 2015, which is the most recent information available:

  • 2015: 3,227,067 Individual Tax Filers
  • 92,554 contributed to the Individual Tax Credit program (3% of all tax payers)
  • Of the 92,554, 41,532 also contributed to the Overflow Tax Credit program (2% of all tax payers)
  • 168,752 contributed to the Public School Tax Credit Program (6% of all tax payers)

There is an erroneous belief by some that the STO program takes money from the general fund. The truth is that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ACSTO v Winn that the donations made to STOs are private funds, not state funds, which means that the money never belonged to the state in the first place.

The bottom line is that scholarship tax credits are a benefit to the state budget. They are part of the solution – not part of any funding problem.

Please let us know if you have questions and we will continue to provide you with as much information as possible that you can share with your supporters, staff, and families.

ACSTO

Igniting Hearts. Unleashing Minds

ABOUT US

We are a vibrant community who exist for the purpose of assisting families in their God-given call to educate their children. We partner with a variety of families including those who are looking for a strong Christian foundation as well as those who are passionate about finding a safe environment with high expectations and quality academics. Located on the campus of the Verde Community Church we are blessed to have bright spacious classrooms, a full-size gymnasium, and a large playground complete with a plethora of equipment More Info >>

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