Any significant difference between Scottsdale elementary schools zoned to SUSD vs Paradise Valley SD? (Phoenix: house)

[Betty_Baylor99]

Husband's job relocation will be bringing our family to Phoenix for a mid-year move. I understand Arizona is a choice state so that families can open enroll their children to other non-neighborhood and non-district schools pending availability. We would prefer for our elementary aged kids to attend a neighborhood public school. When my husband and I researched Scottsdale schools, we focused on schools in Central Scottsdale sticking as close as possible to the 101 such as Laguna and Cochise Elementary due to DH's commute for work (we would prefer to go no further out than McDowell Ranch). When we researched homes west of the 101, we were noticing some of the Scottsdale elementary schools are zoned for PVSD. Is there anything drastically different between both districts? Specifically, any differences with curriculum or teacher:student ratio? Does the tract of quality of school of kids going through middle school to Horizon High differ vastly than going to Chaparral or Desert Mountain HS's? We've done a ton of research and yes, we already have checked out Great Schools dot com- we do not consider that website to be the end all, be all of identifying the *best* schools so I've joined a couple of local moms' groups on FB to get their personal feedback on schools and most, if not all of the Scottsdale moms that posted tooted the horn for their kids' schools so I know they are satisfied with their kids' education. Just trying to see if there is anyone that has experience with enrolling kids in both districts. TIA!

[smoochaz]

My kids are in DMHS - I have opinions but the kids seem happy .. if I had my choice I would enroll them in Basis School right down the street - or even the PV school system. The scottsdale district that you mention that uses pv is really phoenix with a scottsdale address the 85254 zip code - Notre Dame or another private school may be a good fit for you depending on what you're looking for... if you are already here, schedule school tours with your kids and walk around the classrooms, meet the teachers, see what programs / clubs/ sports/ are available for your children and you can better decide that way... when we moved here our kids were entering middle school so it was difficult but we did concentrate on the school district first before shopping for a home and we're ultimately happy with our decision- we love where we live.

[AZJoeD]

Originally Posted by smoochaz

The scottsdale district that you mention that uses pv is really phoenix with a scottsdale address the 85254 zip code - .

This is incorrect. The PV school district goes as far north as Jomax and as far east as Pima, well within the City of Scottsdale borders.

Also be aware that North Scottsdale is served by the Cave Creek School District north of Jomax (all the way east to Rio Verge foothills). So you really have 3 options.

The best way to know is to go to the school district website and locate the school boundary maps. This will provide the definitive answer for each house you are considering.

To give you a general answer to your question, all 3 districts give high ratings. Some individual schools may rate higher than others and some schools may have programs that others do not, so it depends on what your student needs.

Because of open enrollment, most students can attend a school that meets their needs, BUT you may not have transportation (bus service) outside of your local school boundaries. So you will have to arrange transportation for your student should you choose a different school.

[Betty_Baylor99]

Originally Posted by AZJoeD

This is incorrect. The PV school district goes as far north as Jomax and as far east as Pima, well within the City of Scottsdale borders.

Also be aware that North Scottsdale is served by the Cave Creek School District north of Jomax (all the way east to Rio Verge foothills). So you really have 3 options.

The best way to know is to go to the school district website and locate the school boundary maps. This will provide the definitive answer for each house you are considering.

To give you a general answer to your question, all 3 districts give high ratings. Some individual schools may rate higher than others and some schools may have programs that others do not, so it depends on what your student needs.

Because of open enrollment, most students can attend a school that meets their needs, BUT you may not have transportation (bus service) outside of your local school boundaries. So you will have to arrange transportation for your student should you choose a different school.

Thank you, yes we are aware that Scottsdale extend all the way up to the Cave Creek school district but we are not wanting to go that far north to keep DH's commute manageable. One of the Scottsdale elementary schools we are looking at is Sonoran Sky, which has a Scottsdale (not Phoenix) address and is zoned for PVSD. DH has made the initial move out to Phoenix already and toured some schools and one of the drawbacks we are noticing is a significantly higher teacher: student ratio since Arizona doesn't cap classroom size. We do not come from a state that allows open enrollment so it's not the norm for us. We would prefer that our kids attend a neighborhood school, so we don't have plans to open enroll our kids to a non-neighborhood school.

[smoochaz]

Originally Posted by AZJoeD

This is incorrect. The PV school district goes as far north as Jomax and as far east as Pima, well within the City of Scottsdale borders.

Also be aware that North Scottsdale is served by the Cave Creek School District north of Jomax (all the way east to Rio Verge foothills). So you really have 3 options.

The best way to know is to go to the school district website and locate the school boundary maps. This will provide the definitive answer for each house you are considering.

To give you a general answer to your question, all 3 districts give high ratings. Some individual schools may rate higher than others and some schools may have programs that others do not, so it depends on what your student needs.

Because of open enrollment, most students can attend a school that meets their needs, BUT you may not have transportation (bus service) outside of your local school boundaries. So you will have to arrange transportation for your student should you choose a different school.

I was responding specific to OPs note she was discussing central Scottsdale only and was specific about staying South of McDowell Mtn Ranch.