All Saints Catholic School

I must say I am surprised by the negative comments in the past year, they do not seem to reflect the reality that I am seeing with my own eyes. I must assume some of them are motivated by personal grudges against the new leadership of the school or by a professional desire to tar a private school with poor comments. This has been the first year the students have been administered the Iowa Basics tests and from what I can tell in conversations with other parents they reading and performing tasks at least a grade level higher than their contemporaries in Arizona public schools. In my conversations with relatives who have their children in Sierra Vista Public schools I can usually count on my child being at least a year ahead of their contemporaries. More importantly the students are well behaved, well mannered, courteous, well groomed, and respect authority which CANNOT be said of the SVPSD students. In my opinion Sierra Vista has many schools that are under performing, but All Saints is not one of them. One complaint is that ASCS is out of the way and not the easiest place to travel to, but it is well worth the extra drive in the morning.
—Submitted by a parent

We have had our child at this school for the past several years and have been VERY pleased with the results. The reading standards are far above what we would expect to see in the local public schools which face severe challenges. The school continues to improve with the new leadership after the previous principal was forced to leave after having damaged the school significantly. The children are well behaved, are quickly learning, and display the discipline we would not expect in a teachers union led school. The teachers have been able to maintain high standards even though there has been a good deal of turnover over the past two years. I suspect many of them prefer to teach at ASCS due to disciplined students willing and eager to learn in comparison to the local public schools despite the fact the public schools ability to pay more. We hope the school is able to field a high school level capability in the next several years so we will not be forced to place our child in Buena with all its attendant problems.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the previous post, teacher turnover is very bad at this school, and it has caused grades to plummet, frustration, anxiety, and fear. I had enough, and removed my child before she was so far behind, she would never catch up. This school has lost many students over the last few years, and they are still leaving. If this school even has 80 students, I would be very, very surprised.
—Submitted by a parent

Avoid this school, teacher turnover is horrible, and has affected the morale of the few remaining students. I could go on about many other things that have happened, but why bother, the bottom line is, in my opinion, there are much better schools in this city that are no cost to the parents.
—Submitted by a parent

The previous poster must work at the school, as this is no way reality. If you want to save your child a lot of grief, heartache, etc., try another school. The principal of this school, has gotten rid of every single teacher that was at the school when she came, and some of these teachers were excellent. When the current principal came to the school, two of the teachers were male, and had been at the school for many years, now they are both gone, and there are no male teachers at this school. Another bad sign is the constant teacher turnover, for instance, the 7th and 8th grade class, is on it's third teacher in less than a year and a half, what is going on here? Enrollment is declining, and more will probably leave after Christmas, something is not quite right at this school. The previous principal was a much better principal, extremely fair and compassionate, and talked to you, instead of down to you, and if you happened to disagree with him, he would still look at your point of view, instead of acting like a petulant child, taking their marbles and going home. I have lived here for 40 years, this is the worst school I have ever encountered, to bad one person did all this damage.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been at this school for three years now after transferring from a SV public school. What I can tell you is we have awesome teachers, staff and Sr. Carol rocks. We came in a grade level behind after public school and made up two grade levels with the caring and devotions of the teachers at ASCS. Sr. Carol hugs my daughter every day and cares personally for her happiness as for every students there. The parents are involved and the kids are well behaved. If your child does not succeed with the small class size and one on one interactions then you as a parent must not be involved at all at home. I work full time as does my husband and I know my money spent is worth every dollar guaranteeing my daughter can qualify for college in a state that puts education last!
—Submitted by a parent

The current Principal hasn't got a clue how to run a school, and should be retired. We tried it out to see if the school lived up to all the claims that were being made, and as soon as the first quarter ends, we are moving our child. I have overheard other parents complaining, and I can see this school will be losing more and more students. In my opinion, any public school in Cochise County is better than this school, if only I had known, I never would have put my child through this horrible experience.
—Submitted by a parent

