We discovered Gateway this year. Upon our "trial day" my son greeted me with both fists in the airs…read moreexclaiming, "Finally, we found a great school!" and he was right. After 2 years in the Chandler school district, my son had deteriorated by every measurable standard. The second year I ended up needing to pull him out and homeschool him while he went to therapy to deal with the stress that was seemingly caused on purpose by the staff at the public school. My son had done well generally in a public school setting before moving to Arizona, but the local school here had teachers unaware or unwilling to meet the needs of a high functioning, never aggressive autistic child. Gateway's amazing teachers, therapy programs, and constant communication with the parents allowed my son to recover and begin to thrive. It is no wonder the school received the highest level of accreditation. I have an hour and a half commute (one way), but that is a small price to pay to have my child begin to work independently, to become comfortable around others, to learn to self-advocate for his needs, and to learn to self-regulate. When I asked my son this year why he loves Gateway he said, "Because I just be myself." If you have an autistic child, you know what that meant to me. He can now focus on the business of learning because he is not panicked and overwhelmed by the class itself. The staff are professional, knowledgable, and genuinely care about each child. They create groups of students with similar abilities so the group to work together. They foster independence, confidence, and teach the child how to manage their autism. They empower each student with successful experts in all walks of life on the spectrum, and bring therapy to the group where the teachers can model and encourage what is learned throughout the week. No more driving from one therapist and then another--the school creates a holistic approach to the child's life. The horse therapy has been the best addition to my boy's regimen. He has discovered a passion for animals and now has new friends in the neighborhood because of that passion. But one of the most important gifts has been to learn from the modeling of the staff and the other students how I can do better at meeting my child's needs. When you are surrounded by other high functioning children on the spectrum, it is easy to see the attributes that common among children on the spectrum and I have become a lot more patient with my working with him. I consider this school a godsend for our family. Thank you Robin, Max, and Matt. You have changed our family for the better.

Note: I wrote this in the past and am posting it now) ---- I am a past student that attended…read moreGateway academy for one year , and god! I would not recommend you go here if you or your child is gifted or at least grade level. You ask for harder work, and are dismissed by teachers that wish they could actually teach you more, but as per the dictators policy (Mrs. Robin) they can't give me actual challenges. I have had 2 tests maybe, and I'm more than halfway through the year. To add to this, these tests were the easiest tests I've ever taken in my life! Do not send your child here! Also, here's a list that I took at the begining of the year (when I still had hopes of leaving) which doesn't include a lot of the new stuff. Here's a summary of the information because the school would probably kick me out (not that I would mind) Version to my parents My classes this year aren't challenging me or giving me the resources I need to learn. In math, we're a month behind because the online curriculum still isn't fixed, and we're stuck reviewing topics I mastered in sixth grade. Science work is so easy and drawn-out that deadlines mean nothing, and tests are recycled to the point where grades don't reflect real understanding. Language class is almost entirely Duolingo, which doesn't teach grammar or real communication skills, and even "enrichment" work takes weeks for something I could finish in days. History is just fill-in-the-blank notes and shallow projects instead of meaningful, in-depth learning like I had before. I'm not being pushed to grow, and staying here is holding me back academically. Version for administration In math, we are already a month behind because the Savaas curriculum still isn't fixed, despite my teacher contacting Mr. Anthony 1-2 weeks ago. My teacher wasn't given proper resources and had to reuse slides from a previous school, so the pace is slow. We've spent over a week reviewing order of operations and negative numbers, which I mastered in sixth grade. In science, deadlines are stretched far beyond what's needed--two weeks to take notes that should take 2-3 days, and tests are meaningless because, after taking them, we just redo the same questions for credit. Even when I ask for harder work, I'm told I still have to do the same easy assignments, which wastes time. Language class is almost entirely Duolingo, which doesn't teach grammar or sentence structure, and enrichment work is stretched over three weeks for tasks I could finish in days. History is mostly fill-in-the-blank notes and shallow projects, like spending a week on domestication with no deeper exploration, compared to last year when I created in-depth presentations on world history topics. I'm not being challenged, my time is being wasted, and staying here will hold me back academically.

I love this school I enrolled my son in kindergarden and he has told me wonderful things about the…read moreschool and the faculty, hes now a freshman in highschool and still talks about his friends and classes from kindergarden through 6th grade, the only problem I have is the 3rd grade teacher Mrs.Stewart who was very unfair to my son other than that it was a great school.

We had moved over to a new area within the same school district, the Paradise Valley School…read moreDistrict. I was confident that the school would be up to the standards of the other schools in this district. Boy, was I wrong. At the time our boy was in the third grade and we had always had teachers tell us how nice, how kind, sweet he is and he had plenty of friends at our old school at Desert Shadows. From the first day of coming to Desert Cove he was treated in a disparaging manner by both the teacher and the children. Yes, you read that right, the teacher. He came to us and told us she has treating him poorly and being mean to him. We went to the school and confronted the teacher, who confessed to us that she had gone on vacation and came back and had three new students in her class and that is why she was treating him differently!?! What, did I hear this right? What kind of teacher takes out her frustration on her students because she had more kids to teach than she had planned? Well we thought we had come to a crossroads where he would continue and we would give her another chance. Things didn't change. He was bullied by the kids and the teacher kept up with her poor treatment even though we had multiple trips speaking with her. It really was an extremely negative experience and he attended only one year and we decided to drive back to our old school even though it was far away. Kate Stewart was the name of this teacher and shame on you for being so rough on a little guy, who wanted nothing but to come to a school to learn, be part of the group, treated with kindness and value, and he got the exact opposite. Highly disappointed with this school and it's staff. I'm sure we are not the only ones. If it's happening to one it's happening to others. A bird doesn't change its feathers.

