Kyrene de las Manitas School

Manitas does not provide a safe enviroment for the students. As another parent pointed out bullying is ignored. When brought to the attention of staff it is minimized. The best interest of the students is not priority. They claim to want parent involvement but once you become involved they want you to dissappear as they are not prepared for any controversy. If a student is struggling emotionally with events taking place at the school they want to blame it on the home life without merit. They will make concerns that you as a parent have seem made up and even go as far as to say maybe your child is lying or making things up. I would recommend any school over this one. Don't let the Kyrene name fool you. Unless your child is extremely gifted and popular this schoo, is not a healthy enviroment.
--Submitted by a parent

I have mixed feelings about Manitas. I respect my son's teacher. She cares and understand childrens needs and respects them.She is a great teacher and encourages individual growth and skills.Recess and lunch time does not have enough supervison. Bullying is overlooked and downplayed The PTO is a joke. They talk more about how much money they make for thier fund then they do about actually making a positive difference in the school and in the kids lives. One of of the ladies at the yearly festival opened some rides early for her kids and her friends kids only. The other kids who got thier early were ignored. Parent drop off and pick up is scary. I am surprised that someone hasn't lost a foot. Saftey issues are overlooked and the kids are hurting each other. Stomping on feet, pinching, name calling, punching, kicking and pushing. There is an atmosphere of apathy about it. Would love to see a more friendly inclusive attitude. Overall the teachers are good. I think the vice principal cares about the kids and the school. The principal is a good man who I think gets bullied by the snobby parents that have a sense of entitlement.
--Submitted by a parent

I have 3 childern that attended Manitas. My twins are in Kindergarten and youngest is in ELC. We absolutely LOVE IT the Kindergarten Teacher Mrs. Denham is awesome. She has made my child feel so special that she loves going to school everyday. The staff really looks for kids first not parents.
--Submitted by a parent

My childen have been with Manitas since pre-school; one is in 7th grade and my youngest in is 5th grade this year. I am very sad to leave Manitas it is a WONDERFUL school. I personally have been a parent volunteer and acitive in the PTO for years. Just like any other school the administration and teachers may change but the homey fell of the school has never change. I feel my children were very well cared for during their time at Manitas. I would highly recommend this school. It has the best Emergency Team (Mrs. Thomas and her team THANK YOU) in the Kyrene district.
--Submitted by a parent

Manitas is an excellent school! Not sure where the negative reviews are coming from, I supposed everyone is entitled to their opinion, and maybe others have had different experiences compared to ours. But our daughter went to Manitas from Kindergarten through 5th grade and my son has so far gone through 3rd grade and we've been extremely pleased. The administration is excellent and involved (both previous and current administrations), the office staff is helpful and friendly, and while each teacher we've had has had their own strengths and weaknesses, nearly all have been really excellent and caring teachers. I would strongly recommend Manitas for people looking for a great school for their kids! -- Involved Manitas parent for 6 years
--Submitted by a parent

Incompetent Faculty and staff. Unprofessional assistant principal and principal lacks guidance and direction.

I love Manitas. My daughter has been at Manitas since she was in pre-school. She is now in 5th grade. The teachers are dedicated and knowledgable. The technology beats other districts around hands down and the curriculum and resources are state of the art. Their emergency plans and dismissal procedures are very structured plus the teachers seem to work well together. To me this makes a great school. To the reviewer who said teachers pass that time, please do not lump all teachers together!!!! I have seen my daugters 6 teachers put in endless hours coming up with strategies and lessons to best teach each child. I moved from another state specifically because I did not want my child to attend their schools... even though the schools system got good ratings. I choose Manitas for my daughter and we love it!
--Submitted by a parent

Warning! parents this school is horrible the classes are over crowded and there is little to no one on one time with the kids. The staff seem to be passing the time and there is no indicator that they care about the kids at all!!!
--Submitted by a parent

My dealings with the Principal and Assistant Principal have proven them to be very immature in their dealings and not prone to making the hard decisions. They seem more concerned with making everyone happy, than taking care of problems when they arise, which might make them more effective, but unpopular with a handful of parents. The teachers I am familiar with, have been wonderful and the parent involvement seems typical; the same bunch of parents come to, and do, everything. Extracurricular activities seem the same as other schools, as does safety. However, proper discipline of children who have done wrong or misbehaved, is sorely lacking by the leadership of the school.
--Submitted by a parent

I LOVE Manitas, I was very frustrated with the AZ school system after leaving SABIS International and the Roosevelt School district. I took immediate action to move over to the Kyrene district and to my delight, I am 100% satisfied with the School, teachers, activities and academics. I am so glad to be at Manitas and my children love it too!
--Submitted by a parent