Ponderosa Elementary School

A deeply disappointing experience at Chaparral Elementary SY 2023-2024.I truly regret not withdrawing my son from this school sooner. He previously attended A Step Ahead Preschool, where he thrived—he was excited to go every day and approached learning with enthusiasm and confidence. Unfortunately, that all changed after enrolling at Chaparral.From the start, we noticed a significant decline in his enthusiasm for school. He became withdrawn and less confident when faced with new learning tasks. The most distressing incident, however, was when my wife picked him up from school and discovered he had been left in soiled clothing after an accident. Our son had peed his pants—a first for him, ever—and despite asking his teacher for a change of clothes, he was left in the same state for the rest of the school day. This level of neglect is inexcusable.When we raised the issue with the principal, she acknowledged that the situation was unacceptable and called it a "red flag." We then arranged a meeting with her and the teacher, but the meeting itself only further highlighted the school's lack of professionalism. The teacher arrived late, and we were told we had only 15 minutes to speak. Rather than addressing our concerns, the conversation was steered toward complaints about our child. They completely disregarded the fact that, just the day before, we had to pick him up early after the school nurse informed us he had been injured when another child picked him up and dropped him—resulting in him hitting his head on the floor.The leadership at this school is seriously lacking. The principal does not appear to be a neutral, empathetic, or effective advocate for students or their families. While I want to believe that there are good teachers at Chaparral, the one assigned to our son showed a troubling lack of care and basic responsibility.I hope our experience serves as a cautionary tale for other parents. We want our children to feel safe, supported, and seen—and sadly, Chaparral failed on all counts.

I absolutely LOVE how this school treats both my boys. 1 of my boys is in their special education program & they treat my son with thee most love & care I’ve ever seen a school treat him. My Nui for the first time in his life truly looks forward to going to school every day, it’s amazing. With in 1yr they have changed both my sons lives for the better. I’ve never seen a school go above & beyond like Hunter Elementary. Even the principal is by far the best principal I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. His attention to detail, & his daily attention to every single child, is above & beyond, he is on a level unseen in any school district I’ve ever seen across this beautiful nation. They also do keep all entrances to the school locked, forcing all who choose to enter, to enter through the front office. I do love their security protocols. But I do wish they had an armed guard, or the teachers where armed, but that’s just cuz children are precious & deserve more protection then politicians. Anyways, ya, absolutely love Hunter & all of the teachers & principal that makes this school the best in the nation in my opinion. Love them. The Royal’s will always support them as they support the kids in everything academic, as well as for the wellbeing of their day to day existence.

Love this school and neighborhood. Paramount usually has a police presence and the children feel safe there. It’s in the middle of the paramount subdivision which is a super safe neighborhood as well. Neighbors always looking out for children. The school counselor and principal are great - so sweet and helpful.

Our daughter started at this school in 3rd grade and fit in well. Great teacher to student ratio. Pure education, no social justice indoctrination like you see at some public schools. Excellent caring teachers and staff is very supportive to the needs of the students. After 3 years at Challenger, we can strongly recommend it to any parents that want an excellent core education for their child. Students here are more advanced in their academics than many public and private schools. We have been very pleased with the school and would highly recommend it. The only drawback is the cost of the school is on the higher end for a private school in the treasure valley, but it is worth the expat cost in my opinion