I absolutely love this school and the staff there. My daughter has flourished since starting here…read moreand the spanish immersion program is a huge plus! I would highly recommend this school to anyone for their K-4th grader.

My husband and I are incredibly grateful for CMS, where our daughter has attended for the past…read moreyear. As this was our first time searching for a school, we researched and toured nearly 10 preschools in our area (mainly Montessori, but also some more traditional ones). As a stay-at-home mom, I was also apprehensive about starting our daughter at 2 1/2 years old and even considered waiting longer. If it weren't for CMS, we probably would have waited, because I truly believe no other school offered the environment that was most important to us--especially with her starting so young. The Montessori approach is clearly implemented in every aspect of CMS, both academically and socially. For us--and for our daughter's personality--the nurturing and respectful environment were the most important values in our search. Most of the teachers have been at CMS for over a decade, which was not the case at any of the other schools we toured. I love that our daughter can build a relationship with her teachers over the years, rather than changing to a new teacher every year. I believe this consistency provides a strong foundation for her academic and emotional development. The first thing I always tell people when they ask about CMS is this: At all the other schools, yes, I connected with the director or whoever was giving the tour on some level--but I'd only get maybe five minutes or less of face time with a teacher, and I always left feeling unimpressed with their classroom presence and curriculum. I'm truly impressed with the CMS curriculum and culture. On other school tours, I received more papers and booklets, but honestly, I felt a disconnect between what was written and what I saw. As a family, we follow Montessori values, and I began to research Montessori education on my own. From our first conversations with the Lead Teacher, Miss Jocelyn, I could see those values clearly reflected at CMS. After attending for over a year, I'm even more astounded by the depth and thoughtfulness of the lessons offered for early childhood development. As someone who struggled with math in school, I wish I'd had the opportunity to learn numbers the way CMS teaches them. On your tour, please ask to see the math beads and the related lessons--they are a perfect example of how CMS teaches the concept with real understanding, not rote memorization. The lessons are intentional, and the freedom my daughter has in choosing her work has developed her concentration and self-discipline. I have so much trust in this school--it's not the kind of place where your child comes home with 10+ generic worksheets a day. To get an overview of CMS's culture, I highly recommend reading The Family Virtues Guide: Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves. CMS focuses on one virtue per week, based on this humanity program (such as respect, empathy, patience, etc.). To me, this is a clear example of how CMS goes beyond academics and truly teaches life skills and character development. When observing the classroom, you can clearly see how these virtue lessons provide a foundation of calmness that, in turn, allows each child to develop their concentration to achieve their highest potential and practical life skills at an incredible level. We are truly grateful for the foundation CMS is providing for our daughter!

Community Montessori has been a great experience, Zia started there when she was 2, she has grown…read moreso much being in a constant learning environment that consisted of different aged children. The staff at Montessori are invested in and care deeply about the kids and parents. Thank you Montessori!!

This sucks!!!!Some teachers are good(mr chandler, ms carino) but others are terrible! a biology…read moreteacher literally told us she would gag us if we didnt stop talking. terrible!! would not recommend. my childs history teacher gave him a 200 point packet and took all of points away because he used-erasable pen!!!! dont go here!!!

Basically, guys all Basis schools will provide your child with the best education possible. They…read moreare usually 1- 2 grades ahead of every other school. Most people who complain have children that just can't keep up. But give your child the opportunity to discover their educational potential. Even if they can't make it here, they can easily breeze through any other school they transfer to. The teacher's offer student hours after school. If your child needs help. Even the students group chat with each other to help each other out. They provide you with detailed information about what they are teaching and constant progress reports on how your child is doing. They even have an app where you can directly talk to any teacher.. Recently thier sports programs have been doing fantastic. Basketbal,l Soccer, Tennis, Golf, Swimming, Volleyball and they dominate academic competitions as well. It has really round out my daughter's education. She will have no problem in any college she decides to attend. I hope this helps get in as early as you can.

Our son attended here and was bullied relentlessly. We pulled him for safety concerns before the…read moreyear was even up and found a great school in the area that was a good fit. The administration at JGS was pretty much useless at preventing bullying and put blame on victims when it did occur. Strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

This school has been the best change for me and my family! Jones Gordon school has helped me grow…read moreenormous amounts and be the best person I can be. I have made friends that will last me a lifetime and I know they will always be there with me through the happy times and the sad times. The principal Dana Herzber has helped me grow so much in my creativity and truly is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. Dana is so involved with her students that you can't tell she truly cares. Dana has encouraged me to follow my dreams and has a wonderful team that spreads the same message. The staff at JGS is one of the many reasons I love to go to school! The teachers are truly the definition of a team! I can honestly tell you that Jones Gordon is my home away from home. JGS is the best school experience you can give your child. JGS Is the best thing that has happened to me! This school truly embodies the culture of kindness!

Many family friends have kids going to this district and a few family members do too and all I've…read moreheard is negative. Fights, drugs, etc. I went schools in this district a while back and they were awful. Sad to hear they haven't improved.

This district is solely based on appearances over function. Having worked for this district and…read morebeing told i needed to change a students grades from failing to passing and having the unfortunate luck for both my children to go to these schools as well. The teachers utilyze less instruction and more forced computer interface to establish their own status quo. This last lockdown implement during the solar eclipse also shows how little this district instills true observational learning capabilities for its younger students. If you have an out from this district take it. If you have children that wish to learn , truly learn then avoid this district and its fluffy policies that change at whim.