I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance as the best public schools in the area. The areas I am considering are Scottsdale,Gilbert, Chandler, Glendale and Ahwatukee. The schooling in AZ is so much different then here in NJ. In NJ there is usually only 1 high school and 1 middle school available per town and as I have been researching AZ there seem to be more. I am totally confused. I have a 6th grader and a 9th grader and they are both on the Honor Roll here in NJ. Their education is the most important thing for me when it comes to the location in AZ that I move to.
The schools here in AZ will
The schools here in AZ will not be as good as what you are used to. There are good and bad schools in each city that your looking at. You will really need to research. You'll want your kids at an excelling school which may be problematic. For instance where I live in Tempe the elementary school is excelling the middle school is not and neither is the high school, but my one goes out of district (boundaries) and is going to an excelling high school. In Ahwatukee you will be in the Kyrene district for middle school (6 grade is middle school here in most districts) Kyrene schools are hit and miss. The high schools in the Tempe Union District (Mountain Point and Desert Mountain) very good. Sports teams are very difficult to get on out there even if your kid has talent. Chandler, Scottsdale and Gilbert can also be hit or miss depending on what part of the city your looking at. Good luck. I would get on the web and research, research, research.
I grew up in the NJ
I grew up in the NJ education system and I know what you are talking about. I was really apprehensive about putting my kids into the public schooling in AZ. I have a 2nd grader and two in K. I can't tell you how pleasantly surprised I was with the help my children have gotten. Not to mention, I am surprised at what they are learning. I really like the Deer Valley Unified School District and I would recommend it to you. I know you have older children, but from what I know about the older students the Jr.Highs and HS are excelling as well. And to give AZ a break, it is not only the schools that are responsible for a child's education. Parents have to be involved. If you are involved in your kids education, it will give them a better education-in my opinion.
Good luck with your move and your new home! It's a culture shock:)
I totally agree about the
I totally agree about the Deer Valley district. We moved back to AZ about 5 and 1/2 years ago from Texas and since my kids have been in three districts and Deer Valley is the best. I actually had my first experience with them as the second district, then we moved to Paradise Valley district and I was horrified that there was such a lack of support in my son's education. So we moved back over to this side and I have stood firm on never leaving again (oh and over in my area you can get a fantastic house for about $199K-274K that are all about 10 years old thanks to the market, short sales and foreclosures). In both schools that my son (and now the one my daughter) attended, the teacher and support staff are fantastic as well as the curriculm (sp?). For instance my son got to do a financial learning aide called biz town (he's in 5th grade) and the 7th and 8th graders are planning a NY, DC, and Philly trip next year. We had an ice cream social not long ago for culture week and my daughter (who has asphergers) sang a song in Japanese. It's just a really well balanced district.
I agree though that parental involvement makes a huge difference. I just think our area has a great PTSA and really works hard to get children, teachers, and parents on the same page.
"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."
Hi, thank you for responding
Hi, thank you for responding to my message. I guess growing up here in NJ I took it for granted that the education isn't all the same throughout the country. I just assumed the curriculum was the same throughout the country, mandated by the Federal requirements. This is what makes me so nervous about all of this. I don't want my kids educations to go down the toilet and grades drop. Can you explain how these charter schools work, compared to the public schools and are they funded by the same school funds throughout Arizona? How do you become a student in the Charter schools. I have read a lot of different posts stating that the kids educations aren't as good because the teachers don't get paid well. IMO, that shouldn't matter how you teach a kid. You shouldn't be a teacher if you aren't going to give all you can to help educate them properly. I guess the laws are much different. Any feedback would be great. Does anyone know of any websites that could help me out with this process?
I forgot to ask, if you go
I forgot to ask, if you go outside of your district, how do the kids get to and from school?
I have to disagree about the
I have to disagree about the DV school district. Teachers are unhappy and underpaid, and leaving. The admin has lots of issues. Honestly, it depends on what you're looking for. DV is good because most of the schools are affluent, and the parents push their kids, but if you look at the low SES schools, they are disastrous! I'd recommend Peoria if you're looking for more cutting edge education and theory and Glendale Union HS District if you are more traditional, tried and true methods. I have to admit I work for Glendale, and I chose my home in the district. I believe in it, and not all teachers will tell you that about the district they work in. If you are in a Glendale UHSD school, the elementary district is Washington or Glendale. Washington is light years better in my opinion.
