Cheatham Elementary School

This school is AWESOME!!!!!!!! my child's learning has extremely improved. Staff/teachers are very helpful. All my children will attend this school.
—Submitted by a parent

Correction - the school is not performing - it's performing plus and actually had enough points to be excelling last year. The only thing that kept them from being excelling was that there weren't enough students exceeding the standards. The teachers have done a great job improving academics at this school.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is not a top scoring school. It is labeled "performing" by the Arizona department of Education. Which means many of the students are just barely meeting the expectations set up by AIMS. A "top scoring" school would be labeled as "excelling".

The unfortunate thing about this site is that the only people who review it are embittered parents who did't get their way or teachers who weren't allowed to skate by like they do at other schools. Cheatham was a mess several years ago, but the current principal has completely turned the school around. It is now one of the top scoring schools feeding into the Phoenix Union High School District. For doing such a great job, the princpal, Mr. Winters, was recently named one of only nine Rodel Exemplary Principals in the state! Rodel has selected him out of hundreds of principals to mentor future principals on how to do it right. I'm proud to live in Laveen. It's a great district with six great schools!

there's a lot of fighting, bullying & teachers don't seem to care or stop the bullying. There is a school uniform. But what I have noticed its not really enforced. Girls show up with short shorts, spandex pants. some students do not listen to the teachers.parents are not involved. I wish that the younger sudents would have shade during recess. Poor kids its so hot in the summer.
—Submitted by a parent

my child has learned nothing in this school
—Submitted by a parent

My two daughters attended Cheatham since 2006. In 2006 this school had severe issues. (students fighting, parents fighting, inadequate teachers) However, since then they have a new Prinicpal. He has done an excellent job in providing leadership and support to his teachers and students. The students respect him and therefore he is able to make change. I have had a few issues in the past years with different things, each time I addressed it with the teacher and the principal, and each time it was resolved timely. I feel satisfied with the education they are receiving, a few classes are at a ratio that is too high.They have began to have many extra ciricular programs, 'Lady Cheetah's' great for 6th, 7th & 8th grade girls self esteem! Thank you Mr. Winters for making change.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been to this school since it opened. It has lots of ups & downs just like any school. I can say the staff has improved since they open. I hope they continue to focus on building a strong & dedicated staff. The ratio students vs teachers in each classroom could be a little lower.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has potential to be a great school. My child has been going to this school for 2 years. The first year he struggled greatly. The work he used to come home with has depressing. He would come home with vocabulary tests that had almost every word misspelled. As a grade he would get a sticker of great job on his paper... It would leave me wondering how the instructor was teaching... and who was really grading his work? I spend the whole year supplementing his work at home. On his 2nd year there he as has improved dramatically. He was lucky to be placed with a teacher that has been teaching for more than 30 years and really cares. He brings home perfect grades. I believe the difference is in the instructors... If a teacher is genuinally interested in teaching it makes all the difference...
—Submitted by a parent

there are lots of fights going on at school.. my daughter always comes saying, ''oh my god there was a big fight at school today!'' taking it like it was so awsome! maybe you should put more playground equipment or opther stuff to keep them busy during recess to prevent future fights....
—Submitted by a parent

This is the best school ever!!!!!!!!!!
—Submitted by a student

My child has been going to Cheatham for the past two years. There have been a lot of changes but she loves it. The teachers she had were very experianced and dedicated. She has made a lot of friends and she had above average scores on her AIMs tests. It is great to see Cheatham is a performing school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a former employee of Cheatham Elementary School. I worked year one and so much has impropved. Parental involvement was the number one problem at Cheatham. Many of complaints the parents have can be easily resolved with parents contacting teachers, visiting the classrooms and taking part in their child's education. Teachers cannot do it all on their own. A teacher has 32 students and time is limited. Step in and make a difference.
—Submitted by a teacher

My two children have attended Cheatham for 3 years. Durring the first year of the school, they said it was fun and wanted to go next year. Durring the laast year (2007) everyday they complained about the kids, teachers, and lack of playground equiptment. My oldest daughter had come to me everyday telling me about the kids. A lot of kids were picking on her and the teachers had done nothing about it. They had called her horrible names, the same with my youngest. My husband had gone down to talk to the princaple twice. And the princaple had done nothing about the kid(s). (Which made him really mad). So this year I'm taking them to Vista Del Sur which will be a traditional school.
—Submitted by a parent

Relocated from California 1 1/2 years ago and have been frustrated and disappointed with Cheatham. My daughter attended 1st grade and half of Kindergarten there and I was not impressed what so ever. I don't know what the other parents see that I don't that and have left positive comments. Arizona is already behind in terms of money the state pays for each child. The test scores here are abysmal and there is no Administrative leadership at all. My children will be going to a private school 11 miles east this year. To bad the good teachers leave every year due to the lack of support from the leadership, no organization, and budget issues. I would not recommend this school at all.
—Submitted by a parent

My son started going to this school at the beginning of his 1st grade year. I loved it. I wanted him to go to a school that was diversified and Cheatham is just that.
—Submitted by Teresa Slater, a parent

We relocated to Cheatham in Nov. 2006. My daughter loves the school, her new friends and especially her teacher. The teachers and school need to communicate with parents better and more parents need to get involved. This area is growing fast and there are bound to be some bumps along the way, but I can see that this school has the potential to be great. I think the school needs a strong, experienced, organized principal to come in and help turn the school around.
—Submitted by a parent

I was very disappointed that Kinder was only half day, 2.5 hrs a day. Not enough time in my opinion. The teachers are very caring, though. I feel that the school is on the right track. Overall, I am happy with Cheatham Elementary. My son likes his teacher and is doing well. The teachers send a lot of activities home with my son, which I like because I can work with him, too. I would like to see more after school programs offered.
—Submitted by a parent

My kids attended Cheatham for 3yrs.We are moving,and sad to be leaving this school.I was PTA pres. for 2yrs and worked in the office for 8mths. This is a great school. The teachers and staff work very hard and do a great job considering the large class sizes, which will drop when the new schools open. I was sad to read some of the other reviews...Every school has issues but lack of parental involvement directly affects how many fun extras the school can provide. The parents complaining the most are least involved. There are dedicated volunteers and PTA members that organize every event and fund raiser. Staff members work hard to communicate and maintain order, but parents need to put some responsibility with the students. Good behavior should be taught at home. If my 1st grader can bring home notes and play nice, so can the older kids. Please get involved!
—Submitted by a parent

For a newer school and the many bugs they had to work out I can see real growth and potential with this school. Within my child's 2 years there he has had great teachers and good interaction with students and staff. I follow state goals and grade expectations, and I feel the school is doing a adequate job (where they may lack I take it upon myself to step in). With more parental involvement and community support this school has the possibility to be great. This school has music, art, P.E. and other programs available that are being cut out at other districts. My feeling is that the school can only be as good as the effort but forth by all parties so my suggestion to parents or future student parents is get involved in your child's education.
—Submitted by a parent