best schools/scottsdale area

rickey · June 2011

Hi

We are thinking about moving to the scottsdale area and looking to get into the best zip codes/school district. Or we are open to private schools. Any reccs? Price is not really an issue just want the best local and schools. TIA!!!

Pacbrz · June 2011

Laguna Elementary is our district, and is a highly regarded public school. When might you be moving?

grapeape73 · June 2011

It isn't the Scottsdale area, but the Madison schools are all great.

rickey · June 2011

thanks! We wouldnt be moving until next spring, but I wanted to get a feel for the housing market in these areas w.the best schools.

azsheena · June 2011

I used to teach at Laguna Elementary and it is an amazing school! It was the #1 science elementary school in the country when I was there. When we were looking for a house we wanted to buy there but we just couldn't afford it for the size house we wanted.

I currently teach at Sequoya Elementary and it was ranked as a top 5 school in the Valley by Phoenix Magazine. Most schools in the Scottsdale School District are very good schools. The south Scottsdale schools struggle a little more due to a more transient population. We have problems with the private school kids transferring in and being way behind. This was especially an issue at Laguna because of the high income nature of that are there were a lot of private school kids who transferred in when the economy went bad.

We live in the Paradise Valley district, which is also overall a good district. The school where we live is Desert Springs and gets great test scores. That school is declining in population so they are making it a "Preparatory Academy" which I am not sure what that will mean in 5 years- but we'll see. We need kids in our neighborhood! All of our neighbors are older in these 5 bedroom houses. I think as soon as the housing market recovers a bit, they will move out and some young families will move in. At least we hope!

azsheena · June 2011

Oh- we live in 85254 (which Sequoya is in as well) and Laguna is in 85260.

nicleep · June 2011

grapeape73:
It isn't the Scottsdale area, but the Madison schools are all great.

Madison is a great district- it's in the phoenix area, though.

grapeape73 · June 2011

nicleep:
grapeape73:
It isn't the Scottsdale area, but the Madison schools are all great.

Madison is a great district- it's in the phoenix area, though.

I know. We bought a house in the district so our DDs could go to a specific school. Big Smile

azsheena · June 2011

Madison Simis and Heights are great, Rose Lane is decent but Madison Park??? I don't know how that new charter type school is, but I hear good things.

azsheena · June 2011

I went to Madison #1 and my sisters also went to Rose Lane. My parents bought there because of the schools, so yes, they are good. Are they as good as they were 20 years ago (#1 and Rose Lane specifically), no. But, the problem that my parents didn't consider is the High Schools that those schools feed into. We were in the North district. When I graduated #1 (about 20 years ago- eeeeeck) half of my class went to Brophy/ Xavier/ St Marys (Private Catholic schools, for the OP). My sister graduated 8 years later and 1) the Phoenix Union Schools had improved a lot by then- read, gang violence sorta stopped, and 2) you could get released to open enrollment to go elsewhere (a lot of her friends went to Arcadia and Shadow Mt). Only about 10 kids in her class went the private school route. I am sure it also had to do with the fact the Brophy and Xavier were over $10K a year by then- and this was almost 10 years ago. I don't know what HS Meadows feeds into. Sunnyslope? I know a LOT of those kids end up at Brophy/ Xavier too. So, just to the OP, if this is your "forever" house, look at the high schools too. If not, it may not matter that much.

aplusnannies · June 2011

I tend to use Greatschools.org and schooldigger.com to look at schools. Schooldigger rates schools based on test scores. I know some people do not like this, however the BEST school I have ever been to was rated #1 (out of 900 AZ schools) and they were AMAZING (Self Development Charter Schools - they are now #2 on the list). We have now moved and had a difficult time finding a school that compares because they were SO amazing.

Another good group of charter schools is: https://greatheartsaz.org/ - they are difficult to get into, but seem like really good choice.

I tend to favor Charter Schools, but that is personal opinion. Greyhawk also tends to do very well in parent reviews and in scores.

Choosing our children's education is very important and I find this is what I tend to loose sleep over most. As long as you as a parent feels good about it and your child is learning / excelling and loving the process - you have chosen well!

Good luck!

grapeape73 · July 2011

azsheena:
Madison Simis and Heights are great, Rose Lane is decent but Madison Park??? I don't know how that new charter type school is, but I hear good things.

We bought a second house so the girls could go to Madison Heights. I have friends that teach there and love it.

The Phoenix union HS may leave a little to be desired, but Camelback is OK. We like Sunnyslope in the Glendale Union district.

OP, there is also the Tesseract school in Scottsdale.

meleyna · July 2011

I grew up in the Scottsdale school system--Sequoya, Cocopah, and Chaparral are the schools I went to. I grew up in both the 85254/85253 area codes, which is pretty central in Scottsdale. I enjoyed all of the schools that I went to. That said, Chaparral can be a very competitive school. This was great for me, as I have always been an academically driven student, but I thought it was important to note.

best schools/scottsdale area

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