Paragon Science Academy Elementary School

xceptional school, its curriculum is advanced by 1 year.Since learning is accelerated it is highly dependent on repetition and parent involvement at home. This will result in alot of homework, but this can be very rewarding in that you will be surprised and proud of what your child can learn. The Parent Advisory Council is very involved and coordinates a variety of creative and fun events within the year. Feild trips are 2x's per year and are academically focused. The school hosts children from many multicultural backgrounds and in effect they develop a healthy respect for diversity.Great social and acedemic bonuses are the free after school clubs,up to 3. The principal quarterly invites parents to schedule meetings with him which is a chance to communicate any questions or concerns. This school only after 2 years already boasts regional and state placements/awards in various academic competitions and were ranked a Top School for AZ in the 2009 Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Talent Search. In summary this school is only getting better each year and you will soon be seeing an extended waiting list.
—Submitted by a parent

This is the school we have been hoping for! Finally, a school that offers advanced instruction in math and language arts tailored to the level my child is at! If a child is 1,2,3,or 4 grade levels above the current grade curriculum-they can accomodate this! Excellent academics(they also offer gifted education), after school clubs, and an administration that really listens to parents and cares about students.
—Submitted by a parent

Paragon Science Academy has been a blessing for my kids, my kids came from a highly academic private school, and it was hard to find a school to accommodate their needs both academically and socially. The environment inside the school is very safe and the teachers are exceptional, especially my son s second grade teacher, she is such a blessing. Overall the curriculum is challenging and there is no time for students left to feel board. I have to disagree with anyone who criticize the administration, as a new school, everyday is an improvement experience for the school, but the most important thing (as my personal experience), the principal s office is always open for any complains as well as compliments, he is such a great guy, who really listen very good and accommodate every student s needs. You can really feel the passion inside him towards getting this school to the best place he can take it, and I really like that his first priority is the student, not the teachers or the parents. It is definitely the best choice you will make for your child s future.
—Submitted by a parent

Mixed feelings. Our child would've wasted time at any other public school. Paragon's curriculum for the accl courses is one grade up for math & LA (use 1st grade Saxon Math, Spelling & grammar) - LA is mostly taught @ home & no reading in the classrms . Too much time spent doing worksts in and out of class w/ no multisensory and little creativity. Work seems meaningless and does not build appropriately. No discipline or character edu. No fieldtrips but disney movies on some fri ... 2 much HW, even in K, making it hard for other activities. dissappointed w/ the math curr. Had a bad experience w/ our teacher this year, stressed out and overworked it seems. Thinking about a school w/a more well-rounded edu and seasoned teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

I feel that my childern have a better opportunity to learn in this school . I have 2childern attending Paragoan Academy this year. I have been involved with two other charter schools and I must say, this one is the best. Paragoan Academy makes you feel welcome and they care about your child being successful . I have enjoyed being involved with Paragoan Academy.
—Submitted by a parent

From my experience with more than one kid attending this school in the past, I found out that the kids' learning depends on the teachers who teach the class. While quite a few teachers are wonderful, others are so uptight about their own ideas and what they think is right schooling. Unfortunately, in general, the teachers (encouraged by the administration and many parents at the school) assign too much HW to kids, often, this homework is meaningless and only serves to appease the parents and give the teachers contentment that they are teaching. Their main focus is on math. while I agree that math is important, a focus on humanities is important too. I liked that most kids were well behaved and that most teachers cared. Teachers that I have had experience with and that were wonderful include Ms Harper, Ms Clapham, Ms O'brien, Mr. Johnson, and Ms Rowley.
—Submitted by a parent

While I do agree with the previous parent that the administration could see some improvement. I have two children attending Paragon and all of their teachers update their websites daily and communication is excellent. One of my children has been on two field trips this year and there are two more planned. This school may not be for everyone, but my children are excelling and loving it.
—Submitted by a parent

i think i made a mistake sending my child here. He has been doing striaght A's and E's - i dont' think the material he gets is very challenging or builds appropraitely - a lot of meaningless busy work over and over - spelling and grammar ar entirely parent taught at home with 8 pgs of hw / a week for both plus 2 pages of math everyday - the cons repetition of the same stuff has caused him to lose curiosity or play with numbers he once had for math and science. i alsothink the teacher and classroom discipline is not satisfactory as i think the teachers have little experince or edu on child dev - Kyrene requires at elast a masters and 5+ yrs exp... i might try that.
—Submitted by a parent

