John S McCain III Elementary School

Sundance Elementary School in Buckeye has been a very disappointing experience. There appear to be ongoing issues with bullying, and teachers often seem to show favoritism toward certain students while blaming others without sufficient evidence. The administration, including both teachers and the principal, frequently places responsibility on students without fully investigating situations, and parents are often given inconsistent or inaccurate information. Communication with families is poor. If a child is bullied or physically harmed by another student, parents are not reliably informed about the incident.

My daughter has ADHD and was bullied repeatedly and while her teacher, the school counselor and her special education teacher did an amazing job making her feel safe and accommodating her needs it seems as if nothing made the behavior stop and the principal didn't seem interested in solutions to eliminate or decrease the behavior. I've also spoken to other parents with the same concerns. These kids bully each other with no consequences. After several attempts I finally got fed up and just switched schools.

Horrible school. They don't do anything about bullying. My daughter was scared and begged every morning not to go to school. She began acting out and crying so I contacted the teacher first and she said she hadn't noticed anything but I mentioned the bully's name and she just said "oh, yeah that student picks on a lot of other students". She basically told me oh yeah that's normal she'll be fine. I contacted the front office and that was no help. I tried contacting the principal and the ladies in front office said she was busy and she would call me back. I never received a call. Today is last day of school and my daughter came home to tell me her bully grabbed a handful of popcorn and dumped it on my daughter's hair. My daughter told on her teacher and she just told the girl to stop. It would've been nice if the parent were kept in the know. My daughter will not be returning to this school.

If you’re looking for a school for your child to be mistreated by students and teachers this is the place to put your child. Our great principal Marlene Bennison will treat your child like a criminal at any minor issue. She will conduct inappropriate searches without any type of consent of your child, and make threats. They will make you pay for field trips and any chance they get to take that away from your child, they will. The best part is you paid and it’s 100% NON REFUNDABLE. It’s ranked #600 in Arizona for a reason! PANTHER PRIDE!

This school is horrible i would NOT recommend your children to go here. The environment is TERRIBLE. Kids get bullied everyday and you know what they do nothing at all, they dont care for your childrens learning all they want is money from you and that’s all they don’t really care.

We came to this school halfway through last year after homeschooling because I truly believed there just wasn’t a school out there that would meet the standards I had for my kids. As a mom, that was incredibly important to me. I wanted somewhere my children would be safe, nurtured, challenged academically, and surrounded by people who genuinely care about them. I honestly didn’t think I would find all of that in one place, and boy was I wrong.From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed with open arms. The teachers and staff truly make you feel like family. It does not feel like just a school. It feels like a community where every child is known and cared for.Since being here, my children have absolutely thrived. Not only academically, but in their faith as well. Watching their confidence grow and seeing how excited they are about school has been such a gift as a parent. There has not been a single day they have come home without smiles on their faces.One of the things that stands out the most is the culture among the students. The kids genuinely care about each other, and it is beautiful to see the older grades helping and looking out for the younger ones. That kind of environment is rare and so special.I also love that there are so many opportunities for parents to be involved. Being able to volunteer and be part of what is happening at the school means I get to be present in my kids’ school experience, which means a lot to me as a mom.We had actually planned on eventually moving out of the city of Buckeye, but schools like this do not come around often. Finding a place like this has completely changed that for us. This school is something special and it is a big reason we plan on being here for the long haul.We are incredibly grateful to have found this school and to be part of such an amazing community.

As a student who went there. The school was personally bad until 8th grade year. Only few teachers in my time being there were amazing. The principal doesn't truly care for his students that go there when there a issues with bullying. It took years to deal with bullying with me. I think the school should do better than they've been to keep school fun. I am disappointed with how schooling is done there. I wish I could say better about that school but I can't. Only 4 teachers at that school made a difference in my life and I went to the school when it opened. Those 4 teachers were in my 8th grade year. I am very disappointed in the principal for not making school a safe environment mentally for students