This review is long overdue, but I wanted to share our experience with Gateway Academy for other…read moreparents who may be searching for the right school for a child with high-functioning autism, or what Gateway refers to as twice-exceptional students. My son started at Gateway in 7th grade after attending public school since kindergarten. We were actually very fortunate to have had a pretty good experience in public school, especially with the other kids. He had attended the same school since kindergarten and had grown up with many of his classmates, most of whom were still with him in 6th grade. But as he got older, I could see the writing on the wall. Class sizes were getting larger, the kids were growing up, and there had been a few run-ins with bullies. I also didn't love the idea of moving him to a middle school for only two years and then making another major transition to high school. Kids on the spectrum often thrive on routine and familiarity, and my son is certainly no exception. When we found Gateway, it truly felt like a Godsend. The small class sizes were exactly what he needed, and one of the biggest advantages for us was that Gateway goes all the way through 12th grade. He could attend middle school and high school in the same familiar, supportive environment. Many of the teachers have special education backgrounds, but what makes Gateway so special goes far beyond academics. There is a genuinely loving, welcoming culture there. At Gateway, these kids aren't singled out for being different. They're surrounded by other students who understand them. They can be themselves. They have friends. They belong. The teachers are wonderful, as is the office staff. Ms. Robin, Gateway's founder and principal, truly cares about her students, and that caring is reflected throughout the school. Gateway gives students an environment where they can learn at their own pace while also developing friendships, confidence, independence, and a sense of belonging. As a parent, I cannot imagine my son having had the same high school experience in a large traditional high school surrounded primarily by neurotypical students. Those teenage years can be difficult enough, and Gateway gave him a safe place where he was accepted for exactly who he is. My son graduated from Gateway in 2025 and now attends community college. I asked him recently if he misses Gateway. He said yes. So I asked him what, specifically, he misses about it. His answer was simply, "Everything." That answer was both a little sad and incredibly heartwarming for me. More than anything I could write in this review, it confirmed what I had known all along: my son had a wonderful middle and high school experience. He made memories, built friendships, felt accepted, and genuinely enjoyed going to school. As a parent of a child on the spectrum, I don't think you can ask for much more than that. Gateway was also a tremendous resource for our entire family. Through the school, we learned about services and resources available to our son that we otherwise may never have known about. They even connected us with an excellent professional who helped us navigate guardianship and establish a special needs trust as he approached adulthood. Gateway didn't just educate our son--they helped us navigate the journey of raising and preparing a twice-exceptional child for adulthood. For any parent looking for a school for a child on the spectrum, I would recommend Gateway Academy without hesitation. Ms. Robin, Mr. Bloom, Mr. Curt, Mr. Anthony, Mr. Richard, and so many others have made Gateway the special place that it is. We will always be grateful that our son had the opportunity to grow up there. Thank you, Gateway, for giving our son a place where he wasn't simply accommodated, but truly belonged.

I started at Gateway when I was in seventh grade. I just graduated from there in May. I came to…read moreGateway because I was struggling with staying on top of assignments due to the heavy workload at my old school--leading me to start failing my classes. When I first came to Gateway, I was scared and alone. Little did I know that I would make friends that were as precious to me as my life there. It's a small school, so everyone knows everyone. Some might think this is bad, but in reality it's great because we get to form a tight-knit community within our grade level (and sometimes other grades too). There are therapy animals there, which absolutely helps students who are stressed out or who are going through something in their lives. You can always find Apollo and Athena (the therapy dogs) out during passing period, saying hello to the students. Talking about therapy animals, Gateway also does an equine therapy program for both middle school and high school. I was in this equine therapy program for eighth grade and part of high school. This program helped me so much through my struggle with mental health. Being with the horses quieted my brain. The teachers are absolutely amazing. I have never had a single bad teacher there at Gateway. They were all so kind and patient. You could tell that they knew what they were talking about. The English program they have there is absolutely fantastic. Both middle school and high school. The books that we read are actually interesting. Examples of this include The Boy in Striped Pajamas, Flowers for Algernon, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Animal Farm. The lunch program that they have is great as well. They bring in food from different places, and it's covered by your tuition, so you don't have to pay for the food. Some lunches that they brought in were from Panera, Venezia's, Potbelly, and Jimmy John's. Just remember to bring a couple snacks with you because sometimes the lunches can be a little bit on the smaller side. Every Friday, they have clubs. We can pick what club we want to be in, and there are a variety of them. Such as gaming, art, and board game club. It helps give us a break from our classes and gives us some time to hang out with our friends before the weekend hits. They also have programs that help build great resumes--along with helping to make your college and scholarship applications stronger. I was in the National Honor's Society and the Student Council for two years. Those were some of the best decisions I've made in my life. I got to meet new people through volunteering and even host a school drive for a non-profit that I volunteered at. The headmistress, Mrs. Robin, is very sweet and genuinely cares about all of her students. She was the one who set me up with my (then) future externship opportunity. Mr. Curt is amazing. He is the person in charge of the National Honor's Society, and he also helped with setting out flyers among the school about my school drive. Mr. Anthony is fabulous. He is also part of the admin. He helped me a lot with my dual enrollment last year. The admin are wonderful and won't shy away from any questions and/or concerns. Gateway Academy changed my life in the best way possible. I started getting good grades again. I made friends that I thought I never would have made. I would 100% recommend you go to this school if you have high-functioning autism. Once a warrior, always a warrior.

