Research Arizona Academy of Science and Technology charter Schools in Phoenix, Arizona

“My son who is now in college attended this school. My daughter who has attended for 4 years now has done better at the Academy of Science than in any other school. When Mr. and Mrs. Rollins took over along with Ms. Miller, it got even better. They were the staff the school needed to get everything back on track the way a school should be ran. My daughter has done extremely awesome here and has remained an honor student. I have recommended this school to many people. It is such a peaceful ,quiet setting and the classes are not overcrowded. The teachers are there to teach. Each teacher is so special in their own individual way. I have learned more from my daughter attending there than I probably did when I was in school! All I can say is Mr. and Mrs. Rollins and Ms. Miller.... YOU ROCK! CINDY JACKSON-HALL”

“I find it interesting that each negative comment is followed up by a positive one. My child's first year at AAS was indeed a positive one, however, the school lost several wonderful teachers and at that point the whole dynamics of the school changed. I was no longer able to chat with my child's teacher about my child without first making an appointment. I was very disappointed with the lack of an open door policy that is available in so many other schools, what are they hiding? There are many schools downtown to choose from, I found one for my child and it is a performing plus school too. As parents, the best thing we can do is to listen to our children when they talk about what goes on in the classroom.”

“I believe this school is excellent. I work in the Downtown District for the State of Arizona and I find that this school is performing above and beyond. My children love the school location and the education provided by Arizona Academy of Science. My all my children are performing above average and I enjoy the teacher/parent communication. I have recommended a few of my friends, family and co-workers to this school, and they all love it.”

“This school really has been progressing over the last few years. Both my children go to this school and I am amazed at the knowledge and the personal attention that all students receive. If they need additional attention whether it is for academics or that the kids need nuturing to bring out their talents, the teachers and the staff are attentive to their needs. If you are looking for a school that allows your child to think out of the box and focus on their talents this is the place to send them. I personally enjoy the location, though I could send my children to any school closer to home, but the security and the feel of an old school atmosphere make the difference here. My oldest will be going to this school since he wants to go straight into the BioScience high school and this is the most logical choice”

“Several of my children attended this school last year and now that they are enrolled in another school, what the Arizona Academy lacks is glaringly obvious. The classrooms are very dirty, the walls are filthy and the books my children brought home were rejects from other districts; One dates to 1975! The principal is never available after school and she does not take bullying issues seriously. I want other parents to know that they can have good teachers and a nice campus elsewhere--they should keep looking!”

“AAST was a life-saver for my son. The smaller class sizes allowed the teachers to give more personal attention, and he had a great year. The higher academic standards were a welcome challenge to all three of my children enrolled here.”

“The school's name implies that there is a heavy emphasis on science and technology yet the school lacks a science lab and doesn't have a computer teacher nor computers in the classroom. I do not recommend this school.”

“I am very pleased with the academic programs providsd the AAA of Science. My daughter enjoys the extracurricular activities, P.E, ART, trips to the library. This is my daughters 3rd year at AAA of Science, and during that time there has been a very good amount of parent involvement and fun events for me to attend and take part of with my daughter. I have been quite pleased with AAA of science since moving to the valley,and my daughter will continue to attend AAA of science. The level of her academic acheivements have been very pleasing, and I support the school and will continue to do so.”

“The focus of our school is academic excellence, social responsibility and the sucess of each student. A student/teacher ratio of 15/1 and highly qualified teachers have been part of the reason for our success. Teachers are available for at least 30 minutes after school to talk to parents and to tutor students. It is our policy to hold conferences with parents when an issue regarding a student needs to be resolved. Those conferences involve an administrator so that the school is involved completely in ensuring a student's success. Parent's are encouraged to keep in touch with their child's teacher but an open classroom with other students and parents around is not the forum to discuss issues or problems. Teachers keep the lines of communication open with parents through daily homework sheets, phone calls, e-mails, and progress reports. As a school of science we have a dedicated science teacher for grades 5 through 8. In grades 5 and 6 they meet for one period of 50 minutes each day for science. The 7th and 8th grades meet for 100 minutes each day for science lab and lecture. The 5th through 8th grades are given the opportunity to have different teachers for the core subjects. It is a testament to the success of our school that many of the families who attended Rawlins Elementary asked to be bused to our downtown campus. We unfortunately had to close Rawlins when the building was sold. We strive to develop a school community where parents can be involved in their child's education.”

“This is extremely concerning that all of the parents that I have spoken to are considering taking their kids to another school. We are also looking into moving our child out of this school due to the issue that the owners wife is coming between the parents and the teachers, there is absolutely no communication between the two. She is not listed in any capacity in the school and they have taken her name off of the site. The teachers are out of the class as soon as the children are. If a parent attempts to talk to the teacher they have to have a meeting with her involved. This school is just getting worse as the year goes along. A teacher that has transferred there states there is no faculty meetings, no updates and no comradery between the teachers. Not a very conducive learning environment at all.”

“My child is at this school, and I am currently looking for a new school. The curriculum has changed for the worst. Last year the 5th graders had spelling words taken from a 7th grade spelling book, this year those same kids have first grade words such as act, who, just. There is 1 1/2 hours spent in history and 1 1/2 hours in language arts and only 45 minutes spent in science and math and no time spent in computer class. The school's name is not reflected in the classes offered. There is no camaraderie among the teachers, except for the 2 teachers that are dating. There are no parent teacher conferences and as a parent, I am made to feel as an intruder in my son's class, rather than a welcome volunteer. We parents need to get together to resolve our issues with the school.”

“This school has nothing to offer except a nice campus. Closing one school down due to financial reasons, having children bused from Glendale and Peoria to central phoenix is amazing and time and finance consuming. The school runs fund raisers but none of the proceeds have been seen to benefit the school at all. So much has been talked about this school and it will not be able to compete in a few years if there are not major changes.”

“Their website just vanished so I researched to find out that the Elementary Campus had closed and that lower classes would be shuttled to the downtown location which is housed at a church. To say that the buildings and classrooms need serious upgrades is an understatement. Since it is a public location, anybody can just enter, security is zero! The school lacks money for everything from books, to supplies, to equipment. It boosts of an emphasis on science but simply lacks the means, equipment or staff to offer a qualified edge over other schools. The teachers seem too laid back and unorganized. The school is still in its infancy of development and requires a lot of patience and involvement on the part of parents. If the placement tests will hold up outside of this school, among other things, remains to be seen. Will hold off on rating until an update”