Leading Edge Academy

I enlisted my child about nine months ago. He enjoyed the wonderful staff. But what do you know. A week in,I start hearing from him that this school started out nice,then slowly turned evil. The staff started showing there 'bad side'. He started to loose his grades. Slowly. slowly. gone. He was found that nothing could help him. Because the staff at the time started digging a hole,So to speak. There was no way for him to get out. I also found out that my son ended up getting mistreated. He then told me about what was happening. The teacher's at this LEA favored some students from the rest. Plus some of the teacher's began to grow 'Power hungry'. Like one teacher slowly started to race for the principal spot after the principal resigned. The LEA we went to was awful,It was deceiving because of all the nice things we saw on the site. I am highly disappointed. After one principal. They had a 'Replacement' that was a 'Fill in.' . Then finally they found a decent 'Principal'. I don't even want to enlist my child in the school this year. They need better staff. Most certainly. PS:I'm sorry if the is the wrong LEA.
--Submitted by a parent

The East Mesa campus is a lot like a small town - with the good and the bad. There are a lot of things that parents don't know, because they don't know they need to ask! If you are new, the office thinks that you are just going to pick it up, as you go along. You can feel alienated very easily. Any communication is broadcast to the parents (sort of) but if you want to know any details about what is going on, you have to go to the source. The secretary of a small school can be its nurturing heartbeat, but if you are not part of her "in-crowd" don't expect to be treated the same as a "favored parent". The school is good & teachers = great! The principal knows all the students by name and talks to them. Some parents are super-involved and some parents aren't involved at all; both of the extremes and the middle road, too. There isn't enough room to play on the playground, and this frustrates the parents. We have been told that the Leading Edge district is working on it, but ... district got the Gilbert school a new playground and we got a hand-me-down :( Makes us wonder what is really going on in the office, but as I am not in that "clique" I can't tell you what the real story is.
--Submitted by a parent

My three kids attended Leading Edge in Gilbert for the first time this school year. I have a K, 1st and 2nd grader. I found the teachers to be outstanding, they They have smaller classes sizes and communicate well with parents to help the kids achieve their highest potential. They use Spalding for their reading, writing and spelling curriculum which is an excellent phonics program. It has a family like atmosphere where the teachers seem to genuinely care for the kids.
--Submitted by a parent

The East Mesa campus is terrible to say the least. The playground is a parent cast off wooden play structure for up to 40 kids to play on at one time - or they have the option to play in the parking lot. Apparently the district office never had the okay from the building owner to even have a proper play ground installed. The teachers are not permitted to hang items on the walls and the campus is not cleaned well. Several times there are large amounts of kids out sick at the same time through out the year. The office administrator is mean spirited and unkind to the students, The 2nd grade teacher is the worst my child has ever had and chooses to communicate by yelling at the students. After having my child tested at another school we found that she was very much behind. The bullies run the school and are not disciplined. When discipline occurs its a whole class punishment - regardless if the child was misbehaving or not. Not all the teachers are certified, no Art , PE or other extra curricular activities to speak of. Their is a lack or organization and its starts from the top and works its way all the way down. I NEVER put a child at this school.

Ran into an on going issue with the teacher CONSTANTLY punishing the entire class for a couple kids bad behavior. Tried talking to both the principal and the teacher and nothing was done or even acknowledged in changing the way the discipline was being administered. My child was constantly frustrated and upset. No encouragement and no help with subjects. No thanks!
--Submitted by a parent

Leading Edge is the best school I have ever been at. The teachers go above and beyond to help us thrive. They also build relationships with us and get to know us so they can see what we need to succeed. All the students get along great.

We are absolutely THRILLED with Leading Edge Academy. We have all boys in our family and they are thriving!! The teachers are amazing and go WAY above and beyond for their students. The Principal and administration is really committed and involved with each student. We love it
--Submitted by a parent

This is my son's first year at LEA and i am very unhappy. From the beginning I had small issues here and there. They claim to be big on commuincation and character but the staff has no character and the communication is HORRIBLE. I recently 10/05/2010 pulled my child from the school and had the police called on my during the process. On 10/04/2010 My child was not allowed to leave school grounds because of the rain and yet noone called me. Ny son asked to call home and the office staff claimed that they had already called and they spoke to me. Long story cut short, it was determined that noone called me, but they did call some other parent to pick up my child based on the fact they didn't even know who my child was! Who is Peter? Not my son!
--Submitted by a parent

Three of our five children attend or have attended Leading Edge Academy. We moved our children from large public schools and must admit that there was a bit of culture shock that had to be overcome. We have had very positive experiences with all staff members, administrators and educators. Parents need to be prepared to be more involved with the education process at LEA... There is a good amount of homework and expectations are high. High expectations result in kids who surpass expectations. School is supposed to develop the mind of a child this school does exactly that... Check out the state records on performance... You will consistently see LEA at the top of every category.
--Submitted by a parent

This is my son's first year at Leading Edge Academy. When I moved to Gilbert I went to four different schools to find out which one I wanted my son to attend. Both my son and I were drawn to Leading Edge Academy. The principal gave us a tour and a description of the school. The student teacher ratio is awesome. My son is in Kindergarten this year and there are only 13 students in his class! The Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Lawson is fantastic with children. She has a master s degree in education and truly loves working with kindergarteners. Parent involvement is highly encouraged. Positive behavior is encouraged with positive reinforcement. One of the primary things emphasized within the school is good character. My son loves being rewarded for being nice to his friends, cleaning up after himself, and following directions. Most importantly, my son LOVES going to school!!!
--Submitted by a parent