James Madison Preparatory School

My son graduated in June of 2012 after attending JMPS since 7th grade. He had transitioned from a private Montessori school. We are so grateful to have found JMPS! Our son had an outstanding experience. He graduated as a well-rounded young adult, confident, intelligent and ready for college. At a time when most parents are dealing with typical teenage issues, we found the JMPS directors and staff really became exceptional mentors and role models. The balance of character development, strong academics and variety of extra-curricular activities cannot be matched. We especially appreciated the small class size and teachers that teach at the college-level. We highly recommend JMPS!
—Submitted by a parent

We have been part of JMPS for three years and I now have my three children enrolled here. Teachers and parents are caring, and students are the type you would want your child to be learning alongside. There are lots of extracurricular activities and opportunities for involvement. We are grateful for this alternative to our public schools. Small classes are a plus, and if you're looking for a place for your good child, this is it!
—Submitted by a parent

As my son prepares to graduate from JMPS, we look back and are so thankful we found this school for our daughter years ago! It has been a fantastic school for all of our children and for completely different reasons. Our oldest was an excellent student but didn't have any challenges and was completely shy. By the end of high school, she was confident and well educated to the point she had over $200,000 in scholarship offers over numerous top tier universities.She is now starting her Junior year as an honor student at PITT. My son has been accepted at 6 universities and has had an incredible experience at JMPS. He is a smart, kind and confident young man. All of my children have enjoyed a multitude of positive experiences by participating in the wide variety of extracurricular activities available to every student. The character expectations are high and create a wonderful environment for all students. Any conflicts are dealt with immediately and they want to communicate better with families. We as parents know we have a choice. We know we have made an excellent choice in choosing JMPS for all five of our children. This would be the best choice you could make for your child !
—Submitted by a parent

The atmosphere is conducive to learning. Students who have a hard time "fitting in" somewhere else usually fit in at James Madison Prep. The behavior and academic standards are high
—Submitted by a parent

Excellent school! I have found that the parents who are disgruntled and leave or the students that leave typically do so because they do not wish to comply with this school's high standard set for behavior. I have known parents that want to argue when their student violate dress code or get into trouble for violation of the code of conduct - I don't understand this as ALL parents and students are informed of this and expected to sign off on the school handbook! And then complain?? This is an awesome school and I'm so happy to be here - they care about me and my education! And they expect me to care too!! Thank you James Madison Staff
—Submitted by a student

We have two sons at James Madison, one who is graduating this year. This school has provided them with an 'old-fashioned' education that focuses on academics, but also has many opportunities for extracurrricular activities. Respect, honesty, and responsibility are just a few of the qualities that are nurtured in the students. This school may not be for those who are more in tune with popular culture, but it has met and WAY exceeded my family's expectations!!!
—Submitted by a parent

This is an excellent charter school. They offer a rigorous academic program that keeps my son busy. They offer many athletic opportunites throughout the year that my son can participate in. You can't have that in a larger, public school. He feels safe there, because they maintain a code of conduct. There have been students who have been expelled. There is a high level of respect for one another at the school, that the staff instills into the incoming 7th graders, and is expected from the students throughout their high school years there. You will not see this respect for others and to the teachers at other high schools. The school has PE as one of the daily classes, and opportunities for anyone to be involved in a musical or play. These are just some of the many unique aspects of this excellent school. You definitely need to attend their musical!
—Submitted by a parent

I m familiar with many charter schools in the valley and haven t found a school this small with so many activities. With about 150 students, this school s extra-curriculars include cross country, volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, track, soccer, softball, and baseball. There are also three school plays throughout the year, fencing club, A/V club, yearbook club, choir, drum line/color guard and strings. Many students participate in many activities at the same time. The school s philosophy is to allow every student to participate no try-outs or cuts. The teachers really care for the students not just for how the students behave in their classes, but for the students overall character development. If you are looking for a school that challenges and shapes, with good character development, this may be the right school for you. The curriculum is rigorous, but it is worth it for those students who can handle it.
—Submitted by a teacher

This venue is meant to be a review of the writer's experience (good and bad) with this school and slamming them is a symptom of what many find wrong with the school. One school doesn't necessarily fit all. The mentality endorsed at JMPS is that you must agree with everything they do as evidenced by signing a parent/child agreement at the beginning of the school year. Whatever happened to doint what was best for your child - even if that meant leaving JMPS? There have been some tremendous losses of very good students at this school. They have left for a variety of reasons - all valid for them. It is not a perfect school and most important - it's not perfect for all students. This parent would be most satisfied if the school was shut down - the scales have tipped and it is doing more harm than good.
—Submitted by a parent

Its so much better than the public schools. The students all feel accepted, they can participate in anything and the academics are great.