Lindsey
Mom to Jonah and Rex
Like everyone has said it's
Like everyone has said it's hit or miss, but I'm not going to beat around the bush and will tell you based on test results and studies education in Arizona sucks!! Regardless of paren invovlement or not, which I DO encourage, but the fact of the matter remains that the public schools have over flowing classrooms, teachers pay are below the national average so that contributes to finding experienced and educated teachers as they're going to school here for their teaching degrees, but leaving afterwards to teach in other states that pay teachers a decent wage, which I don't blame them. As recent as March 2008 the AZ House of Representatives approved on a voice vote a sponsored bill by state legislator David Schapira that would make Arizona the first state in the nation to leave behind the "No Child Left Behind Act" and it's educational mandates. This would take effect on July 1, 2010. If this indeed goes through it will leave the state education budget $600 million in the hole, as it would lose federal education dollars by opting out of the program.
So this is just a little background on the states education system and what it stands for, which these days seems little to nothing. My daughter is starting kindergarten next year and while I should be excited I'm dreading it ... I too am going out of the boundaries of my neighborhood and sending her to a higher rated school than the one she is suppose to go to .....
Good luck with your search and relocation!!!
I am friends with many
I am friends with many teachers and they take offense to the blanket statements we make about our schools. Yes, some are better than others, but there are some wonderful teachers and good schools in Arizona. I have had friends move here from many parts of the country that been very pleased with the education they've found in AZ. I applaud your interest in your children's education. Call some schools and ask lots of questions. Good luck!
Hobbymommy, 38, is a discussion leader from Mesa. She is a happy stay-at-home mommy to a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
What types of questions
What types of questions should I be asking these schools? Also, how do the Charter schools work? This is so foreign to me.
Hello NJ2AZMOM, My family
Hello NJ2AZMOM,
My family and I are also relocating to Arizona in the next few months and my main concern as well is the school system. We currently live in NJ(down the shore to be exact). Where do you live? I am concerned about the schools but I did hear that the Peoria School district is one of the best around. The Deer Valley School System. All these schools have websites. peoriaud.kiz.az.us is one site for the public schools. My realtors daughter sends her children to Charter Schools. Happy Valley Basic School and Pinnacle Pointe Academy are the names. I am looking into those as well. But it's a tough decision to make coming from NJ to a state where we are not familiar. I have been on these blogs for weeks trying to gather information that will benefit my children down the line. We are looking to move into the Peora area only because of the schools. Maybe we can exchange email address' and compare notes!
-Helen
Helen
Hi Helen, I too am from the
Hi Helen,
I too am from the Jersey Shore (Ocean County area, grew up in Monmouth County as a kid, moved to Ocean Cnty 12 yrs ago).
It is all so new for me to be searching out for the best location and schools for the kids. I guess there are so many things we take for granted when you have kids that are great students in school and you just don't want a move to hinder that process.
I've been trying to gather as much information that I can with this relocation.
I am also concerned with putting the kids in the different 'districts' as how they get to and from school if you are a working parent.
It is hard enough my kids are afraid of change and feel they won't make as many friends as they have here and then to add to that a school where their grades would go down. They are more worried about leaving their friends behind then anything else. They aren't very accepting with this relocation.
I have heard so many mixed things about the schools that my head just wants to spin right off, lol.
As for the charter schools I heard they are run by a lottery, not every gets accepted and you need to apply months in advance.
How old are your children? Mine are 15 & 12.
This is my email address: behindhzl_eyes@yahoo.com. Please feel free to email. just put Arizona Mom in the subject so I know who is sending email, lol.
I am from out of state also
I am from out of state also and don't quite get the charter schools either. Here is what I found out in my area.
I moved here from another state and have found myself researching schools for my daughter who will be starting soon.
