Parents of elementary kids in Queen Creek District...or Charter (Gilbert: neighborhood, schools)

[M.Unit]

Our daughter will most likely be starting kindergarten this coming school year and we are within the north boundary of the QCUSD...specifically 3 blocks from the new school the district is building on the corner of Signal Butte and Ray Rd. From what the district explained to me, that school will help manage all the current and upcoming residents that attend Jack Barnes but live north.

We are looking at placing her there within the QCUSD or possibly at the new Sequoia Pathfinder Academy at Eastmark (we live within the neighborhood) which is a new charter that's completing their first year this summer.
They both seem like perfectly good choices for elementary but am trying to get actual feedback from parents that have children attending the district schools or even that charter, specifically. How is the homework level, the level of work being taught, etc?
I ask because a friend of mine who's little boy started kindergarten this past year (Meridian in the Gilbert district) said they do full day kinder and he gets about an hour and a half of homework on most days...they get 20 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes for recess (although I think the recess might be twice a day, not sure)....school is roughly 8am to 3pm. That seems like a lot to me for a kid in their first year of formal schooling, especially kindergarten.

The one thing I do like about QC district is they offer 1/2 day kinder at all their schools...hopefully at this new school they do.

At any rate, if you have input to give, go right ahead!
Thanks in advance.

[Noregrets11]

We did half day kinder at QCE. I'm guessing we did about 10-15 min worth of homework. This particular child of mine is pretty smart for age, though; that amount would have taken my struggling child about an hour. So really, it's pretty subjective.

As for the "level", I think the district does a pretty good job of offering a balanced curriculum....meaning they push struggling kids, but your more advanced kids have the potential to get a little bored. However, they do have programs for those kids, giving them advanced level work, and there's a gifted program for the lower grades that meets at DME; they'll bus your child to that school if they meet the gifted criteria (not kinder ages, though). For gifted middle-schoolers, they have the Bridges Academy.

We've been very pleased with our experiences so far. If ALL my children were gifted, I might consider one of the charters again, since they generally seem to push the "academic envelope". But QCUSD has been great for our family, since it offers the programs we need for ALL of my children.

[M.Unit]

Originally Posted by Noregrets11

We did half day kinder at QCE. I'm guessing we did about 10-15 min worth of homework. This particular child of mine is pretty smart for age, though; that amount would have taken my struggling child about an hour. So really, it's pretty subjective.

As for the "level", I think the district does a pretty good job of offering a balanced curriculum....meaning they push struggling kids, but your more advanced kids have the potential to get a little bored. However, they do have programs for those kids, giving them advanced level work, and there's a gifted program for the lower grades that meets at DME; they'll bus your child to that school if they meet the gifted criteria (not kinder ages, though). For gifted middle-schoolers, they have the Bridges Academy.

We've been very pleased with our experiences so far. If ALL my children were gifted, I might consider one of the charters again, since they generally seem to push the "academic envelope". But QCUSD has been great for our family, since it offers the programs we need for ALL of my children.

Thanks for your input! Appreciate it.