9/14/2009 8:59:00 AM NAU starts small in Prescott Valley with class for teachers
Instructor Karin Ward, right, interacts with students during an exercise in the Structured English Emergence class at the Northern Arizona University-Yavapai campus in the new library in Prescott Valley on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Les Stukenberg/The Daily Courier
By Ken Hedler Special to the Tribune
Northern Arizona University-Yavapai started out small Aug. 26 with a weekly class that prepares teachers for educating children whose primary language is not English.
Eight teachers are enrolled in the eight-week class that meets Wednesday evenings in the NAU wing of the Prescott Valley Public Library building nearing completion on Civic Circle.
Three teachers in the Structured English Emergence class at NAU-Yavapai said it is mandatory to earn their credentials, adding they are pursuing master's degrees as well.
NAU also plans to offer evening classes in anthropology and public management beginning in October, said Susan Johnstad, assistant vice president and campus executive officer. NAU will offer another class at an undetermined date in Prescott to accommodate the instructor.
NAU has been present in the tri-city area for at least 20 years, and has offered programs in fields such as business and education, according to Johnstad.
Enrollment generally has averaged 125 to 150 students, with classes meeting in locations such as Yavapai College and the former Dexter Elementary School, both in Prescott.
However, NAU has more ambitious plans for Prescott Valley.
"We hope to have our first class of freshmen begin in the fall of 2010," she said. "We will have key degree programs. We will begin recruiting in the high schools and across the region later in this school year."
While NAU is starting out small by leasing space from Yavapai College in the library, it plans to assume branch status in three to five years, Johnstad said. Prescott Valley would join Yuma as the second community in the state to have a branch, which would have a separate site.
NAU's long-term goal in five to 10 years is to establish a stand-alone campus with 5,000 students in Prescott Valley, she said.
NAU officials plan to enable high school graduates and working adults to continue their education locally and target academic programs to the regional labor market.
They enjoy the support of town government officials, who announced plans for NAU during a press conference June 15.
Town Manager Larry Tarkowski said town officials are taking advantage of the vision that presidents John Haeger of NAU and James Horton of Yavapai College have expressed.
Tarkowski said a "better-educated" work force through access to academic programs in the community will make it possible to attract more job opportunities to the tri-city area.
He visited NAU-Yavapai Wednesday night because the college hosted the first meeting of the 10-week Citizens Academy.
The town conducts the academy to educate the public about how the town operates and recruit residents to volunteer on commissions.
Meanwhile, in an adjoining classroom Karin Ward, superintendent and principal of the tiny Beaver Creek School District in Rimrock, conducted the third session of the class on English emergence. She brings to the class 29 years of experience as an educator, and teaches an undergraduate class on bilingual methodology Tuesday nights at Yavapai College.
"The thing that is most awesome about this (class) is they don't have to go anywhere else" to take it, Ward said before beginning her session. "They are going to understand the methodology of how to work with English Language Learners."
That thirst for knowledge - and certification - drew teachers John Strzepek of Prescott Valley Charter School, MaryAlys Watson and Ray Ochoa of Willow Creek Charter School in Prescott, and other students.
Watson, the youngest at 26, said she has only one class to take to earn a master's degree in elementary education and her certification.
