Verde Valley School’s decision to drop its Arizona Interscholastic Association membership last week is the first step toward realigning the school’s mission, according to Head of School Graham Frey.
“We’ve been in the midst of realigning our school’s mission. We want to get back to the bones of this school, and it’s a process to find out what’s appropriate for our school,” Frey said.
AIA media spokesman Brian Bolitho officially announced Aug. 24 Verde Valley School was dropping its membership and would no longer be included within the framework of the AIA.
The Coyotes participated in boys and girls soccer, basketball, golf and tennis and have competed in the AIA since 2004.
“With our commitment to several other programs, we plan to use our resources in other places,” Frey added.
Verde Valley ended its seven-year agreement with the AIA late Aug. 23, which affects several other schools in the surrounding area including Camp Verde and Sedona Red Rock high schools.
After the AIA realigned Arizona high schools just over a year ago to help school districts save money, one of the biggest changes was computer scheduling provided by the AIA.
Verde Valley was on Camp Verde and Sedona’s schedules for soccer, basketball and tennis, but now it’s up to the respective schools to search for a replacement.
Verde Valley was set to compete in Division IV for soccer and basketball and Division III for tennis and golf for the 2011-2012 school year.
The small private school, which is located in the Village of Oak Creek, has several after-school activities and programs required of students.
The outdoors program, equestrian program, video arts and other academic programs exist for the student body to pick from within the education model.
“We have incredible kids, and they are off exploring the world several weeks out of the year, so we would like to put our resources toward that model instead,” Frey said.
Verde Valley is no stranger to change in recent months. Previous Headmaster Paul Domingue and Assistant Headmaster Paul Hansen were let go in November, while Athletic Director Matt Moran turned in his resignation in May.
Frey was hired in May to replace Domingue while Bill Schandor is the school’s new athletic director.
As for Verde Valley’s current athletic programs, Frey did mention it is a possibility the Coyotes could join the Northern Arizona Athletic Association.
“We will make a decision soon providing it makes sense within the mission of our school,” Frey said.
