Kyrene school district -- A warning to anyone planning to move here (home, live)

[Samsara19]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

Is this unusual?

It's very pronounced in this district. But it's very much the old school status quo. I'm sure a lot of people think that's perfectly acceptable. I don't. Schools should benefit all children impartially.

[Samsara19]

Seriously folks, I get that you don't like what I have to say, but look at Glassdoor and read it from the horses' own MOUTH

This is just an example:

"Assistant Principal"

StarStarStarStarStar
Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
Recommends
Neutral Outlook
Approves of CEO
Pros
High standards for children, dedicated to training teachers for best practices.
Cons
Favoritism is rampant throughout the district. Poor communication from upper management to mid-management. Upper management is not always forth coming.
Advice to Management
Try to keep teachers better in the loop of potential changes coming down the pike.

Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
Doesn't Recommend
Neutral Outlook
No opinion of CEO
Pros
great community with families willing to work and care about education. The schools have knowledgeable teachers and staff but often need direction .
Cons
Good old boys. The central office staff only work on giving projects to picks and never truly ask or want input from others. If your thoughts are different just remain non talking or you will be shut down fast.
Advice to Management
work with all staff not just a few - believe in your staff and support them in need, just do not throw them out with no help. Listen to all. Please.
Helpful
Flag as Inappropriate Flag as Inappropriate

So it sounds like even the employees feel stymied by the politics of the organization. I disagree with some of the comments regarding the overall culture, but it's clear to see there are some REAL holes in the armor of this place.

It's pretty telling to see a teacher leave a review to "Stay away from special ed" don't you think?

[Samsara19]

From around the web:

Great Schools on Sureno:

Posted April 28, 2014
- a community member Most of the teachers are really great at the school, and the curriculum is above average ,but that's about all the good things I can say. The principal does not care about what goes on in the school when it comes to people she knows or likes. there are definitely some things going on there that are not right. you know its pretty bad when the teachers complain about the principal, and they are way too strict on children they "consider" bad. not all children are created equal in their eyes, very very sad. my grandson is moving to middle school next year, which I am happy about because I would have switched schools for sure next year anyway.

3 people found this helpful
Report this review

And for Kyrene Middle

Posted June 27, 2016
- a parent Bullying is a big issue here, sent my son here for 6th grade and he's been bullied since day one, he's a quite well behaved kid who didn't "fit in" with the bully crowd, school staff does very little to make your children feel safe and I feel can do more to prevent his from happening, besides "talking" to the students, my son's going to give it another try this year and I hope students learn how to be more respectful towards others and staff are more aware of what's going on!

And for Aprende, although there are lots more with similar sentiments at other schools within this district:

Posted January 09, 2016
- a community member The school report card rates the school as a B, not an A+. That is a different rating that is misunderstood by many parents. Instruction and curriculum is mediocre. Reading and writing scores have continued to decline, and is in jeopardy of receiving a C this year, if things do not improve.

From the Kyrene Facebook last year:

My children attended Aprende and unfortunately a Mrs. McCartney didn't understand ADD or Dyslexia. She embarrassed my son but thankfully he is now successfully a Sophomore, on full scholarship (thanks to Seton) at Fulton Engineering. My oldest son who did do ok in english but thanks to Mrs. Maki and math teachers at Aprende is a successful Junior as a Biomedical Engineering. I feel Aprende should review their teachers more often, address bullying and support the boys who need their attention…some teachers believe they are lazy but in reality my son who work 3X as hard as his older brother actually (5/6 years ago) simply needed academic help. Our youngest is now at New Way Academy…if your child has ADD/Dyslexia or other learning disabilities don't go to Aprende. They also don't address bullying…lives could be saves. I was told they "just try to get them through these difficult years". Not help and support them!

This is just a random grab, but it's enough for me to think that I'm not alone in my frustration or reasons for moving on. But, I'm not going to just drop away without first saying, very loudly, how much I disapprove of it all.

[Bondurant]

There's so many problems with public education. Nothing the o.p. is complaining about is exclusive to Kyrene district. Even if it's all true. This thread is off the rails. Nothing of genuine merit here.

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by Samsara19

Regarding IEP, that is "grapevine" knowledge, but it is commentary that can be easily found on the web, also.
.

what do mean "grapevine" knowledge?
every school system has limited resources, and unless your kid has an IEP, identifying SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL resources required, all you get is what the mainstream kids get..
If you don't want or need that for your kid, you get what you get..

that's the way the system works in almost every public school system in the USA..
Complain all you want, but unless you learn how to work the system, you'll never get anything but the basics, and those are just the hard cold facts of life in this country now a days..

