7296 E 26th Pl
Yuma, AZ 85365

My son struggles in reading which is nothing we hadn't experienced before with another child with the same challenge. Although this time it was different. I found that he was not "himself" at school. The child that was being described to me was not the child I knew. Afterschool he would often seem withdrawn and it was always a struggle to get him to up for school...I thought it was because he wasn't a morning person. Something was wrong. I know the classroom is not for every child so I considered homeschooling to help him thrive, but a full-time job made that a difficult option. Then there was the light. The one that came from Desert Mesa School. We transferred him and over night he became to confident child. Eager to go to school and be on time. Fearless to put himself in front of crowds and showcase his abilities. I love Mrs. Baumgartner and her recognizing what my son needed, Mrs. Webb and her expertise in identifying his reading problems as well as putting this mom at ease, and Mrs. Garner for opening her classroom and bringing out the best in my son. I understand that every year may be different and reading may always be a challenge, but at Desert Mesa, my son felt wanted and there is no rating greater than that.

Issues with violence and a severe threat involving a gun were not handled by school officials aside from a short conversation to placate my concerns when I showed up at the school following the suggestion of law enforcement to speak with the Principal. No punishment was issued to the offending student. A theft of my student's property, which a teacher knew about and confirmed by saying that he saw my student's property put in a trash can by the thief, was dismissed with zero consequence for the thief. My student told me students were being bullied often and teachers overhear, yet do nothing. Neither my student, nor I, had any faith in the school staff's support of a student facing issues with another student. Grading in ParentVue always showed 0 missing assignments, but grading is extremely delayed, inaccurate or missing so parents and students never really know where they stand. The homework method is inconsistent, varying between handouts, Google Classroom, other apps, or a combination of many. This confused my student often. And some classes have so many coloring assignments required... not coloring to label things as an aide to learning, but actual meaningless coloring of cute little cartoon people or animals, and students get graded down for NOT coloring even if the worksheet answers are there and correct. Many teachers are trying to guide students by threatening, yelling, sarcasm and demeaning comments/behavior. They will punish the class as a whole instead of the select few students who cause their stress. My student has had increased anxiety over going to a few specific classes due to these teachers consistently displaying an inability to maintain their tempers from previously stressful class periods or personal life issues.Parent-Teacher conferences must be requested by the parent. Teachers literally showed ZERO interest or concern with my student who was struggling and never reached out to me. Parental access to Google Classroom was blocked, as well as using any outside computer, which I understand for technical security issues, but it made it difficult to follow along with my student's studies and assignments due. A few times, my student's final report card grade was posted before the major end-term assignments were even due to be turned in. I'm not sure if this is just the way of the world of education now, or if this is just CDMS. As a parent, my experience with this school has been frustrating, concerning and less-than-stellar.

bad is has ruined my childhood and blocked everything