Great school for the size! Ratio of students to teachers is…read moreexcellent! Rigor curriculum to learn! Great opportunities to play on the middle school and upper sports team. High school sports has a great tradition to play hard and learn to win and loose in any game situations. Most importantly playing to Glorify God!

I do not recommend this school. It is very sad to witness…read morehow much this school has declined. The middle school experience has been especially disappointing. The teachers often come across as rude and seem more focused on enforcing dress code policies than providing quality education and meaningful lessons. The school also does not reflect the Christian values and kindness it claims to promote. Everything seems centered around money, and some wealthy families appear to receive special recognition not because of their children's achievements, but because of their financial donations to the school. Overall, this has been a very discouraging experience for our family.

My daughter has attended PCDS for the past four years and she will continue on until she graduates…read more We have been very happy with the Middle School and so far the High School. One of the best features aside from the gorgeous campus is that they offer Mandarin. I am hoping this doesn't change and that the language is continually supported as it sets the school apart from others. The classes are small and there is plenty of personal attention my daughters graduating class is 75 which is one of the bigger classes. Our sports facility will be incredible and Science is HUGE. Freshman English is a little scary but she is getting by and in the long run will help her with her testing. All in all an amazing school we love it.

Don't be fooled by the prestige name, the academics here are far from excellent. The school lacks…read morethe robust, advanced curriculum you would expect from a high-end private institution. What they lack in academic rigor, they make up for in donor-pleasing. There is a continuous, undeniable filtering process where the system goes out of its way to pamper wealthy donors.

We've had a great experience at Chaparral. Any time I've had a question or concern, I've been able…read moreto chat with an administrator or counselor and get my questions answered I think the education here is wonderful. There's AP, dual enrollment through Scottsdale Community College, and career programs like finance and culinary. The counselors really go out of their way to help kids find the right college and scholarships. The teachers are personable and you can tell they care about the students. The campus feels safe, friendly, and warm.

So proud to be a part of the Chaparral High School community! The school spirit and commitment to…read morestudent success are unmatched.

I truly cannot say enough wonderful things about this school. We absolutely love it here. From the…read moreteachers to the staff to the entire community, there is such a genuine feeling of kindness, love and care. I love that our daughter is not only receiving an incredible education but is also learning about God and the Bible in an environment that is loving, welcoming and nonjudgmental. They teach these values by actually living them every single day. The teachers truly care about their students as individuals and you can feel how much heart goes into everything they do. As a parent, there is nothing better than knowing your child is somewhere she is loved, encouraged, challenged and cared for. We feel incredibly lucky to be part of this school and this community. I honestly couldn't imagine a better place for our daughter.

I'm am so blessed to go to SCA. It is like a home to me and almost everyone feels like family. I…read morewould not be who or where I am today in my faith without it!

Plus: The school has a wonderful "community" feel to it...actively involved faculty and…read moreadministrators. Competitive sports programs. This school is a real cross-section of the Socio-economic strata of our country. Minus: A science instructor who openly denies global warming---this should not be tolerated. A history instructor who is a conspiracy theorist and who brings her personal political agenda to the classroom. Some of the opinions she passes as "history" are utterly ridiculous---and highly inappropriate as they are politically-laden and undermine rational inquiry. These instructors are the antithesis of what a true education should represent: the development of critical thinking skills and acquisition of evidenced-based knowledge. I hope these instructors represent the exception rather than the norm.

