Canyon Del Oro High School

Has gone downhill drastically since the new principle came in. I am only keeping my child there for the excellent architecture program the friends she’s made. I may still pull her unfortunately.

This school was looking rundown before the renovation that began a year or two ago, but looks much better now. I do like most of the teachers, but I am not sure of others. Communication is poor and classes have too many students per teacher--making it very hard to judge how well the teachers are doing. Some kids do fine in this environment while others are left behind--like my child. I had to go pay a math tutor to get my child extra help because the math tutoring at school is suffering from too many kids and my child is only able to ask one question per session and the same happens in class. Unfortunately, BASIS is the only Charter High School nearby and Pusch Ridge $$$ the only private High School. Too bad, I know a lot of people who went to this School in the 1980's and did well.

The new International Baccalaureate program at Canyon Del Oro has proven to be extremely challenging for my child. He has seven challenging courses and is learning for the first time how to manage his time, which will benefit him greatly once he is in college. The IB teachers and counselor have been supportive and have responded immediately to my questions and concerns. It is difficult implementing a new program and I feel the teachers and administrators at CDO are open to feedback from parents and students. With a few minor adjustments , the International Baccalaureate program will be successful and will attract high achieving students from across the city. Most of the Phoenix Schools that offer an IB program have spent years perfecting their programs. I do feel that freshman students that are interested in the IB program should receive introductory seminars/classes on time management and research skills so when they enter the IB program as juniors, students are well prepared for success.

The new International Baccalaureate program is a disorganized joke. This program is no where near as great as the programs offered in Phoenix High Schools. The administration is impotent. The security staff discriminates against white students because they are mostly Hispanic. This is found throughout the campus but certainly in handling behavior, dress code, etc. The administration doesn't communicate with parents. Teachers are not required to post grades in a timely manner and don't care about student success. The only exception is Chris Yetman who is excellent in the math program.