This is my son's second year at James Madison Prep. The first year was a bit overwhelming, which had to do with personal events that happened in our family. I am so pleased to say that this year he has learned to overcome a lot of obstacles in his life because of changing things as a family and the support and constant involvement at JMPS. I'm not sure why the other parents that wrote their reviews recently were upset with JMPS. The administration, staff, and student body as a whole are truly awesome! Perhaps, before complaining about certain institutions, we should all examine our jobs at home as parents? A lot of their 'education' starts at home. The school is another venue that either adds or subtracts from the whole experience! My husband and I found the discipline to be more than adequate. Our daughter will be attending next year!
—Submitted by a parent

James Madison is an excellent school for students who enjoy learning and parents who love being involved. We have had kids here for 7 years. We appreciate the high level of academics but also the amazing array of extracurricular activities. Our oldest son is very shy but became very involved in the high-quality plays and musicals which the school presents. This school, although very small, has a fencing club, a robotics team that travels nationally, and many other opportunities. I would add that many of the students here tend to be somewhat sheltered, including many from home-school environments. If that bothers you, this may not be an ideal school for you. James Madison is rather old-fashioned, but that suits us just fine!
—Submitted by a parent

Wow, Great Schools is really cool. I have been really appreciative of this site in the past as we searched for good schools when we first moved to Arizona, and we are really thankful that we found Madison Prep. Our child is always involved in lots of activities, and we believe that these activities and her schoolwork make up her education. Madison Prep is an amazing little school, where else can fewer than 200 kids have so many opportunities in and out of the classroom? The education is top notch, the staff and faculty are so helpful and they are clearly devoted to the mission of the school, the kids are polite and respectful. It is a great place. It looks like there are a few disappointed parents, but you can t please all the people all the time. I hope that they can find the perfect school for their child, or maybe they should start their own school, but Madison Prep is the perfect school for us!
—Submitted by a parent

I also was very disappointed in James Madison. We pulled our daughter after two years just like several other parents this last year.. It is a small school environment that trys to give the students some experience at everything. However, there is a cost. This is not a performing arts school and devoting so much class time (two weeks or more) to the play interupts the education of all students - even the ones not involved in the play. Extracurricular is supposed to be extra not in place of. Also, the quality of some of the teachers is less than satisfactory to us when our 9th grade student was correcting the teacher's errors during review of homework. And there are students that are given multiple chances to behave when others are disciplined immediately. They are not providing the education that they promised. It isn't good for all students.
—Submitted by a parent

Normally I wouldn t write in a comment, but the parent comment that I just read about Madison Prep really steams me because there are some things in it that I know are wrong and I don t think that that parent is very informed. I have not seen any decline in behavioral expectations at Madison Prep, and it has been true as long as my child has been at Madison that the behavioral expectations are very high. Having experienced the behavior at the public and private schools before coming to Madison, I have been very pleased with the friendliness, helpfulness, and respect that Madison kids show all the time. Also, teachers are very focused on providing help. There is study hall time every day, and my child has been able to get help from all teachers whenever it was needed. I spoke with one of the teachers who said that he is always available, but kids rarely ask him for help. Also, the musical is one of the greatest things that Madison does, no other small charter school puts on a play like the Madison plays, and the kids really love it. The whole school comes together and works hard on it for the last two weeks before they put it on. The principal calls it Education by another means , and that it definitely true. Last, about the test scores. From what I have read about the test scores in the paper, all test scores in Arizona went down because the special education kids now have their scores included with everybody else, and Madison s scores are way above the average. We really like Madison and we will continue to be big supporters!
—Submitted by a parent

I have been involved with this school for 3 years and am disappointed in the decline of behavioral expectations and test scores. The teachers are so focused on behavioral problems that they are not focused on teaching. This may not be everybody's experience but getting a teacher's help academically was like pulling teeth. Also, so much time is spent out of class on the musical that the students are not properly prepared for state testing like AIMS and TerraNova and so the scores went down.
—Submitted by a parent

This is my son's first year at JMPS. Coming from a homeschool environment, we were pleased with the small class sizes, concerned and loving teachers, and the emphasis on Integrity, Morals, Character, etc. My son is very shy and every single kid and teacher, I might add, made him feel welcome from day one! Now he's more than half-way through the year and even though it's been tough, he bugged me to get his re-enrollment for the Fall in ASAP! This says a lot. He's learning valuable lessons that he will be able to apply to his adult life. This is a great school to check out. No expensive private school fees but a 'private school' setting and all the perks too!
—Submitted by a parent

I am very happy with this school generally. I think my son is happy too.
—Submitted by a parent

James Madison offers a strong curriculum in an environment of integrity, respect, and high expectations. The administration and faculty know each student. They work hard to provide strong academic programs along with extracurricular activites supported by the staff and parental involvement, It is an extremely safe and supportive environment. Students feel valued and are well prepared for college, are independent thinkers with strong values.
—Submitted by a parent

This is by far one of the best schools I have ever been to and probably one of the top three schools in AZ, the discipline is great because almost always everyone gets caught for their wrongdoing. I don't even care about the dress code because everyone else is wearing the same thing so if they're judging you the're judging themselves. The small classes are terrific and the teachers are humorous, but don't mess around when it comes to getting the job done. This is my second year at the school and i hope to see four more following this one.
—Submitted by a student