A Question About High Schools in Gilbert Please! (Phoenix, Mesa: house, employment)

[canudigit]

As soon as my husband's job transfer goes through, we will be moving to the Phoenix area from Michigan, and our target date is sometime this June or July so that we can be settled in before the school year starts. We are more than likely going to buy in Gilbert, since my husband's job will be near the 10 and Elliot Rd. in Tempe and Tempe is a bit pricey for us, while Gilbert is cheaper, seems very family-oriented, and is only a short commute to that area.

Our daughter will be a sophomore in high school this fall. Up to this time, she has been homeschooled because of severe allergy issues that are affecting her eyes and therefore her ability to spend eight hours a day in a classroom. She doesn't have any problems when we are in AZ, so she will be going back to school. However, all of the high schools in Gilbert seem to be HUGE! The biggest public high schools here have between 400-500 in a class, and we think that is too big. Now I am reading where the public high schools in Gilbert have 700-800 in a class, and our daughter is already concerned about finding her way around such a huge campus and making friends in such a huge environment.

Does anyone know which charter schools in Gilbert/Chandler are considered to be good schools? Can she attend a charter school in a district outside of the city in which we live, or is it considered under the authority of the public school district and therefore not available to out of district kids? I remember reading about one charter high school, I think in Gilbert, that has a waiting list. Does anyone know which school that is? Our son is graduating from a private Christian school this spring, but the tuition at those types of schools in Gilbert/Chandler is a lot higher than here, and we will only have the one income for the foreseeable future, since I am an RN who hasn't practiced in the past five years and am therefore required by law to take a two semester refresher course before getting my nursing license in AZ. (I think that's a great law, btw, even though it will prevent me from finding employment right away. More states should require this for safety purposes.)

Sorry this got so lengthy, but all advice and suggestions are welcome!

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by canudigit

As soon as my husband's job transfer goes through, we will be moving to the Phoenix area from Michigan, and our target date is sometime this June or July so that we can be settled in before the school year starts. We are more than likely going to buy in Gilbert, since my husband's job will be near the 10 and Elliot Rd. in Tempe and Tempe is a bit pricey for us, while Gilbert is cheaper, seems very family-oriented, and is only a short commute to that area.

Our daughter will be a sophomore in high school this fall. Up to this time, she has been homeschooled because of severe allergy issues that are affecting her eyes and therefore her ability to spend eight hours a day in a classroom. She doesn't have any problems when we are in AZ, so she will be going back to school. However, all of the high schools in Gilbert seem to be HUGE! The biggest public high schools here have between 400-500 in a class, and we think that is too big. Now I am reading where the public high schools in Gilbert have 700-800 in a class, and our daughter is already concerned about finding her way around such a huge campus and making friends in such a huge environment.

Does anyone know which charter schools in Gilbert/Chandler are considered to be good schools? Can she attend a charter school in a district outside of the city in which we live, or is it considered under the authority of the public school district and therefore not available to out of district kids? I remember reading about one charter high school, I think in Gilbert, that has a waiting list. Does anyone know which school that is? Our son is graduating from a private Christian school this spring, but the tuition at those types of schools in Gilbert/Chandler is a lot higher than here, and we will only have the one income for the foreseeable future, since I am an RN who hasn't practiced in the past five years and am therefore required by law to take a two semester refresher course before getting my nursing license in AZ. (I think that's a great law, btw, even though it will prevent me from finding employment right away. More states should require this for safety purposes.)

Sorry this got so lengthy, but all advice and suggestions are welcome!

Here's a list of the Gilbert High Schools

Campo Verde High School
Desert Ridge High School
Gilbert High School
Highland High School
Mesquite High School


I live in a area where most kids go to Highland, but I believe they also have the opton of going to Gilbert High.

Kids that I've spoken with who attend Gilbert High or Highland High have nothing but praise for the schools.

My grandkids go to Desert Ridge and they love it. Everyone is friendly and it was very easy for them to make friends. They participate in many of the group and sports activities there.

They also love the food. They say it's like going to a restaurant.

I don't know anything about the other schools. Below is a link to the Gilbert Public Schools which will give you more information.

http://www.gilbert.k12.az.us/schools/schools.php

You can google for charter schools, and there will be people on the forum that can give you first hand information.

[canudigit]

Thank you so much for these links. I am going to check them out right now. In case I don't see this info on one of them, do you happen to know if the Gilbert school system allows kids to attend a school outside of their specific district, i.e. if we were to buy a house in Gilbert HS district but wanted our daughter to attend Desert Hills HS instead?

Thanks again!

[AZBigJ]

I live in south Gilbert, but we are in the Chandler School District and the two high schools in this area are Perry High School (http://ww2.chandler.k12.az.us/phs/ - broken link) and Basha High School (http://ww2.chandler.k12.az.us/bhs/ - broken link).

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Thank you so much for these links. I am going to check them out right now. In case I don't see this info on one of them, do you happen to know if the Gilbert school system allows kids to attend a school outside of their specific district, i.e. if we were to buy a house in Gilbert HS district but wanted our daughter to attend Desert Hills HS instead?

Thanks again!

Our daughter lives in Mesa and her children go to Desert Ridge in Gilbert. My grandson wanted to join the track team but couldn't because he was a cross district student. I believe in this case there wasn't room for all students trying out for the team, so preference was given to the in-district students.

The school department can answer all those questions and I would make sure to find out what restrictions are placed on cross district students.

I'm not recommending Desert High over another school, just remarking on my basic and limitied knowledge of the three schools.