Kiva Elementary School

Our two daughters attended Kiva after being at an exceptional elementary school in another state. Living in a town like Paradise Valley, I was thinking the elementary school would reflect its surroundings. What a disappointment. The school facilities are dated and dingy. The office staff, except for its Principal, are incredibly rude and act like it is an imposition to help you when you come in. Especially the blonde at the front, Candy. The worst. She has no business being the face of an elementary school. The teachers were OK, but we were alarmed to find during our parent/teacher conference with a third grade teacher that she did not realize what the kids were being sent home for homework after we asked a question about it, turning to the student teacher and saying, "oh, did we not cover that in class?" Yikes! That was the beginning of the end for us. And for many I am afraid as so many of the students now come from outside PV/Scottsdale. No community feel. Sorry to have to write this. Updating the school facilities should be their first step to turning this problem around.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been at Kiva for 4 years and it is a complicated story. The principal is wonderful. He is engaged and you can see that he truly loves these kids. Every teacher our child has had seems to be better than the last and the first was excellent. Now, having said that the class size makes the teacher's job impossible. Our daughter is in the "gifted" program and it takes her only 5 minutes to do her homework. To say the least she is uninspired. One neighbor has a child at Phoenix Country Day and the other at Basis on 32nd St. Their is no comparison between the experiences. Their classes stand at 15... ours are at 30. Kiva has the heart but not the legs to carry the weight of these oversized classes. We are more than likely going to Tesseract or Basis next year as Mohave looks even worse.
—Submitted by a parent

Scottsdale school district has many great schools from which to choose. As a concerned parent I took my time and chose Kiva, largely because I had heard that it had a strong parent/teacher community spirit. After four years at Kiva I can say that it truly does try to practice the values for which it stands. Bullying is not tolerated and as such, I appreciate the fact tthat the school takes a preventative approach to a problem that can arise in any school. From the Principal, to the dedicated teachers and strong parent volunteer group, I feel that there is a team approach to educating my two children. I can only speak for myself when I say that my children come home happy each day, and performing well academically. It is unfortunate that one reviewer had a negative experience with a Kiva parent, and I do understand how one experience can taint an overall impression. However, I wrote this reivew because I feel passionately about our school and the care/education it provides our children.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm not sure what happened with the previous review but I can say that it is very atypical of Kiva. One parent out of hundreds having a bad day is hardly an accurate reflection of the school. My child has attended Kiva for four years and we have been very pleased. The experience level of the teaching staff is very high and the community that supports the school is amazing. My child has experienced some life altering health challenges in their time at Kiva and the response of the staff and community to my child and our family has been incredible and humbling. The staff has shown a great commitment to my child's success both academically and socially. I cannot recommend this school highly enough.
—Submitted by a parent

I have had a wonderful experience at Kiva! I first met the principal to inquire about how boys learning styles are handled. Not only were all my questions answered with clear info about Kiva's teaching methods, but the principal then read the book and called me again to be sure I had all the answers that I needed. This was a fantastic first experience, and I have not been let down since. I have 2 boys, in K and 3rd. I have experience with the Gifted program as well. The teachers understand my boys as individuals. They are receptive to my concerns and ideas. The staff as a whole is terrific: well qualified, innovative, personable, and eager to assist me in whatever role I am serving be it Cub Scout coordinator to reader to library aide, etc. They care about my children! My boys are in wonderful hands and they learn daily about kindness, integrity, volunteerism and academics(KIVA) . As for bullying, thank goodness it is not tolerated and so it never needs to become an issue. Better to prevent it than have to deal with that ugliness!
—Submitted by a parent

Wow, what happened to Kiva? I grew up in Arizona, went to Arcadia High School following Hopi Elementary. Kiva, as well as Hopi, were extremely well reputed back in the 1970's. I visited Kiva today (3/21/2012) with my 5-year old son to inquire about kindergarten for the 2012-2012 year. The first thing I noticed was the huge "NO BULLYING" sign on the front gate. I have never, ever in my life ever seen such a thing elsewhere. This was red flag number 1. When I entered the office I encountered the rudest lady in years. I thought she worked there, but it turned out she was a parent of a child attending the school. Red flag number 2. When the office staff finally noticed my son and I standing there, I had already made up my mind that my son would never, ever set foot again on this school ground. The office staff was abrupt and rude. Wow, how Arizona schools have changed, and not for the better. Just my experience and opinion.

