Rancho Solano:…read more Incredible teachers. Caring staff. Great kids and families. Between foreign exchange students, and our own children, we have sent all of our "kids" to 5 different high schools in Scottsdale. Public, charter, and private. Several have been great, but Rancho Solano high school has been OUTSTANDING! By far the best decision we have ever made for our children's education. The teachers are engaging, highly educated, and compassionate. They make class fun, and encourage CRITICAL THINKING! And let's be honest in a world where everyone sees what their favorite influencer or political party says first, raising a child who is supported for their independent, critical thinking skills is a breath of fresh air. Lots of families of the students are in medical. Yet the kids are 50/50 when it comes to the educational track they are pursuing. 1/2 are STEM, and the other 1/2 are focused on more creative fields. Rancho Solano is incredibly supportive for both tracks. Our son who always thought he was more science minded, thrived in creative writing. He is even considering that as his minor in college. In regards to college, a friend told me this: You either pay for high school, or you pay for college. And thankfully there are currently state tax savings programs that contribute to your child's private school tuition - so there are no excuses. You CAN send your child to an excelling school like Rancho. Our investment in our son's private school education payed 2x more in college scholarships that he was offered! (He was offered 6 figures in college scholarships!) Our other kids didn't receive anywhere near the same number of college scholarships after attending other high schools - which made paying for their college much harder for us (and them). Rancho even has a staff member whose job is to help your child get into the best colleges for them! We fully believe Rancho Solano saved our son's life - and gave him a reason to excel. He's perusing an educational track above and beyond what we expected of him (and we expected a lot). He says some of the best friends he made at Rancho are the teachers. He felt like his voice mattered. And he THRIVED there. You will hear me support ALL of our state's teachers because they are all doing the best that they can with the resources they have. And I will also tell you that the teachers at Rancho Solano are BEYOND! They reignited my son's love of learning after school burnout from other schools. And the administration took time to meet with me, listened to my concerns, and they TOOK ACTION to make things better. That never would have happened in a large school. Incredibly grateful for Rancho Solano and everyone there.

Joined a family member on a tour. School was very snotty and not welcoming. Entire campus has a…read more"cold" feel. The upside is the campus is modern and has a new look, downside is the staff and students both give off a Snobbsdale vibe. Didn't feel comfortable. Feels cold, lacks soul.

The only focus of this school Is the ib program. The other…read moreteachers come And go often and don't teach at all. They turn a blind eye to real problems and retaliate against parents who make their concerns known.

Took a tour for a family member becoming a freshman this year. The school had a really bad…read moremusty/moldy odor and lots of roof leaks, and the principal Dr. Hirsch was very difficult to deal with to get the tour scheduled, cancelling on me 3 times and then cancelling on our last tour. Luckily an office receptionist showed us around, which was really nice of them.

I have had three kids go through NDP. All of them had a great high school experience. My daughter,…read morewho now attends a university in lower Manhattan, called me one afternoon well into her first semester, and I asked her, "Now that you have been there a bit how is it going for real? Are the classes difficult? What about the assignments?"  She said, "No, dad, it is pretty easy. I know what they mean now when Notre Dame says they are college prep."  As a parent, I can't imagine a better review, having come directly from the source.

Our family had a horrible experience at this school, and I fear retaliation for even sharing a…read morenegative review but as a parent I suggest that anyone is very careful in learning all the facts before enrolling your students here.

Very happy at PJDS. We have two kids, going into first and third grade. They're both excelling in…read moreacademics and are forming a very strong Jewish identity. Couldn't be prouder!

I'm very saddened that Desert Canyon isn't better. There are the little things like the school…read moregrounds area always messy with dirt from monsoons still on the walkways weeks after the monsoon, weeds everywhere, etc. It makes the school feel old and dirty, which I expected much better for a city like Scottsdale. Then there are the big things like the very rude lady that works the front office, they work off a reactive model for education instead of proactive waiting around for your child to start failing before they step in to helping bullying my kids from day 1 in the classroom, bus and on the playground, giving kindergarteners homework almost every night. The kids are mean and lye. My kindergartener has started lying and saying mean things on a daily basis. When I brought it up to him today, he said "my friends at school lie and say mean things so I do too to fit in". I am thoroughly disgusted by the culture at this school.

We moved to Scottsdale from the Midwest and I was worried about the public schools in AZ. Desert…read moreCanyon has been impressed me in so many ways. From the wonderful teachers and support staff to the curriculum and high expectations. The grounds are lovely and everyone was/is very welcoming. I am so thankful we chose Desert Canyon Elementary School.

