Kyrene De La Colina Elementary School (Phoenix, Scottsdale: apartment complexes, to rent, house) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

gsheridan · 07-23-2009, 11:29 AM

I finally made the decision to live in Ahwatukee, and now I'm having buyer's remorse, or renter's remorse, to be more precise.

I've been hearing all along that the Kyrene schools are excellent. I checked the De La Colina school before agreeing to rent the house in Ahwatukee, and it looked fine. It's greatschools.net and schooldigger scores and its test scores are not as high as the Copper Canyon School up near Bell and 54th, but I figured the difference wouldn't be too great.

But I was just looking at schooldigger, and I noticed that the scores are substantially lower in certain grades. The Copper Canyon school is in the 90's almost across the board, but De La Colina is in the 80's in some grades, especially for Reading and Writing.

I don't want to cause an uproar, but I also noticed that the percentage of kids that are elegible for free or discounted lunch in De La Colina is 20%. Is there some poor section of Ahwatukee or Phoenix that is in this district? I have no problem with poor, as long as it's not dangerous. We have kids from a poorer section of my town that attend our school in NY, and the kids and families are very nice people. There's no trouble at the school at all. But I have to admit, this did freak me out a little.

We still haven't given a deposit on the house in Ahwatukee. Does anyone have any experience with the De La Colina school? I'm starting to regret not choosing Copper Canyon Elementary, and we can still get a house in that neighborhood. There are 2 still available as far as I know.

Thanks.

Robert A · 07-23-2009, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsheridan

I finally made the decision to live in Ahwatukee, and now I'm having buyer's remorse, or renter's remorse, to be more precise.

I've been hearing all along that the Kyrene schools are excellent. I checked the De La Colina school before agreeing to rent the house in Ahwatukee, and it looked fine. It's greatschools.net and schooldigger scores and its test scores are not as high as the Copper Canyon School up near Bell and 54th, but I figured the difference wouldn't be too great.

But I was just looking at schooldigger, and I noticed that the scores are substantially lower in certain grades. The Copper Canyon school is in the 90's almost across the board, but De La Colina is in the 80's in some grades, especially for Reading and Writing.

I don't want to cause an uproar, but I also noticed that the percentage of kids that are elegible for free or discounted lunch in De La Colina is 20%. Is there some poor section of Ahwatukee or Phoenix that is in this district? I have no problem with poor, as long as it's not dangerous. We have kids from a poorer section of my town that attend our school in NY, and the kids and families are very nice people. There's no trouble at the school at all. But I have to admit, this did freak me out a little.

We still haven't given a deposit on the house in Ahwatukee. Does anyone have any experience with the De La Colina school? I'm starting to regret not choosing Copper Canyon Elementary, and we can still get a house in that neighborhood. There are 2 still available as far as I know.

Thanks.

Colina is fine. My brother went there and we lived nearby when we were kids. I'd bet your involvement in their education (it sounds like you're responsible and concerned) will make a bigger difference than some compiled test scores.

observer53 · 07-23-2009, 12:01 PM

I agree. I think they will be fine, particularly if you as parents are this involved and concerned, and I would not be so focused on the scores, either. (but, their AIMS scores in the grades I saw on a different site are consistent with or better than the district as a whole) And, there is nothing dangerous about that attendance area. As to why 20 percent are eligible for school lunches, a lot of factors enter into that, and I don't know what the eligibility levels are. THere is no "poor section" of Ahwatukee, and looking at the district map, I can't explain that. As you've already noted, in the absence of danger, I think that statistic is pretty irrelevant.

EDIT: Actually, out of curiosity, I went to schooldigger and looked up all the Kyrene elem and middle schools on that end of the district. Colina has the second lowest percentage on discounted/free lunches. Tells me that eligibility for discounted lunch must not be too hard to hit, whatever the eligibility is, as that is not a poor area. Makes those numbers even more irrelevant.

