Dr. Daniel Bright School Principal Jessica Vocca was selected to be Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District’s future superintendent on Feb. 1 following the upcoming retirement of Superintendent Steve King.
Vocca currently has no set start date as negotiations over the contract are still taking place.
King had announced he will be retiring and running for the position of Yavapai County School Superintendent which will be vacated by Tim Carter’s retirement at the end of the year.
Vocca was born in Cottonwood, attended Cottonwood Junior High and graduated from Mingus Union High School in 1998. She attended Yavapai College and transferred to Northern Arizona University where she received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education before returning to Cottonwood.
Vocca began teaching second grade at Cottonwood Elementary School in 2003. She also taught kindergarten and was a reading specialist among other educator positions before becoming Principal at DDB School in 2017.
When she started at Cottonwood Elementary School it served grades five through eight. Cottonwood Middle School, CES and DDB School restructured their grades. Vocca served as the principal in DDB School’s first year open serving kindergarten through eighth grade in 2017 and has been in that position since.
As a principal, Vocca shared that the job is face paced and her duties can change very quickly throughout the day. She spends time in the classrooms, working with both children and teachers, with K-8 programming, after-school programming, planning parent nights and looking at student data.
“It’s very hands-on as far as at the school level,” Vocca said about her position as principal. “As superintendent, I’m learning that it’s very community based.”
She shared that part of being a superintendent is getting to know community partners and to make connections with local leaders and businesses as well as the school board.
“I admire Mr. King and his approach and philosophy to education,” Vocca said. “He has led this district in a very positive direction and it inspires me to keep moving forward and to work with our community.”
Vocca added that King has offered support for families in the community who attend the district’s schools; she raised her children here.
“I want to keep moving in that direction,” Vocca said. “I want to continue to provide support to our families, school programs for our community and reach out to community partnerships.”
Vocca said the district has a robust after-school program and wants to continue it. The district has partnered to provide experiences for students, such as with Epona Experience in Camp Verde that provides an equine program for seventh- and eighth-graders. Other programs include archery and bicycle clubs.
Vocca plans to further familiarize herself with the staff at each of the school campuses and see how their systems work.
“My goals are definitely to increase student participation in after school programming, to continue to work with our community partnerships and to make our summer program very hands-on,” Vocca said.
She also wants to continue to bring more people into this area because when schools in an area are flourishing, people will want to come in and raise families in the area.
Vocca said that some of the issues the district is facing include a teacher shortage and bus driver shortage.
“I’m most proud of the staff I’ve been able to work with,” Vocca said. DDB School’s Arizona state grade went from a C to an A in 2023 and its student achievement is up, she said. “To be a part of a bigger purpose with a bigger team of people is what I’m most proud of.”
“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Vocca continued. “I’m excited to get to know how the other schools work at a closer level because no one can improve unless they get to see other people in action. I like to think outside the box and provide our children and our community opportunities to not just become successful in school, I think we’ve done many great things for that, but also to participate in things outside of school. I’m most looking forward to that community connection.”