Where I'm from you didn't really have to choose and aside from specific teachers there wasn't a problem w/ schools in general. You went to the public school in your neighborhood or you paid for private school. That is it.
Here is what I've found...
There are three schools in our area we looked at here...
Hern Academy
Valley Academy
Constitution Elementary
Both Hern and Valley are “Excelling” and Constitution is performing.
Constitution received 61% on 3rd grad Aims reading test and about the same on the math, they got 37% on the terra nova reading and about the same on math.
Hern got 82% on the aims reading and about the same on math, and about 63% on the terra nova test.
Valley got 96% on the aims, and 74 on the terra nova tests.
Ok, here comes the clincher…
Constitution percentage of kids learning English 36%
60% of constitution’s students are Hispanic and 30% are white.
Hern percentage of kids learning English 0%
17% Hispanic population, 74% white
Valley percentage of kids learning English 0%
10% Hispanic population, 71% white.
I find that very amazing. The number say a lot about about a very complicated problem that legislation has tried to solve with the no child left behind act.
I have also heard by word of mouth that the charter schools tend to be better. Not always, but usually.
Hi, thanks for replying to
Hi, thanks for replying to my post. What part of AZ are you in?
I just have to say I am just as confused as I was when I started this research on the schools. I am not making much headway with this. I am hoping to make this move before the new school year will start.
Does anyone know how the schools are in Gilbert or Chandler Heights?
Does anyone know what websites I can use to locate more AZ info?
The Mesa schools actually
The Mesa schools actually ranked very, very high nationally. It surprised me too. My kids go to Dobson H.S. and it's been great. My son's junior high is Rhodes and it is excellent.
http://www.choicearizona.com
The schools out here are at
The schools out here are at least a year or more behind the ones back East. My son is using the SAME EXACT math book he had in VA for 7th grade, and now he's a freshman in High School. My youngest, who is 10, skipped 5th grade altogether and is an honor student in 6th, headed for (I don't remember what they're called here, in VA they would be called "honors" or "accelerated") classes next year in Jr. High.
I would suggest you visit the local school before your child starts attending and evaluate where he / she should be placed. There's no point in going over stuff they learned years ago, and it might sour them on education overall.
I know exactly where you are
I know exactly where you are coming from regarding your impending move to Arizona. We moved here from Ohio 2 years ago. My three children had been attending a private school in Ohio and I was the technology coordinator for that school, so they had an excellent foundation for their school. At the time, my children were going into 8th grade, 7th grade and 4th grade. My older two children had asked if they could attend a public school for a change. At the time I said sure, but upon doing further research I realized that was not going to be the best thing for them. They had come from a small class environment and had been in advanced classes up until that point. We decided to look into private school options and we were pleasantly surprised with the programs available as well as financial assistance options.
Since we were renting for the first year, this option definitely was the right one for us. They went into a school that was similar in size to their old school and it made a difficult transition much easier. Now that we have moved into our permanent home, we are reassured with the fact that we are in a district that has High Performing schools. Our children are still attending private school, but we are more comfortable with the public options should we want to switch them.
I would highly suggest you make as many trips as possible out here to see the schools for yourself. I know it is late in the school year, but that also definitely helped with our children's transition.
Good luck!
I know this may sound crazy,
I know this may sound crazy, but when you go check out a school what kinds of questions do you ask? Do you tell them that you in the process of moving and you want to check out their schools? Do they walk you around...what exactly happens?
It's not crazy at all. In
It's not crazy at all. In fact, it's VERY important to your child's future!
We asked to see what books were being used, asked about composite test scores, literacy rates, etc. We also dropped in on some classes to see the teaching style, how teachers handled discipline and behavior issues, etc. It's also important to ask about the 'turnover' rate for teachers, because if the school has a low retention rate, that is a HUGE red flag that something isn't right.
If possible, you might also try to attend a PTA or other school meeting where you can meet and talk with other parents. Most will be happy to answer your questions, and they will have great insight into the 'inner workings' of the school.
Good luck, and don't be afraid to dig deep --- after all, your little ones' future is at stake!