Scottsdale School District...how good really?? (Phoenix, Glendale: budget, apartment, incomes)

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

OK, but are they busing children outside their general geographical location or do they bus the kids to the nearest schools in proximity to where they live? The problem with Wake County is that they are busing some (not all) children 2-3 schools beyond where they live. I've never heard of this before and I can't understand how the community permits this..
Thanks

I don't think the Scottsdale or CCUSD bus kids past a school that is closest to them geographically. What is the reason Wake County is doing this? The only exception would be with special education kids as not all schools offer all special ed services (for example, my son was bussed from what would have been his home school to another elementary because the home school does not have a special ed preschool).

If you go to the school district website you should be able to view the geographic boundaries. I'd give you the link for CCUSD now but their site is having problems at the moment.

I can't speak for Scottsdale's district, but CCUSD has an open enrollment program so that if you choose, you can request your child attend another school other than his/her home school and they allow it if space permits. However, I think you then lose free bus transportation if you do so (but you might want to call or check their site to confirm).

[nevercoldcall]

Everyone I know who can afford it sends their kids to private school. Public schools in Arizona are just awful, no matter where. N Scottsdale may have the best but it's just relative to how much worse the others are.

One thing myself and others have noticed is that N Scottsdale schools turn out snob kids who consider themselves high-and-mighty and think anyone who doesn't live in N Scottsdale is garbage. Very 90210.

[MiasM]

Originally Posted by nevercoldcall

Everyone I know who can afford it sends their kids to private school. Public schools in Arizona are just awful, no matter where. N Scottsdale may have the best but it's just relative to how much worse the others are.

One thing myself and others have noticed is that N Scottsdale schools turn out snob kids who consider themselves high-and-mighty and think anyone who doesn't live in N Scottsdale is garbage. Very 90210.

FYI, an unbiased website on schools is:
www.greatschools.net
North Scottsdale schools are 9 and 10 - the best there is. It is based on the top factors most independent sources use to rate schools.
I looked up schools in my area that I know are good and aren't good and they are on the money. I know people who live in Scottsdale that are successful and not snobby and they send their kids to the public schools and are happy with it.

[Santee20]

Hi,

First of all Scottsdale Unified School District offers open enrollment. So the family can live anywhere in maricopa county and attend a scottsdale school. The highest rated schools are mostly in North Scottsdale. Desert Mountain High School has an IB (International Baccalaureate) program.

My son attends a private school in Scottsdale called Gateway Academy. Many of the kids at Gateway are from the Scottsdale School District. They were able to obtain a "Private Placement", District paid. Apparently, Saguaro High School has started a special program for Asperger's. It's in its first year.
The schools in Arizona are trying to play catch-up with all of the special needs kids needing services now. Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorders are now 1:150. As a parent..you have to FIGHT for services no matter where you are. It involves a special education attorney. Advocates are not as effective in getting the services and placement your child needs. Sadly, its getting to that....because many of the school districts in Arizona are broken.

[sugarlips]

One thing to remember is that state testing rigor varies from state to state. So, if you are comparing schools from NC and AZ, you cannot go by the scores for each state test. A better gauge would be to compare whatever national testing the school administers. I believe in AZ it is the Terra Nova. Greatschools.net provides this information but it is a link under the AIMS graphs. So, you really need to look for it. This is where you can discover some enlightening information about a school's effectiveness. For example, even if greatschools gives the school a 9 or 10 and the school scores well on the AIMS testing (80-90% in reading and math at grade level), they can (and do) score in the <60% on the Terra Nova. There is obviously a discrepancy. People who live in state probably won't even look at the Terra Nova but those moving from state to state should definitely look at these scores. Personally, I'd like to know whether my children and their classmates are learning as well as other students across the country. If my child gets straight A's in a school where more than half of the students are below basic standards, how meaningful are those A's when they will struggle in college because they weren't prepared. (Yes, I know that scores are not everything but they are a good starting point.)