If you were here for the long term, you MIGHT eventually want to change (and move to Tempe

), but they are going to do just fine there.

gsheridan · 07-23-2009, 01:38 PM

OK, that's good news. Thanks for the reassurance. I was worried there might be some area I'm not aware of that is dangerous, and is part of that district. I remember people talking about gang activity in Guadalupe on here, and I was worried Guadalupe could be part of the district.

The elementary school seems well west of Guadalupe, but according to this district map (http://www.kyrene.org/ksdportal/calendars-times-maps/map/index.htm - broken link), the Centennial middle school district extends to the intersection of I-10 and Guadalupe Rd. It looks like Guadalupe starts a little further east of that. Does anyone know where it starts to get bad?

Thanks.

Robert A · 07-23-2009, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsheridan

OK, that's good news. Thanks for the reassurance. I was worried there might be some area I'm not aware of that is dangerous, and is part of that district. I remember people talking about gang activity in Guadalupe on here, and I was worried Guadalupe could be part of the district.

The elementary school seems well west of Guadalupe, but according to this district map (http://www.kyrene.org/ksdportal/calendars-times-maps/map/index.htm - broken link), the Centennial middle school district extends to the intersection of I-10 and Guadalupe Rd. It looks like Guadalupe starts a little further east of that. Does anyone know where it starts to get bad?

Thanks.

Guadalupe is on the east side of the 10. There are no dangerous sections of Ahwatukee. Some stolen cars in the apartment complexes here and there but, hey, welcome to Phoenix.

gsheridan · 07-23-2009, 02:28 PM

geez, now you've got me worried again. Stolen cars? Do you think cars are regularly stolen up in Scottsdale, in the area around 54th and E. Bell?

I met some people who live in Ahwatukee, and they told me that you'll get things stolen from your garage if you leave it open at night. I'm not planning on doing that, but it kind of freaked me out. Where I live in the suburbs of NY, I could leave my car unlocked with the keys in it, and it would still be there in the morning. And the only ones who would enter my garage if I left it open are squirrels.

observer53 · 07-23-2009, 02:44 PM

Keep your car locked and your garage door closed. Thefts from garages left open are an issue (but not a huge one) all over the Valley, including north Scottsdale. Auto thefts are worse at apartment complexes anywhere, including metro Phoenix. Also not your problem. Yes, it may be different from where you live in New York. But it is not like it is a crime-laden area.

Guadalupe proper lies between Baseline and Guadalupe-- outside the Centennial attendance area and the Kyrene District. It is served by a K-5 school in the Tempe Elementary District, and, I assume, by Fees Middle School, also Tempe District.

Don't stress yourself out over all this. Everything will be just fine. You're in a great area, close to everything, and you will love it.

LocoAZnative · 07-23-2009, 03:56 PM

-no offense gsheridan but you are acting like a baby. There is no utopia there are crime, not your standard of schools everywhere. If you were so concerned about great school then wtf are you doing in AZ. Our education system is in the bottom of the US. Also, your car can get stolen anywhere just deal with it.

observer53 · 07-23-2009, 04:15 PM

Well, Loco, you haven't been folllowing this discussion all along. Actually, AZ schools have better ACT/SAT scores than New York schools. Surprise, surprise. Low funding doesn't, across the board, translate to poor results.

If every parent was even half as invested in and involved with their kids' education as the OP is, schools EVERYWHERE would be better off, regardless of their level of funding.

LocoAZnative · 07-23-2009, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by observer53

Well, Loco, you haven't been folllowing this discussion all along. Actually, AZ schools have better ACT/SAT scores than New York schools. Surprise, surprise. Low funding doesn't, across the board, translate to poor results.

If every parent was even half as invested in and involved with their kids' education as the OP is, schools EVERYWHERE would be better off, regardless of their level of funding.

Actually I've been following this guys post from the very beginning and have made numerous positive comments. His shtick is getting old. There is a perfect utopia that he thinks the valley is. Maybe he should of moved to BPE and then he could spend his whole life in traffic, and never see those kids he is so concerned about. We all know the Kyrene school district is one of the better ones in this town. I'm sure no school will match up to his perfect one in NY.