Help evaluating private school options Scottsdale/Phoenix (Cave Creek: private schools, living)

[livingincavecreek]

Long time Cave Creek resident here, and considering a move from public/charter for one of my kids into private.

My 6th grader is in BASIS (charter school) and doing fabulously She is highly academically driven, very intense, and is not a competitive athlete and doesn't have any other highly time consuming extracurriculars that affect her academic performance.

My younger child is going into 3rd grade and I currently have her heading to BASIS Phoenix Central (the new school) next week. Based on what I know of BASIS, I'm concerned that the academic rigor may not be a good fit for her in the long term - this is based both on her personality and the fact that she's in competitive gymnastics.

She's been in two of the top ranked PV public schools, in the cluster (gifted) program, and was not challenged nearly enough (totally stagnated in 2nd grade), which is why I'm pulling her and sending her to BASIS. She was a point or two off from qualifying for self-contained gifted, so that's not an option.

The two top growing charter companies (BASIS & Great Hearts) aren't very accommodating to athletes, but if I am sadly forced to choose, I'm going to focus on academics over athletics in our long-term plan. It seems there HAS to be some middle ground somewhere? Rigorous (maybe not BASIS world-class curriculum, but challenging for gifted kids) academics + opportunity for outside time consuming athletics/activities?

Since I've only been in the charter/public circles, I know very little about the elementary private school options around North Phoenix, Cave Creek, Scottsdale, PV areas. Since private schools don't publish test scores, how do you best evaluate them? Making this more challenging is we do not want a faith-based school, which most private schools seem to be.

Thanks in advance for any help, feedback, suggestions of schools to check out! Great schools website only gets you so far...

[liz451]

Have you looked into Phoenix Country Day School? It is NOT cheap (as in $20,000+ a year) but very good academically and does have athletics as well. If finances are an issue they do have a large scholarship program too. No idea how it compares to the schools you mentioned (no kids) but it has a stellar reputation and kids who go there seem to be very academically successful while having somewhat of a balanced life when it comes to school and extracurricular activities.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by livingincavecreek

Since I've only been in the charter/public circles, I know very little about the elementary private school options around North Phoenix, Cave Creek, Scottsdale, PV areas. Since private schools don't publish test scores, how do you best evaluate them? Making this more challenging is we do not want a faith-based school, which most private schools seem to be.

Try Rancho Solano. That has a very good reputation, and has been around for many years. I went to a Rancho Solano campus many years ago when I was a kid (the original one I believe) which at the time was located near 15th Avenue & Northern. I don't think that one exists anymore, but there are other locations ... including one on Greenway Parkway in NE Phoenix. All I remember that I really liked Rancho Solano. It isn't too often that you hear children say they actually LIKE school, but I really enjoyed everything about Rancho Solano. Classroom sizes were small, so there was more one on one time with the teachers for a better education.

By the way, many kudos to you for wanting to send your kids to a private school. I really believe that if you do your research and choose a good one, you will be more than satisfied with the results. Private education is far superior in most cases to anything in the public school system (including charter schools). You are making a very wise decision, and your investment will pay off in the long term!