Desert Valley Estates

Kindergarten through fifth grade was pretty good. Not going to count it against the school for Covid procedures, even though that was extremely miserable. However, sixth grade is an absolute nightmare! This is the year where they try to get the students prepared for middle school. What does that mean? That means that the kids are responsible for carrying around all their schoolwork and their backpack all day every day in folders in our responsible for keeping everything organized and turned in on time. I definitely support this! However, the lack of transparency to the students and to the parents for knowing what assignments are being given out, and when they are due is non existent. My son has been struggling all year to keep his grades above an F, which is never like him throughout all the years he’s been attending the school. To get me wrong, I have held my son accountable for his lack of accountability, talking to friends, simply not staying on task, but when I’m trying to work very closely with the teachers, it’s like pulling teeth to get answers from them. It is literally becoming a second full-time job trying to stay on top of everything school related on top of my regular 9 to 5. My son is confused, frustrated, to the point where he is in tears almost every night, and I can’t get a straight answer from any of the sixth grade teachers to figure out what we need to do.

My oldest has been with this school for 6 years now and we love it. They have started a new PTO which has gotten the whole school and community involved with fundraisers and events. Teachers and staff have been supportive with anything my child needs. Can’t wait to see how the school keeps improving with my second child who’s now in preschool.

NOT a SAFE school for ANY child or adult!!!!

I had three kids who attended this school. One of them for 8 years. The other two I pulled out because of the incompetence of the principal Ms Hood. She is the “mean girl” persona wrapped up into a principal. IEP’s are only followed if you stay on top of the teachers. Bullying? Be prepared to make multiple calls and complaints before anything is even addressed. It took getting her boss at district involved just to have our concerns addressed appropriately. I asked for my son to be evaluated by the school psychologist due to some concerns. However, Ms. Hood denied the evaluation and essentially forced me to withdraw my son and place him in another school. At one point, he would show up on a Monday for an hour, then be suspended again for the most minor thing. When I had a meeting to discuss these ongoing concerns, she literally laughed in my face then denied it. They have a high turn over rate for teachers and the education kids receive is almost none existent. If your child is struggling, don’t expect to be notified by their teacher. Out of all the years my kids attended, only a few teachers were worth mentioning and they all ended up leaving. There are better schools out there.