The US Chamber of Commerce just released a report on how well each state is preparing students for the workforce/college. It is no surprise that states like MA, NJ, MN...etc scored at the top. The US Chamber of Commerce data is consistent with NAEP results. Here is the web site.

http://www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by sugarlips

One thing to remember is that state testing rigor varies from state to state. So, if you are comparing schools from NC and AZ, you cannot go by the scores for each state test. A better gauge would be to compare whatever national testing the school administers. I believe in AZ it is the Terra Nova. Greatschools.net provides this information but it is a link under the AIMS graphs. So, you really need to look for it. This is where you can discover some enlightening information about a school's effectiveness. For example, even if greatschools gives the school a 9 or 10 and the school scores well on the AIMS testing (80-90% in reading and math at grade level), they can (and do) score in the <60% on the Terra Nova. There is obviously a discrepancy. People who live in state probably won't even look at the Terra Nova but those moving from state to state should definitely look at these scores. Personally, I'd like to know whether my children and their classmates are learning as well as other students across the country. If my child gets straight A's in a school where more than half of the students are below basic standards, how meaningful are those A's when they will struggle in college because they weren't prepared. (Yes, I know that scores are not everything but they are a good starting point.)

The US Chamber of Commerce just released a report on how well each state is preparing students for the workforce/college. It is no surprise that states like MA, NJ, MN...etc scored at the top. The US Chamber of Commerce data is consistent with NAEP results. Here is the web site.

http://www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default

State-wide data needs to be taken with a good degree of analysis. AZ, NM, CA, TX, FL etc have unique issues like massive non-English speaker enrollments from illegal immigration; massive legal immigration from other states leading to unbounded growth, crowding, unstable student populations, teacher inexperience/turnover and changing school boundaries; and native American reservations and schools - all of which complicate state-wide surveys.

It is virtually impossible to apply state statistics to a local school district. If there is a common denominator it is that the best schools are in the highest income areas and the worst are in the lowest income areas. It is rather easy to predict what areas have good schools. Look for established affluent areas. This describes Scottsdale quite accurately and the schools there are good as would be expected.

[sugarlips]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

It is virtually impossible to apply state statistics to a local school district. If there is a common denominator it is that the best schools are in the highest income areas and the worst are in the lowest income areas. It is rather easy to predict what areas have good schools. Look for established affluent areas. This describes Scottsdale quite accurately and the schools there are good as would be expected.

As far as most of Scottsdale having good schools because they established and affluent, it depends if you are comparing them to the rest of Arizona or the rest of the country. Good schools by Arizona standards - that I would agree with. I can pull an example for you...

Two examples are Copper Ridge and Anasazi Elementary. Anasazi Elementary gets a 10 rating on greatschools.net. The zip code has an average income of $121,978 and a median income of $87,571. Anasazi only has 4% English language learners and 4% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch program. I would think that this would qualify as affluent. Let's take the 3rd grade testing results for 2006.

AIMS (state testing)
Reading- 94% meeting or exceeding standards
Math- 99% meeting or exceeding standards
Writing -92% meeting or exceeding standards

This looks like the school is a parent's dream come true as far as testing results, right??

Terra Nova (national norm-referenced test, which means it measures how well students in Arizona scored in comparison to their peers across the country.)
Reading - 72%
Math - 83%
Language Arts- 68% meeting or exceeding standards

I don't know about you but I think that is a pretty big discrepancy between the AIMS and Terra Nova. If I was paying top dollar to live in Scottsdale for the schools and I saw those numbers, I would be concerned.

Anyway, I didn't suggest that you can look at state stats and apply them to local schools. This statistics geek knows that would be an erroneous assumption. However, if a school takes national tests like the Terra Nova, then you can to a certain degree determine how well your child's school is doing compared to the rest of the country. That's what I was suggesting as far as looking at the Terra Nova results and not the AIMs test.

As far as the US Chamber of Commerce site, I offered that because I though that it was a rather full description of how states "in general" are doing to prepare our children for the future. I particularly like that it includes more information than just academic achievement.

One last thing, my post is not to pick on AZ schools or Scottsdale schools. However, for people moving from one state to another, I believe the information that I have offered is useful in finding the level of education that they are accustomed to in their new area.

[Jim Brown]

my daughter goes to desert canyon middle school in scottsdale and absolutely loves it compared to the school she went to in phoeinix. Upgraded newer schools with drama and band and all sorts of extra curricular activities that makes her a more rounded individual and better school curriculum as well that actually challenges her.

[Jim Brown]

Phoenix lol

[CodyW]

I always heard people complain that AIMS was too difficult, and it felt that way, compared to the SAT's. But. I guess not. lol