Biltmore Preparatory Academy

The school doesn't exist. It's a vacant lot.

My son is on the spectrum (high functioning). I made it clear to them of this prior to school starting, I asked to get an IEP meeting or at-least to meet/speak the team prior to school starting. That never happened. I did not meet the SPED teacher until 2 weeks after school starting (I met her by coincidence as she was at the gate greeting kids). I asked 2 times for a meeting after. Nothing has happened since school started. I have received several updates on my son’s behavior (which I understand) but when I question them what leads to my son behaving as such THEY NEVER KNOW! I can never get a straight forward answer to my questions. My son since starting school has started to urinte on himself again. He has not had an accident since getting potty trained. He has started to elope since starting school and has been attached to me more than usual. They got in contact with his preschool teacher to see if he had these behaviors in preschool, she stated he did not have these behaviors which is why he graduated from SPED PRE-K. They keep saying they don’t know why he is behaving this way.Fast fwd to today, I am bot sure what happened but he ended up “punching” a teacher. The teacher pulled me inside the classroom to tell me about the incident and tell me he was getting a referral for hitting the teacher (who is pregnant) & stated the teacher cannot be around my son anymore. I questioned what led to this incident and of course the led to ‘WE DON’T KNOW’. How can they do a referral w/o knowing what led to such behavior.The teacher he “punched” is the assistant for his home room teacher. So my question is if the teacher can’t be around him.. are they removing her from class or my son?I’d like to add that the FEW times I have had the chance to speak to the SPED teacher.. all she did was basically COMPLAIN and made it seem like my son was an inconvenience for her. Her tone of voice was always as though she was annoyed. I think she should reconsider her career. YOU ARE A SPED TEACHER AND YOU ARE GOING TO COME ACROSS SO MANY DIFFERENT KIDDOS WITH DIFFERENT BEHAVIORS AND NECESSITIES!! I am removing my kid from this school. I would steer clear from them if your kiddos are needing extra help. They do NOT help. They make everything worse.

Review of Tavan Elementary SchoolI want to share my experience with Tavan Elementary School, which is often regarded as one of the top public schools in Arizona. Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing. Despite high expectations, the support for students was severely lacking. My son faced unhelpful and even aggressive behavior from the principal, and the assistant principal’s response was often limited to issuing suspensions rather than providing genuine support. The social worker, who should have been a source of help, instead contributed to the issue by not engaging effectively and simply escorting him to the office.In contrast, after we withdrew him and enrolled him in a new school, the difference was night and day. He is thriving, and the environment is supportive, friendly, and understanding. There have been no issues, and he is flourishing academically and socially. This contrast highlights how vital proper support and communication are for students.In summary, while Tavan Elementary may have a good reputation, our experience shows that there are significant areas for improvement in how they support and treat their students.

This is an amazing school and community. Saint Thomas offers a challenging academic curriculum which prepared my children for Brophy, Xavier and beyond. The school community is warm and welcoming which was such a blessing for my family as we were new to Phoenix. The school leadership is top notch!

Be forewarned, in disputes or disagreements, administration always takes the side of staff or teachers over students and parents. There is zero space for discussion or questions. The tone is sit down, be quiet and do what you are told, because there is a long waiting list. You and your child are replaceable. In fact, during a leadership and National Junior Honor Society seminar last year, the Principal told the students that the least favorite part of his job is the parents. If you are working to create a collegial atmosphere between parents, students and staff; this is not the way to do it. And if you are trying to undermine parent relationships with their own children, job well done! As far as managing disputes between children and teachers, kids as young as ten are expected to resolve directly with teachers, despite the power inequity between adults and children. This creates an environment that is ripe for abuse and our child suffered from several gaslighting type events by teachers and administrators. When we brought up concerns, we were simply told we were wrong, period. This created an environment where our daughter never wanted to talk to teachers about issues, and neither did we. In summary, if you want to partner with a school on your child’s education and well being, this isn’t the school for you. Please note, I am incredibly sad to be writing this review, because there are several exceptional teachers at CLS and the Pastoral staff is loving and kind.