Schools and districts across the state received their letter grades for the 2024-25 school year at the end of October and beginning of November. Across the Verde Valley, the most common letter grade was a B.

• The highest jump was West Sedona School’s jump to a B from a D.

“West Sedona Elementary earned a high B, coming just 2.98 points shy of an A,” Sedona-Oak Creek School District Superintendent Tom Swaninger, Ph.D, wrote in an email to Sedona families. “Even more impressive, the school nearly maxed out its growth points, showing that our students are not just learning but growing at an exceptional rate.”

WSS Principal Alisa Steig said it was a shock to receive the D from the state last year, and the school implemented changes to teaching processes.

“Our response was immediate and included a change in scheduling and professional development which focused on all types of instruction, which we look at in Tiers; Tier 1 is considered whole group, initial instruction,” she wrote in an email. “Without that being solid and including best practice elements such as modeling, guided practice and adequate independent practice, teachers are just chasing their tails, because the second and third tiers are intervention and supporting students who have greater needs.”

She said parent-teacher conferences are conducted differently now, which allows students to be in the meeting and share their progress with both teacher and parent, which she said also was a leading factor in improving attendance.

“Last year our attendance average for the first quarter was 84% and this year it is 93%,” she said. “On the whole, our approach is very student-centered, which is also visible in our extended day programming which now provides academic supports as well, and parents have been very happy with our changes.”

• Sedona Red Rock High School maintained its B grade, but was even closer to an A.

SRRHS “also earned a B, missing an A by only 0.22 points,” Swaninger said in the email. “Like West Sedona, they nearly maximized their growth measures, and our English-learner students earned 8 out of 10 possible growth points. This has historically been an area of challenge, but through intentional and targeted practices it is now becoming one of our strengths.”

Swaninger said the letter grade is not the only metric on how the education is growing and the students are achieving, but it’s a good benchmark for comparison.

“Working in unison with the Sedona Educational Foundation and the additional support they provide, we remain committed to offering a wide range of opportunities that most small districts cannot,” he wrote. “These include theater, numerous Advanced Placement courses, a full complement of athletics, student clubs, and electives such as orchestra, yearbook, photography, hiking, mountain biking, football, Interact, National Honor Society, student council, and much more.”

• Mingus Union High School also received a B letter grade.

“MUHS has been intentional about strengthening instruction with a focus on research-supported teaching strategies and utilizing our FLEX program to provide students opportunities for targeted academic support,” Mingus Union High School District Superintendent Melody Herne, Ph.D., wrote in a recent email to families.

“FLEX allows teachers to schedule students, during the academic day, for dedicated academic help and allows student choice when they need additional enhancements.

“While we are encouraged by and we celebrate this growth, we are not satisfied; Mingus Union will continue to push ourselves and our students towards greater academic pursuits, increased mastery, and overall success.”

• The Camp Verde School District received a preliminary C grade overall.

“These grades represent a tremendous amount of hard work from many people, and we are proud of the dedication shown by our students and staff,” Camp Verde Unified School District Superintendent Steve Hicks wrote in an email. “That said, we are never fully satisfied and welcome the insights this data provides as we continue to improve. We also have an appeal submitted to the state regarding our high school, and it is currently under review.”

Camp Verde High School’s grade was higher this year than the elementary and middle schools, but last year, it received an A.

The appeals process goes through the state education board’s appeals committee and will be determined at the board meeting on Jan. 26 and will be posted online on Feb. 23, according to the education board’s appeals process page.

In the coming days, according to the appeals timeline page, the in-depth report cards will become available on azreportcards.azed.gov for more descriptive scoring per school.

Because of the appeal, CVHS will be rated “Under Review” until February.