Cottonwood-Oak Creek Schools

🎉 Arizona Community Foundation Grant Awards! 🎉

Congratulations to our amazing schools for receiving awards through the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) for their outstanding and innovative projects! 🌟

As with all ACF grant funds, these awards are designated for the specific purposes outlined in each approved grant application. Any changes must be approved through ACF Sedona.

This year’s ACF grant awards include:
🏫 Oak Creek School – iPads – 💰 $3,000 (Grantee: Tom Coultas)
🏗️ Verde Transition High School – Outdoor Workshop – 💰 $8,000 (Grantee: Amy Romero)
📺 Cottonwood Community School – Smart TV Monitors – 💰 $3,000 (Grantee: Marcy Wright)
🪑 Mountain View Preparatory – Tables and Chairs for Middle School – 💰 $3,000 (Grantee: Desiree McDowell)

👏 We’re so proud of our educators and schools for their hard work and dedication to enhancing learning opportunities for our students!
Also a Big THANK YOU to Tom Coultas for all the support working with our principals on these projects.

#COCSD #ArizonaCommunityFoundation #Grants #StudentSuccess #CommunitySupport

🍿From Snacks to Social Studies! ➡️🗺️

Last year, Oak Creek School’s 7th and 8th grade students helped run the PTO Snack Shack — and their hard work paid off! 💪 With their portion of the proceeds, Student Council chose to purchase brand new classroom maps this year! ✨

We love seeing how these photos capture the perfect blend of old and new technology — giving students the best tools to explore and understand our world. 🌎💡

#lifechangingeducation #cocsd #socialstudies #learning #worldmaps #classroom #oakcreekschool #ocs #pto #middleschool

🎉 COCSD Celebrates BIG at November’s Governing Board Meeting! 🎉

This month’s Board meeting was full of reasons to celebrate! Our Governing Board shared heartfelt thanks to our amazing community for passing the M&O Override election — your continued support makes a lasting difference for our students and schools. 💙

We’re also thrilled to share the Arizona Department of Education’s release of school letter grades!
🏫 Mountain View Preparatory – A
📘 Dr. Daniel Bright Elementary – B
📗 Cottonwood Community School – B
📘 Oak Creek School – B
📊 COCSD District Rating – B

These results reflect the commitment, excellence, and hard work of our staff, students, and families who strive to be the BEST every day!

We were proud to honor this month’s Sparklight Award recipients, recognizing outstanding staff and students who go above and beyond:
✨ Mrs. Swenson & Mrs. Cox (DDB) – for going above and beyond providing extra support to students amid scheduling challenges.
✨ Sebastian Sizelove (DDB Student) – for his quick thinking and calm response during a medical emergency, ensuring everyone’s safety.
✨ Mrs. Nayomi Valdez (CCS) – for her leadership, bilingual support, and dedication to clear, compassionate communication with families.
✨ Peyton Vescio (CCS Student) – for living out the Lobo values of perseverance, achievement, collaboration, and kindness.

The Board also celebrated the many fall carnivals and activities that brought joy and connection across our schools throughout October — wonderful displays of school spirit, teamwork, and community pride! 🍂

👏 We’re so proud of every student, staff member, and community partner who helps COCSD shine. Together, we’re building excellence and celebrating success every step of the way!

#COCSDProud #CelebrateBIG #CommunityStrong #StudentSuccess

Cottonwood Community School is so thankful for Mrs. Michelle and her amazing Crafts & Things Club in our 21st CCLC After-School Program! 🎨🧵

Students have been busy painting, creating with beads, making bracelets, designing shrinky dinks, and even building things with real hammers and screwdrivers! 🔨✨

Thank you, Mrs. Michelle, for inspiring creativity and hands-on learning every week — our students love your club! 💙

Food Sharing Events
We’d like to share some helpful information about local food sharing events happening in our area, provided by our friends at LISA.
🍎 You can learn more and find event details online here: azlisa.org/food
We hope this resource is helpful for our families and community members! 💛

Chocolate Chip for the Win!
This week the kindergarteners at Cottonwood Community School explored the importance of voting! They cast their votes for their favorite cookie and discovered that chocolate chip is the class favorite. 🍪✅

🌟 THANK YOU, COTTONWOOD-OAK CREEK COMMUNITY! 🌟

We are deeply grateful to our voters for your continued support in passing the Maintenance & Operations Override for the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District! 🙏

For over 25 years, this override has helped sustain the high-quality education our students deserve — and once again, you’ve shown your confidence in our schools, educators, and programs that make a difference every day. 💙

It’s important to remember: this override is not a new tax, but a continuation of existing support that keeps our funding stable without increasing the tax rate. Your vote reflects a strong commitment to our students and the future of our community.

In a state where Arizona continues to rank near the bottom in per-pupil funding, your local support truly matters. The passage of this measure allows us to:
✅ Maintain smaller class sizes
✅ Continue vital programs like STEM, the arts, and extracurriculars
✅ Support classroom technology and essential student services
✅ Prevent cuts to programs our students and families depend on

We’re also proud to share that COCSD has been ranked a “B” district by the State of Arizona — a reflection of our dedicated teachers, staff, and the incredible work happening every day in our classrooms! 🍎✨

To our amazing staff — thank you for your professionalism and passion.
To our families and community — thank you for believing in public education and standing beside us.
And to Partners in Education — your ongoing support means the world. 🌍💛

We invite anyone curious about our schools to come visit! Tour a campus, meet our educators, and see firsthand the creativity and learning that make COCSD so special.

Together, we’re building a strong foundation for our students — one that reflects the pride, values, and vision of our community. 💫

#ThankYou #COCSDProud #CommunitySupport #PublicEducation #PartnersInEducation

🎯 Love archery? Enjoy working with kids?

Here’s your chance to do both! We’re looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our after-school archery program as instructors. No experience? No problem — we’ll provide all the training you need!

✅ No Experience Necessary (training provided)
✅ IVP Card Required (we can help with that process)
✅ After-School Clubs: Monday–Thursday across four schools
✅ Flexible Schedule — we’ll work with your availability

Make friends, learn new skills, and make a difference in a child’s life through archery! 🏹

👉 Interested? Contact Guy Day, Lead Instructor at (916) 742-8505 for more information.

Principal Heather Langley from Mountain View Prep is proudly sporting her Yavapai County “I VOTED” sticker today! 🗳️ Have you turned in your ballot yet? There’s still time!

If you haven’t already mailed it, be sure to drop off your ballot for the Cottonwood-Oak Creek and Mingus Union High School Special Override Election at the Yavapai County Administration Building, 10 S. 6th St., Cottonwood — today!

Every vote matters for our schools and community. ✅

COCSD Top Performing K-8 Public School District in the Verde Valley
The Arizona State Board of Education officially released A-F School Letter Grades this week, and the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District (COCSD) earned a B rating for the 2024–2025 school year. This recognition reflects continued academic growth, strong instructional practices, and a shared commitment to student success across all schools.
Read more about it here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LBwWq_b8eZ2HY72J2RoYbgpfnlPGVrW0/view?usp=sharing