Most of the staff is nice and the teachers are good and the sports are awesome even through theirs…read moreconstruction. Also it one of the best public schools .

It's a middle school. Chances are that the three years you spend here will be the worst three years…read moreof your life. That said, the Scottsdale Unified School District has done an amazing job of replacing the old Cocopah with a new and improved version of itself. If you remember the Cocopah of just a few years ago, you will be amazed by the improvement. Cocopah takes students from Cherokee, Cochise and Sequoya Elementary Schools and feeds them into Chaparral High School, one of the top public high schools in the state of Arizona..

So, I don't wanna sound like some random upset teenager who just doesn't like middle school in…read moregeneral, but Cocopah is really not the best for some people. And I would STRONGLY advise this comment should be read if you are interested in enrolling your child. I have witnessed many students being bullied to the point of suicidal thoughts and the teachers do absolutely nothing. The community in general are actually not the nicest people anyway. Also, there is not currently a nurse?? My younger brother is in seventh grade and nearly everyone isn't doing that well academically. Also, I've noticed some of the staff seemed to not care that much due to how much students they have. When I was here, only one staff member actually checked up on me and my friend (nope not the counselor) I remember I was doing very bad in math and not the best grade in ELA, both of the teachers were late to the student conference (and left early) that I had scheduled a week before, rude much. Also, they have a very interesting mindset, especially counselors, they would constantly guilt trip and gaslight me and my parents into constantly putting me in honors (which was definitely not a good idea) just add one more thing. This school is HUGE along with Chaperel, which it feeds into. So I don't entirely blame the teachers for being overwhelmed. But yet again, this is the job they signed up for, and they must have proper work etiquette. There is also a problem in eighth grade with pressuring into vaping and teen s*x which is not managed as much as it should. A lot of the kids there are a very bad influence. (and I'm not trying to be a saint, it's genuinely bad.) they should also be a bit stricter on the dress code, I mean, you can wear practically anything, and a lot of people bullied because they don't have a certain (expensive) clothing item. I know this is long, but it's very important and I could add a lot more. My family certainly got fed up with it and we switched in the eighth grade. I would overall not recommend this school sorry if this offended anyone. (one more thing, READ THIS apparently this school doesn't do much of a background check on its teachers since they literally hired someone who was addicted to child p*rn and g*re (shout out to Michael Gill I hope you rot in jail )

Both of my kids attended this middle school and it was excellent, many of the teachers were award…read morewinning teachers. The kids went to Catalina island on a school trip. Great memories.

Parents of girls, please be aware…read more In our experience, our daughter reported behavior by a teacher that made her uncomfortable and that we believed was inappropriate. We brought these concerns to the school administration. We were deeply disappointed by how the situation was handled. Shawn Bell did not take action in a way we felt protected our daughter or addressed similar concerns raised by other students. To our knowledge, the teacher remained employed at the time we withdrew our children. Because of this experience and the school's response, our family chose not to continue enrollment.

XCP says "Xavier College Preparatory does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or…read moreethnic origin in admissions ..." but this is completely a lie when majority of the students are white followed by Hispanic with African American & Native Americans having the lowest representation. They focus on accepting girls from specific backgrounds that fit their image, giving less chance for others who don't to receive the same opportunities. If you are looking for a school with diversity, XCP is not the school to attend. If you are a minority & are part of the small number that gets accepted, there is no one there who looks like or can relate to you culturally.

Love this school, my daughters a Junior and she loves it too. I am an Arizona Native and did not…read morehave the means to go when I was young

The wedding I went to here was in the Brophy Chapel, which although it's called a chapel was really…read morequite a large and beautiful mission-style church. I really love the traditional touches and the sound system was really nice. They had a guitarist and two singers which sounded full and lovely over the speakers. It's a great dramatic backdrop for pictures. I was really surprised at how young the priest was who celebrated Mass. He gave a fiery passionate homily on love and marriage as a reflection of our deep desire to know and love God.

Top notch education. The price is expensive but worth it - I would send my second son here if I had…read moreone. Although we only attended for 2 years, the education was worth it before my son wanted to attend a public school for a better chance at playing college sports (scouting) and more of a selection for friends/groups.