[Samsara19]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

There's so many problems with public education. Nothing the o.p. is complaining about is exclusive to Kyrene district. Even if it's all true. This thread is off the rails. Nothing of genuine merit here.

So, the solution to the problem is to just be quiet and chalk it up? I don't see how that's "off the rails". If I came in swearing and frothing at the mouth, OK, that would be off the rails.

This is just my opinion and intended to outlines reasons why Kyrene is not the educational "Promised Land" it's outward image suggests. It's more of the same tired old problems that plague our kids/communities.

Just because it's the same old garbage doesn't mean we should be quiet and accept it without complaint.

It's just a clear message: don't believe the hype. The A's and ribbons and stars aren't fully accurate.

So if you're pushing to move, buy or rent you can know you won't necessarily benefit from targeting this specific system. It's honestly nothing special and has some notable flaws.

[Samsara19]

Originally Posted by wase4711

what do mean "grapevine" knowledge?
every school system has limited resources, and unless your kid has an IEP, identifying SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL resources required, all you get is what the mainstream kids get..
If you don't want or need that for your kid, you get what you get..

that's the way the system works in almost every public school system in the USA..
Complain all you want, but unless you learn how to work the system, you'll never get anything but the basics, and those are just the hard cold facts of life in this country now a days..

It's not just a matter of "the basics". I'm talking about the ghettoization of certain less favored cohorts (that is, groups of kids whose parents did not brown nose to get benefits).

It's ridiculous and wrong that two children can go to the same school and get a different quality of education as a result. But, if that sounds good to you.... OK. I think it's pretty awful.

I've crafted a plan to bypass the whole mess that I'm actually really happy with and know will work.

I'm still making my points known, however, so people don't get taken in by the PR thinking this district will be anything especially great.

Under any achievements or showy articles/news they should put an asterisk and RESULTS NOT TYPICAL, SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY

[wase4711]

well news flash, in the REAL world, that exists in 2016, the squeaky wheel ALWAYS gets the grease..
I don't care if its a school system, your employer, your HOA, your social group, or whatever, don't expect everyone to get everything exactly the same..

this isn't a socialist country,(yet), so those that are out front, vocal, and pushy,and in-your-face are always going to get more than folks that don't act that way..like it or not, just a fact of the real world in 2016..

[Samsara19]

Originally Posted by wase4711

well news flash, in the REAL world, that exists in 2016, the squeaky wheel ALWAYS gets the grease..
I don't care if its a school system, your employer, your HOA, your social group, or whatever, don't expect everyone to get everything exactly the same..

this isn't a socialist country,(yet), so those that are out front, vocal, and pushy,and in-your-face are always going to get more than folks that don't act that way..like it or not, just a fact of the real world in 2016..

I don't know how this has anything to do with socialism. As a matter of fact, from what I know of the Soviet system, favor for friends was a major problem in that system with connections to bureaucrats a key to success/comfort. On that note, I'd expect more of this garbage under socialism than less.

You know, the old chestnut, "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others" definitely alive and well in Kyrene.

If you can't tell, I'm not the shy retiring type, so it's kind of funny you should mention squeaky wheels. I'm no sycophant, though, which is not so much a squeaky wheel as it is a sucker fish.

I'm more the Brer Rabbit type; I only fish for suckers.

And I'm a proper capitalist, which means I'm taking my capital and innovating my way to greener pastures.

But as a proper capitalist, and American, not before finishing a good old fashioned thumbing of my nose at a stupid defunct system.

[azriverfan.]

I would not immediately dismiss the OP's statements because they are negative. I sense he or she is telling the truth. That being said, I feel this applies to public schools in general these days. At public and charter schools, parents have little if any say in how things are run. When you complain or report problems, they are largely ignored. In fact, it can be the opposite. You can be branded as an outspoken parent and a trouble maker. And then your child may suffer as a result.

At private schools, parents are respected because they pay tuition. If you don't like something or have an issue with a matter, your request is taken seriously. For this reason, many parents are pulling their children out of public schools and enrolling them in private schools. If your children are not enrolled in a private school, I recommend you reconsider. The experience is vastly different. At my children's school, the teachers are deferent and care about parental input. At my son's former public school, the teachers walked around with a chip on their shoulder and acted like they didn't have time for you. It's the difference between flying first class and coach. I don't know why anyone with the resources to send their child to a private school would send them to a public school. And private schools are not the same. They vary in tuition, demographics etc. I would say most are not full of wealthy families and have pretty reasonable tuition.