Moving to Chandler AZ (Phoenix, Tempe: apartment, rental, homes)

[parulmohta]

Hi, this is my first post on this forum.We (me, my husband and 2 kids) are an Indian family and will be moving to Chandler, AZ by first week of June. My son will go in grade 6 and my daughter in grade 2. I see the school ratings are excellent for Chandler schools but the reviews of parents are confusing me a lot. I will really appreciate if i can get some guidance here, from your own experiences or from your friends' and family's experiences.
We have not decided about the house/ rental apartment yet. So, we are open to suggestions for schools and will find the housing accordingly.Thanks !!

[parulmohta]

I will really appreciate if I can get some help out here as the schools will be closed by the time we will move there.

[observer53]

I know you are anxious, but it can take a few days for parents with experience in the districts involved to find this post and answer. You might ask the moderator to make the title of your post more focused on schools. Just click the red triangle in the upper right corner of your post to make that request.


Not to confuse you further, but you should also be looking at Kyrene School District and its schools in the Chandler and South Tempe areas, as well as the Chandler Unified School District.

[KurtAZ]

The schools are rated high because most schools do well in affluent areas. The parent comments are going to let you know what the general feel of the community is in regards to the schools. CUSD has been changing a lot the past couple of years which leads to upset parents. Hamilton High School, while highly rated, is the largest (per student population) High School in the state. Chandler High School and Basha are both very good High Schools as well but Hamilton gets most of the accolades.

I wouldn't worry too much about the school ratings. Be involved in your kids' education, be involved with the school and you'll be fine.

I can't speak to Kyrene...neither of our kids have attended school in that District.

[autism360]

I have heard good things about Basis schools but there are lots of choices here in AZ because we allow online and charter schools in addition to public and private schools. My daughter liked an online/charter school hybrid when she was going to high school.

[KurtAZ]

Also remember, school starts at the end of July in CUSD.

[parulmohta]

Thank you so much for the guidance. I feel Basha Elementary School might be a good choice in the beginning. As we settle down and come to know more about the place, we can think of other options. Please suggest and share your experiences to help us make an informed decision. Thanks !!

[Casey73]

My children are adults now don't I have direct knowledge of the Kyrene School District as it is now. They have had a good reputation for many years as being above average. There has been some controversy recently over alleged unfair treatment of a black students (at Centennial school) with angry parents disrupting board meetings and not following procedure, the usual unsubstantiated victim canard. Here is a link to the story.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ns/1512364002/

I was in public sector most of my working life before I retired and have seen this shake down many times, in many incarnations, particularly when I worked in higher education. There hasn't been much about the Centennial story in the news lately so it seems to have simmered down, at least for the moment.

[Thomasaz]

Just put your kids into BASIS and call it a day. Generally, the nicer the neighborhood, the better the school. Chandler has a high school ranking because most of Chandler is nice. The schools in North Chandler generally have lower income schools are actually near the bottom when it comes to test scores, rankings, and general positive characteristics.

Originally Posted by Casey73

My children are adults now don't I have direct knowledge of the Kyrene School District as it is now. They have had a good reputation for many years as being above average. There has been some controversy recently over alleged unfair treatment of a black students (at Centennial school) with angry parents disrupting board meetings and not following procedure, the usual unsubstantiated victim canard. Here is a link to the story.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ns/1512364002/

I was in public sector most of my working life before I retired and have seen this shake down many times, in many incarnations, particularly when I worked in higher education. There hasn't been much about the Centennial story in the news lately so it seems to have simmered down, at least for the moment.

I saw that. I think it's a bit hilarious. It seems that they have an excuse for everything. Umm, maybe if you're kids didn't cause disruption or commit offenses they wouldn't get into trouble. I remember reading how a parent was complaining about how her kid got detention for bullying and stealing, but really it was an act of racism. Lol, ok... I find it funny how you don't see other POC kids with dis-proportionally high suspension rates or parents from those groups complaining about unfair treatment.

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by parulmohta

Hi, this is my first post on this forum.We (me, my husband and 2 kids) are an Indian family and will be moving to Chandler, AZ by first week of June. My son will go in grade 6 and my daughter in grade 2. I see the school ratings are excellent for Chandler schools but the reviews of parents are confusing me a lot. I will really appreciate if i can get some guidance here, from your own experiences or from your friends' and family's experiences.
We have not decided about the house/ rental apartment yet. So, we are open to suggestions for schools and will find the housing accordingly.Thanks !!

Chandler is ideal. I live here. There are many jobs and affordable homes in the area. I work in the software engineering field which by default usually has many project members from India. You will not be alone in your culture. The key is to live close to where your work. The schools in Chandler are of very high quality: Desert Vista, Chandler High, Hamilton, etc. They are great public schools - much better than those in rural AZ (which are often very bad). There are private schools scattered about the Metro Phoenix area. They tend to be far more expensive but have been known to be exceptionally rigorous like Brophy, Xavier. BASIS is a charter school as I understand it. That is another option to analyze.

But I would recommend a balance - look at sports and social life in combination with academics. Here in America, the social/athletic aspect is very deep in the mainstream society. I noticed that many people from India don't even watch basketball or football or baseball. They seem to prefer cricket and maybe some soccer. I would recommend the children expand into American sports as part of the experience.