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The State of Education in Sedona

 By Marie King | As seen on Sedona.biz

(Sedona, Arizona) - On January 27, 2007, Arizona Superintendent of Public Education, Tom Horne, delivered his fourth "State of Education" speech to the Arizona House and Senate Education Committees.

In that speech, Superintendent Horne outlined three new student initiatives in 2007:  Personalized Learning Plans that will prepare students from the seventh grade and up for college entrance or the job market; Laptop Pilot Program so teachers can better prepare students for the digital economy where every student owns a laptop; and International Schools that will begin teaching students a language in kindergarten, and a second language in ninth grade, combined with international studies and exchange programs.

I suspected that implementing these new initiatives would be a difficult task.  A report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2006 stated that U.S. public school districts spent an average of $8,287 per student in 2004.  New Jersey ranked #1, spending $12,981 per pupil, while Arizona ranked among the lowest five, spending only $6,036 per student.

I wondered how the new initiatives outlined by Superintendent Horne, coupled with Arizona's limited pupil funding, impacted the quality and direction of education in Sedona, so I contacted Dr. Kim Randall, Superintendent for the Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified School District, to find out what kind of educational initiatives were being pursued in our local public schools.

As background, the Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified School District is a K-12 school district that includes the Big Park Community School (grade K-8), the West Sedona Elementary School (grades K-8), and the Sedona Red Rock High School (grades 9-12).

As I had surmised funding was a major consideration in implementing Superintendent Horne’s initiatives.  Dr Randall stated, “Laptops is obviously a funding issue.  I always question the research behind programming, and I have yet to review such research regarding the educational value of the Laptop Pilot Program.  So I need more information.”

In terms of Personalized Learning Plans, Dr Randall explained that they are already doing such plans for the high school students, and it included doing follow-up that extended one year beyond high school.  Bringing up the issue of funding once again, Dr. Randall said, “There is an obvious manpower demand in preparing such plans.”

International Programs would also have to compete for limited dollars in the Sedona-Oak Creek School District.  Dr Randall declared, “I do believe that we need to work towards a multi-language culture, and early instruction is the best way to achieve linguistic fluency.  Highly trained, bilingual teacher shortage is an obstacle to such programs.

Personally, I would prefer to put any available dollars directly into top-notch instructional staff so that we can compete in hiring and retaining the best teachers and administrators.  Teacher quality is the one proven determining factor in student academic success throughout the research.

Given a choice between new initiatives and funding to pay for the current mandates,  I choose the latter.”

After discussing the initiatives that are currently going on in the school system, I can see why Dr. Randall is interested in supporting current mandates.  I discovered that there are a number of innovative programs in progress and in the planning stage that meet the needs of students K-12 who have a wide range of abilities and different plans for their future.  Many of these programs are consistent with the Personalized Learning Plans outlined by Superintendent Horne. 

As Dr. Randall put it, "high school is the first step, and what we strive to do is set up educational experiences that prepare students for that next step into the real world."

For instance, all Sedona Red Rock High School seniors must participate in a senior exhibition project in order to graduate that utilizes their research, writing and presentation skills. The students choose the topic and are guided by a team of teachers.  The project usually takes a semester to complete, and Dr. Randall compares it to a master’s thesis.  According to Dr. Randall, the students consider the senior exhibition project to be one of the most valuable of their high school education; especially among the majority of students who go on to higher education.  But educational opportunities are not just limited to students who will go on to college. 

Officer Zandt of the Sedona Police Department helps student tape off crime scene area as part of Forensic Studies Class.

There are some excellent options available for those who want to go directly into the workforce.  Dr. Randall says that the Sedona schools teach students a good work ethic and good skills for the real world.  For instance, the high school has a career technical education center that offers courses in business marketing, journalism and forensic science.  In the forensic science course, for example, each student analyzes the evidence and presents their findings in front of a real magistrate at the local courthouse.

The career technical education center is also developing courses in hospitality management and culinary arts in response to local businesses who say they need people with these skills.

However, Dr. Randall’s focus is not exclusively on high-school students.  She is currently designing a program for the talented and gifted, which will begin in kindergarten and go through the twelfth grade.  Dr. Randall believes that talented and gifted children have special needs.  But unlike traditional special needs students, talented and gifted children excel at learning rather than being overwhelmed by it.  Dr. Randall feels that gifted children need to be challenged as early as possible in their education, so that school doesn’t become a mind-numbing experience.

The focus of the talented and gifted program will be on advanced math and science studies.  There are already advanced classes in literature and history.  The advanced math and science classes will be channeled into pre-engineering, pre-medicine and pre-architecture studies in the upper grades.

Although the Sedona-Oak Creek School District may be challenged by limited state funding, it appears its students aren't being short changed.

 

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• When Relocating to Sedona, Contain Your Housing Costs
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• Starting Your Own Business in the Verde Valley
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• Finding and Keeping Good Employees in Sedona and the Verde Valley
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• Writing a Resume for jobs in Sedona and the Verde Valley
  When wrtiing a resume for any position, it is important to focus on the qualifications the employer wants and relate how your skills and experience match that criteria.
•  New Team to Lead Sedona Red Rock High School
  The article focuses on the concept of back building that will be used by the new leadership team.  This approach structures education by looking at the desired  outcome and putting in place steps to achieve it.

 

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Marie King ~ Sedona Transitions
6770 W Hwy 89A #167, Sedona, Arizona 86336
928.593.9448 ~

Articles by Marie King • HOME