I wonder if they still have one teacher for every two grades (i.e. single teacher for 1st and 2nd, etc...). This situation saved $, but made for a miserable school year!! My suggestion .... If you can get a better public education for free - Why would you pay tuition for less?
—Submitted by a teacher

The new principal is excellent and is moving the school in the right direction. Atmosphere is positive, organized, and directed. The parish and pastor are now fully supportive. Most teachers are very good, but they need to fill a couple of key positions with stable higher performing teachers. My daughter is happy, appropropriately challenged by the work, and is thriving. It is wonderful to have a solid catholic school in our community.
—Submitted by a parent

I don't know if the previous review wasfrom an actual parent. The reason why the school attendance dropped was because of the old principal. Sister Carol treats everyone equally and this is by far the best school I have seen in Sierra Vista. All schools have fund raisers. The children in the school are very well mannered and the parent involvement is amazing. If you want the best education in a nurturing environment that helps children to grow and develop to the best of their potential, this is the school to be at.
—Submitted by a parent

All Saints Catholic School has grades Preschool-8th grade. It is a great, family atmosphere school. The teachers are very enthusiastic and interact well with the students and with the parents. The school is Catholic and one knows it upon entering the school grounds. There is tuition assistance available so all students of any economic background are able to attend.

As a parent new to this school, I was hesitant to enroll my child, due to some bad press the school received within the last two years. Change was needed, and amazing change has come with the arrival of Sister Carol. Sister is demonstrating the type of visionary leadership All Saints school needed. She has yet to say no to anything that has been suggested to her, responding always with " How can I make that happen." The staff I have witnessed are professional, classes are small, there are fantastic materials and supplies, the building is new, and the children are well disciplined. What more could a parent want? The school is expensive, but I have been told assistance is available.
—Submitted by a parent

With the exodus of the principal,secretary and several outstanding teachers, the quality and the family-like feeling of the school is gone. The enrollment of children is way down, I don't know how the school will be able to afford the staff. Hopefully, the school can rebound,because it is the only Catholic school in town.
—Submitted by a parent

ALthough there have been many changes at ASCS, they are all for the better. My son has attended since Kindergarden and was doing 4th grade work for most of 3rd grade. There are some fantastic teachers there now and a new principal who is a nun. If a Christian environment, family atmosphere and better-than-public academics is for you, check it out. There is tuition assistance for nearly everyone.
—Submitted by a parent

I know this school is great. The old principal left near the end of the school year in 2011. The Tucson Diosese hired a Nun as the new principal, Sister Carol. She has been a principal at Catholic Schools in the past and has been teaching for many years, most recently in Hawaii. Even before the change in administration our daughter improved in her grades compared to being in public school. The classes are small and she gets individual attention.
—Submitted by a parent

All Saints Catholic School is wonderful. The tuition assistance is great. More than 75% of the student body receives tuition assistance. Parents are encouraged to participate in the fund raising events and to provide suggestions.
—Submitted by a parent

All Saints Catholic School has suffered quite a bit throughout the past three years. With the departure of the principal and the administrative assistant brighter days are here. The mood of the school has already improved and the new principal, a Catholic sister from Hawaii with tons of experience, will soon be in place. Now is the time for new students to come in and for students who left during the past three years to return.
—Submitted by a parent

Unfortunately, with the new principal came a lack of good leadership and unfair treatment of some very good teachers. It's a shame! My kids went there for years. It was a strong, positive environment until a couple years ago. Many lovely children and families have chose to leave due to the new principal. Very unprofessional administration. For those who believe everything is ok, look very carefully please!.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school in the past. Declining enroll and increased mid-year tuition not a good sign.

This is a very unsatisfactory school. The lack of enthusiasm to assist parents and children is very disappointing considering the tuition amount. They seem to allow personal business (or drama) and have it interfere with their professional performance. They do have a lot of involvement of other parents, though.
—Submitted by a parent