Polytechnic Academy, Eduprize, Montessori-Where to Send My Son???

When you say Polytechnic Academy, I am not sure if you are referring to Polytechinic Elementary school (on Power just north of Warner). If that is the school you are referring to, then I can help a little as my son is a second grader there. His first year at the school was last year as a first grader. The school is only 2 years old. The plan is for the school to be k-12 but currently it is k-7. As the 7th graders go up in grades, the school will too. So far I am very happy with the school. My son started kindergarten early at 4 in the Kyrene district. Polytech has what they call indiviual learning plans, or ILP's. They assess the children several times a year to see where they are at in order to ensure that they are challenging the kids with out making the work too easy or too hard. The kids, who are in clusters (K is by themselves then the 1/2's, 3/4's and 5/6/7's) move around the classroom a lot to different groups based on their ILP's to do their reading, math, etc. I think they call them stations. The kids love it, or at least my kid does, because they are not just stuck in desks all day. In each cluster there are at least two teachers and a teachers aid in each class, so even though the class sizes are large, the student to teacher ratio is low. Nearly every teacher there has a masters at least, or is currently working on their masters. Even the before/after school (Club Poly) teachers are working on their masters. The principle, Donna Bullock, is very friendly, involved and accessable. When you walk in the front door you see the school secretary and then Mrs. Bullock's office, and that is a nice change of pace. All of the parents were required to attend information sessions prior to trying to enroll their students or get on the waiting list, so they would be familiar with the philosophy and culture of the school. Parents are expected to be involved with the school and the their child's education and you can tell that everyone is there to support a positive learning environment. All of the teachers are great and the PE teacher, Coach Brown, is amazing. The school is currently in a temporary building, so Coach Brown doesn't have a full on field and gym to work with, yet she manage's to teach the kids many different sports, get them all involved and having fun and they learn all the technical aspects of the games. They have field trips and summatives at the end of each quarter so you can see first hand what your kids are learning. The kids get PE, music and spanish everyday. Last year I think they only had music 2 times a week, so I love that in a time when schools are cutting back on classes like that, our school increased it to everyday. All of those classes assist in creating well rounded kids. I was a little nervous to start him in a brand new school last year where you really didn't have the first hand advise of other parents about it, but I am really glad we enrolled him there, and I can't wait for my 2 year old to get to start there as well. Well, that's all I can think to tell you right now, if you have questions please feel free to ask. Oh, you can visit the website at upsi.asu.edu to see more info and to find dates for information sessions. I think they usually start them in January, but don't quote me on that one. :)

My husband and I completely agree with you and your husband about the best kind of school for our kids. Our top choice is Edu-Prize. To add to what the other moms have shared, they offer a projet-oriented/hands-on learning experience for the kids. They have a wonderful campus, and the kids look happy there. I have a few friends whose kids attend Edu-Prize, and they have nothing but raves for the school. Check out their website and schedule a tour to learn more about the school and see it. http://www.edu-prize.com/

We tried to enroll our daughter in Kindergarten at Edu-Prize for this school year (2009-10), but she was 86th on the wait list! Ridiculous! We had submitted her application in April. Apparently, parents are submitting applications for their kids to enter K years in advance! So we sent in an application for my son to enter K in 2011-12. I would HOPE that he gets in, and if he does, then my daughter would get priority for placement (2nd grade by then). However, we will try to get her in for 1st grade via the lottery system they have for the 1st through 8th grade levels. Fingers crossed! Anyway, send in an application for your son ASAP! You can print the application from their website and fax it in.

In the meantime, we are trying to figure out Plan B. Both my kids are currently attending Greenhouse Montessori (toddler, pre-K, and K), and are very happy there. My son just turned 4 and is already reading! http://www.greenhousemontessorischool.com

My son will attend pre-K there for one more year before entering K, hopefull, at Edu-Prize.

I've also heard that Bright Beginnings (K-6) is good, but I haven't done much research on it yet. http://www.brightbeginnings.k12.az.us

Polytechnic Elementary (http://universitypublicschools.asu.edu/schools/pes/index....) is also a great option (although it may be too far for us). I attended their informational meeting before they opened and was very impressed with their philosophy of teaching. They will be doing an informational night in January.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Check out greatschools.net to see statistical information about the school.

The best thing I can say is go and visit the school... make an appointment and take a tour. My oldest goes to Benjamin Franklin Charter School and does very well. This school is very structured with hands on... and lots of parental involvement! But before I put her on the waiting list I went and toured the school, spoke with the principal and office staff as well as some of the teachers. And when you go in and visit/tour, you can find out when you need to put your son on the waiting list, since each school is different. For instance, Benjamin Franklin creates a new waiting list each January (so if your child did not get in you just go in on the first day of January and put them on the waiting list again, hopefully in a higher slot!)... where the charter school my niece and nephew attends has a long 2-3 year waiting list.

Edu-prize is awesome, my Son is in Kindergarden there & he loves it ans so do we- all the teachers are Great but Mrs Harris is extra special. You would want to get your name on the list soon, it is a very popular school that has a waiting list

My son has been going to Cambridge Academy on Ellsworth and Brown Rd. since K now in 3rd grade.. We love it, they do so many creative projects. 2 weeks ago they had there annual International night. its so much fun traveling the world through the kids projects. in April they always have Earth Day celebration. its a very small school there is only 20 in his class now. K only had 16. they recently opened a school in Queen Creek as well. i am not sure of the cross roads.
Good Luck

I just recently changed my son over to Eduprize from Walker Butte about 2 months ago. Just in that time we have seen a dramatic difference in him academically. Just walking down the hallways at Eduprize I feel better. It is so much more friendly. The kids learn at their pace and not at the public school systems oh you don't know it, well i'm sorry its time to move on pace! They are very repetitive with their work and very willing to go out of their way to help your child succeed! My story is this... My son has been having issues with focusing and staying on task for 4 years now, but this past year it was just too much he was bringing home schoolwork plus homework to do at night and wasn't understanding most of it. I had conferences with his teacher and I was told she was not a medical doctor and could not suggest that my son may have a learning disability. I was only asking for her professional opinion not her medical diagnosis. There were 26-28 students in each classroom and the only way they would even consider giving my son any break on anything was if I had him diagnosed with ADD.. So in the meantime he is very frustrated we are very frustrated and after trying several things with him I started looking into Eduprize. The class sizes are generally 20 students. They have the TOPS program which is wonderful for my son! And his teacher has been awesome with trying to adapt to him in the school setting. Even though he is doing great we still have attention issues so we are addressing them with a Dr. But his teacher told me if there is anything I can do with him differently in the class let me know. I cannot say enough about the school. My son tells me he feels like he understands what and how they are teaching him. He doesn't mind going to school and likes his teacher so I personally couldn't ask for more!
I have been told that Montessori's are wonderful education experience as well.. But I dont have a personal perception on them!
Good luck and Good for you and checking this out early.. I was a bit naive and just stuck my kids in the Public School System and boy am I paying for it now!

We put our son on the waiting list at Eduprize when he was one. I have only heard great things about this school. I still haven't taken a tour (he is only two now) but I plan to when the time nears. My son is currently going to Bridges Pre-school and he has learned so much there, I love it. They have a private kinder, but I think we will still go to Eduprize. Good luck!!