My daugther has gone to Kiva starting at Kindergarten. She is now in 5th grade and has had outstanding teachers for every grade. I truely feel she is prepared for what comes next in her life. The teachers and staff take their time to become part of my childs life and worked with her during some dark times in our family. I am always able to contact the Principal and Vice Principal. The office staff is warm and caring. The nurse and I are on first name basis. This is the right place for our kids.
—Submitted by a parent

Parent support and volunteers is what makes this school so great.
—Submitted by a parent

Kiva is a great school. My son started Kindergarten this year, and we have been welcomed with open arms. The faculty and staff are great, reaching out to meet and know all of the children as well as the parents, and very motivated to keep parents involved. During lunches they expect the children to have restaurant manners, and over-all you can feel the respect as soon as you step foot on campus. I am thrilled that my son is going here and am excited to grow with the Kiva family!
—Submitted by a parent

Kiva is a wonderful school! I have two boys at Kiva. I like Kiva as it is very welcoming to parents and kids. There are many parent volunteers, and it is a wonderful community. Also, the education is great. Most teachers teach to child's specific level in some way. They have pull out gifted program too, which works well. Also, even though Kiva is in the Scottsdale/PV area, I do not feel it has the same snobby/'plasticy' kind of feel that you may notice at times in Scottsdale. We have not had a problem with bullying, or heard about problems with their friends.
—Submitted by a parent

My son just finished kindergarten at Kiva and we couldn't be happier with his experience so far! He is now reading efficiently with the help of their emergent reader program. We highly recommend this school to anyone!
—Submitted by a parent

I am extremely concerned aboutthe bullying that has taken place at Kiva. My child cannot seem to get away from it! Everyday it is something different. 6th grade has been such a horrible experience for him.
—Submitted by a parent

We are seasonal residence to the state and I am so grateful we found Kiva, it was so much easier on my son going to a school he loves, the staff is friendly and helpful, his teacher was wonderful, there is alot of parent involement, it felt like a family. Thank Heaven for open enrollment and we could go to this could go to Kiva, even though we don't live close, it was worth the drive!!
—Submitted by a parent

My 2 boys attended this school for 3 years. We have lived in multiple states, and this is by farrrr theee besttt school regarding caring teachers, special ed program is amazing, it is small and personable. My children are also bi-racial, and never once did they experience any favoritism, racism or feeling left out. Rosa in the front office is priceless! The school is close knit and has an incredible Fair that the PTA puts together, and parent involvement is very high. This school is outstanding!
—Submitted by a parent

Bullying has become a problem at this school.
—Submitted by CL Snider, a parent

Three of my children attended Kiva Elementary School. It is a wonderful school with very caring teachers. The music and art program is also very good. They use the Accelerated Reader Program at Kiva, which is good for getting children to read a lot or more than with some programs. I also liked the math program they use. I did not like the fact that class size is large at least 28 in each of my children's classes. The children did not get as much individual attention as they could with smaller class size. I also wished that they offered a foreign language or at least Spanish.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter started attending Kiva in 2004 - we are so extremely happy with the teachers she has had for the past two years. She is currently enrolled in the 4/5 class and will have the same teacher for two years. We have had two wonderful teachers who know how to challenge her and raise the bar. We believe that she is getting a great education. They also have the PACT program in which my daughter particpates. The parental involvement is wonderful and the PTO does a great job of fundraising and helping to make up the budget where the school district falls short.
—Submitted by a parent

School has great programs and academics
—Submitted by a parent

Kiva has wonderful, professional, caring, dedicated, well-trained, hard-working teachers.My 1st grade daughter made huge improvements last school year in math, reading, spelling, and writing.Her teacher worked very close with her to improve and enhance her math facts skills, reading, writing, phonics, and vocabuary development.She also really enjoyed her art and music classes and teachers.She is looking forward to reading bigger chapter books and going on more trips in second grade.
—Submitted by a parent

Kiva is a very warm, loving and nurturing community of learning. I believe there is a real sense of what school is about and why education is so important to be a well rounded person. I love Kiva. This is my family and my home.
—Submitted by a teacher