I am starting to think I made a mistake by sending my child to this school. Yes, the school is very focused on academics but the management is extremely poor. Ever since Daisy Education left, this place has been a joke. The website always shows old information. Extremely poor management and no commincation with parents. You will have to call or email to find anything. They are always late when it comes to sending out information. No school buses so no field trips. If this continues I will have to pull out my child from this school.
—Submitted by a parent

Paragon Science Academy is a great school with a high focus on academics. My son attended Chandler Public Schools for K-3 and I have see a huge improvement since enrolling him. He loves the afterschool clubs that they offer, and has made lots of friends. The teachers are wonderful, and have established a great system of communication with the parents. I do have to say the communication from the administration is lacking. It seems that things take forever to get done, or its done last minute.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school with a high focus on academics. My daughter attended a Gilbert public school for Kindergarten and has been at Paragon for her 1st grade year and has shown vast improvement. The ratio of student to teacher is relatively comparable yet some how the performance at paragon is outstanding! My daughter used to complain regularly about being in school when in Gilbert and now I rarely hear her mention her lack of interest. They really challenge the students because I believe they understand more of their capabilities. I feel extremely fortunate to have it recommended to me.
—Submitted by a parent

My child loves this school and can wait to go each day. He is involve in clubs and they inspire him to want to excel even more! The fun events he loves as well. Top ratings in learning and grades too. Better than the private school we were attending.
—Submitted by a parent

My children attended this school last year. We did not return this year because we felt this school did a poor job of encouraging academic excellence and character development. The school stresses quantity over quality in both the homework and classwork assigned. The school has good test scores - but this could be due to the fact that the school spent two solid weeks (every class period) prior to the AIMS test reviewing for the test and taking practice AIMS tests. This is not a school that promotes higher thinking and a love of learning. It is a school more interested in its test scores than the sucess of the individual student.
—Submitted by a parent

This is the first year that we have our kid go to this school.School academics are excellent.They have after school free tutoring for individual needs.My kid loves after school clubs.They have yoga in after school club.This is one of the healthiest choice I think is wonderful for kids to learn at this age.My kid loves it.
—Submitted by a parent

This is the second year that we have had our children attending Paragon. The school is very specialized and individualized! The gifted program has challenged the children to find different ways of thinking and to be more creative. Beside math, English, social study and science, the regular curriculum also includes computer lab, art, PE, and music. The FREE after school clubs is an excellent program. It covers from sports (soccer) to art (drawing, sculpture, drama) to little kids favorite clubs to do (dance, Lego, puzzle, K nex, monopoly, games, sewing, chess ) to the challenge academic (spelling bee, geography, blender, yearbook, Spanish, Turkish, Ebru, Simcity). Each student is allowed to have two free clubs after school. This is the fastest way for new kids to make friends. It s true that the school is more intense academically (more homework) but the children love it. They learn and have fun at the same time.
—Submitted by a parent

its a great school we love it
—Submitted by a parent

Entering into it's second year, Paragon is living up to our expectations for education! They have increased enrollment, implemented a gifted program, and hired teachers who seem enthusiastic and ready to teach. Curriculum is intense if your child can handle it, advanced if that is where they are placed, and every parent I have spoken with feels their children excelled in academics last year. Administration needs some work, the front office is difficult at times. The principal is very fair and dedicated to improving the school. It's a friendly school, kids accept other kids easily, seems everyone gets along well.
—Submitted by a parent

I had three children attending Paragon last school year. We chose Paragon bassed on the low student-teacher ratios (about 22 students per class) and their emphasis on math an science. We were very dissapointed with the science program. My middle school students had little to no hands on lab time - lessons were taught only from the text book. While the math program is 'a year ahead' of the public schools it really only means that the 1st graders and using a 2nd grade text book, the 2nd graders are using a 3rd grade text book, etc. As other parents have stated, there is quite a bit of homework assigned (in the elementary grades) but I found that very little of it was meaningful. When I spoke with the teacher about this I was informed that the administration required this as a measure of the teacher's success. Very dissapointing overall!
—Submitted by a parent

I have 2 children who attended PSA last year, one in 3rd grade and one in 6th grade(middle school). The education each of my children received was better than any private school we have sent them to. The teachers challenged our children in all subject areas and exceeded our expectations in math and science. We have been involved in start up schools before and were a little apprehensive. But, every issue I personally brought to a teacher or the administration was dealt with fairly and in a timely manner. We enrolled, of course, for the next year and look forward to an even better year.
—Submitted by a parent

very good school, much better than public schools, we will return next year!
—Submitted by a parent