Ash Fork High School announces the first graduating class from its associate’s degree program in conjunction with Yavapai College.
By Al Wood
While high school seniors across Northern Arizona were struggling to transition their final quarter of high school to online learning, five seniors at Ash Fork High School were managing the transition to fully-online learning in their final semester of Yavapai College courses.
This final quarter of classes meant even more to Evelyn Acosta, Marco Ayala, Brooke Dziubla, Alex Keele, and Christopher Vazquez, who are all seniors in Ash Fork High School’s Associates Degree program in conjunction with Yavapai College. They will be graduating on May 21 with both a high school diploma from Ash Fork High School and an Associate of Arts degree from Yavapai College.
These students represent the inaugural graduating class of Ash Fork High School’s Associates Degree Program. Prior to this program, students could enroll in one or two online classes with Yavapai College during senior year. But beginning in fall 2017, Ash Fork High School partnered with Yavapai College to build a program where dedicated, mature, talented students could take a series of some twenty college courses that would dually satisfy the requirements for a high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree.
Potential students are now identified during their freshman year of high school through a combination of grades, standardized test scores, and overall character. Of these students, those who are willing to make a 3 ½-year commitment begin taking introductory college classes online during the spring of their freshman year, and gradually build their course loads until senior year, where they spend all day on Yavapai College’s Prescott campus taking in-person classes.
Students who successfully complete Ash Fork’s Associates Degree Program are empowered with at least sixty college credits, which can be transferred to any number of universities inside or outside Arizona. These students are also much more prepared to interact with university professors as well as for the style and rigor that university classes present.
This empowerment and advanced preparation is especially important for students from Ash Fork High School, which is a Title I school with 100% free/reduced lunch eligibility, an above-average rate of first-generation college students, and 50 miles from the nearest college.
Completing the Associates Degree Program is not without sacrifices. Students must make time in their schedules for regular meetings with Early College Programs Advisor Cristina Poeppel at Yavapai College, who ensures that the college’s requirements are fulfilled and that students are taking the best courses to ensure a smooth transition to students’ programs of interest at one of Arizona’s public universities.
Some students who are otherwise-eligible also choose not to enroll in the program because of the heavy workload required of college classes. The requirement to attend Yavapai College’s Prescott campus during senior year also limits opportunities for students to participate in other extra-curricular activities.
But for students like Evelyn, Marco, Brooke, Alex, and Christopher, the Associates Degree Program represents thousands of dollars saved on college tuition and a shorter window until they can pursue their dream careers and futures as high school – and college graduates.