Incorporating Academia and the Great Outdoors

Taylor Webber

Living in Sedona offers endless opportunities to incorporate the beautiful landscape in our everyday lives, may it be for work or school. Staff and students, such as Jon Anderson and Taylor Webber, took advantage of Sedona’s outdoor potential and incorporated it into their schooling experiences: “Mr. Anderson and the hiking club greatly impacted me during my time at SCS,” says Taylor, who attended SCS from 6th to 8th grade from 2004-2007. “He led the hiking club and influenced my passion for nature and the great outdoors. I love hiking and camping, and without him I would not have gotten so involved with hiking during my time in Sedona. He was also the history teacher and got me interested in American History and Government.”

As a business major at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Taylor expresses instances where his time at Sedona Charter School prepared him for his high school and college courses: “SCS is a great school to prepare you for both college and high school. The block scheduling prepares you for what high school and college education will be like. There was also an ample amount of work, which helps to prepare you for higher education where there is mostly out of classroom work that you are responsible for completing on your own. SCS helped me to develop the personal discipline necessary to complete the larger workload in my future education.”

Students, staff and parents represent SCS annually in the Sedona Marathon. Taylor remembers this opportunity as one of the main inspiring factors that developed his passion for cross country and track and field in high school. “The Sedona Marathon/5k influenced me greatly. It led me to join cross country and track in high school. It also helped to instill values of perseverance and achievement through hard work.” Sports as extracurricular activities are pertinent to a student’s success in academia and also enhance social relationships with other students with similar interests.

“Sedona Charter School gave me a very well rounded experience in both academics and recreation, which made my learning experience extremely enjoyable. This balance helped me to maintain daily interest in my school work while allowing me to look forward to enjoying the outdoors with my teachers and classmates.”