I love this school I enrolled my son in kindergarden and he has told me wonderful things about the…read moreschool and the faculty, hes now a freshman in highschool and still talks about his friends and classes from kindergarden through 6th grade, the only problem I have is the 3rd grade teacher Mrs.Stewart who was very unfair to my son other than that it was a great school.

We had moved over to a new area within the same school district, the Paradise Valley School…read moreDistrict. I was confident that the school would be up to the standards of the other schools in this district. Boy, was I wrong. At the time our boy was in the third grade and we had always had teachers tell us how nice, how kind, sweet he is and he had plenty of friends at our old school at Desert Shadows. From the first day of coming to Desert Cove he was treated in a disparaging manner by both the teacher and the children. Yes, you read that right, the teacher. He came to us and told us she has treating him poorly and being mean to him. We went to the school and confronted the teacher, who confessed to us that she had gone on vacation and came back and had three new students in her class and that is why she was treating him differently!?! What, did I hear this right? What kind of teacher takes out her frustration on her students because she had more kids to teach than she had planned? Well we thought we had come to a crossroads where he would continue and we would give her another chance. Things didn't change. He was bullied by the kids and the teacher kept up with her poor treatment even though we had multiple trips speaking with her. It really was an extremely negative experience and he attended only one year and we decided to drive back to our old school even though it was far away. Kate Stewart was the name of this teacher and shame on you for being so rough on a little guy, who wanted nothing but to come to a school to learn, be part of the group, treated with kindness and value, and he got the exact opposite. Highly disappointed with this school and it's staff. I'm sure we are not the only ones. If it's happening to one it's happening to others. A bird doesn't change its feathers.

After taking one step on campus, I knew that Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) was the right place…read morefor my kids. Living in the area, we are fortunate to have many options to consider: from public, to charters, to private faith and non-faith based schools. And, although my husband is an alumni of OLPH, I did not want that to influence my decision. However, I simply could not deny how comfortable I immediately felt and how impressed I was with the tour. It started with the kindness that I received as I walked into the office to start my tour. Another parent overheard that I was touring and welcomed me and told me about how happy she was with the school and the faith community. My tour guide Maria was so patient and knowledgeable and answered all of my questions. And let me tell you I threw a lot at her as I'd done my homework! One thing that struck me was that no matter where we went on campus, there were connections. It became clear how much teachers and staff truly love what they do. Multiple teachers have 20+ year legacies, while others are former alumni, and still others started as homeroom moms and are now on the administrative staff! What makes them stay? Their dedication to educating children and providing a faith-based environment, their devotion to their teaching ministry, and the amazing staff they work with every day to shape our children into kind, responsible young people. It isn't just the teachers who have this legacy, but it's also the parents. In fact, there are some families who have sent three generations to the school! Like my husband, many former graduates send their children to OLPH. This is what makes the community unique and special. Then, there is the academics. With small class sizes and highly qualified teachers, your child will be set up for success. Besides the core subjects, every class from K-8 learns Spanish. Additionally, the school has a Science Technology Engineering Art and Math (STEAM) room where creativity blooms. Lastly, as a faith-based school, religion is interwoven into the curriculum. The day begins with morning prayer and students volunteer to do readings over the loud speaker for all to hear. With weekly Mass and Sacrament preparation included in the day, children become full members of the church by the end of the third grade. Not Catholic? No problem! Although religion is a required part of the curriculum, receiving the Sacraments is a personal choice and many families choose our school with different religious or non-religious beliefs. We have a great sports program, wonderful pre- and post-school care, after school homework help, and so many fun enrichment programs to extend the day. We even have a Transitional Kindergarten program! We are a tremendous feeder into parochial high schools, with most of our 8th graders feeding into Brophy, Xavier, Notre Dame and others. Go take a tour today. I promise you won't be disappointed!

This school is fantastic. My son went there for a two hour tour and he was warmly welcomed by all…read morethe kids and staff. The price is very reasonable the only reason I gave it a 4 star is because of all the additional costs that add up like uniforms and many other things. The campus is safe and secure with locked gates and cameras. Overall I wouldn't hesitate to send your children here.

I been a student from Cicero and I love how this school is very fair and give students a chance to…read morelearn and go to college without having stress and also this school its very easy to make a friend and there is little to no bullying and people wont steal your stuff also on every first friday of the month is a half day and no homework and every wednesday is early release and during recess they have a playground for kids so you can talk and play with friends and the physical education coach makes it that you can play with friends and fair teams and also this school has a library every two weeks

Horrible staff horrible administrators and horrible rules. They aren't a loving school at all and…read moreour child lost two years in math due to the teacher quitting middle of the year then their next teacher was someone's grandma who had never taught before. Such a mess!!