Carthay Center Elementary School

I culminated last year. I had a great experience through kindergarten. I was president of student council last year. The teachers are great, and so are the kids in the school. The little kids are real involved with learning and in STAR most HYPE students help with homework and conflicts. (HYPE stands for Help Young People Exel).

We chose this school once it turned into an environmental magnet school since we own 2 Chevy Volts and care about the environmental impacts on our planet. However, from the beginning it was mismanaged, at best.
Children with IEP’s were disregarded for over 8 weeks after school began and court cases had to be filed to have services started for special needs children. Staff were more concerned about their jobs than the children. One after school staff member was terminated for voicing her concerns over a regular teacher forcing a child repeatedly to sit down. The principal yelled at children and failed to follow protocols. We donated iPads to the classroom and $$ to this school for supplies and books and projector lights, yet had to appear on a Board of Education TV show to bring attention to the issues at this school.
After our child, with a previous traumatic brain injury from a drunk driver, was beat up on the play ground by 4 kids no one contacted us!!! No one returned phone calls or ever responded to our questions. We felt it was our only alternative to remove our kids for their safety.
Every day was a challenge for parents and children with disabilities at this school. Staff will retaliate against parents who express concerns and meetings require being recorded to maintain any level of civility!!!
Reconsider all of your options before enrolling your child in this school.

We love this school!!! Our older daughter is now in 4^th grade and has been there since kindergarten. Every teacher she has had has been fantastic. Our younger daughter is in her second year, and has also had only good experiences with teachers. Both kids are testing way above grade level in reading, math, etc., but most importantly, they love going to school. They have so many friends there, many of whom live close by, so we are able to do playdates, etc.
The kids are at school from 8am to 6pm every day, thanks to the amazing Star afterschool program, which is FREE because of a grant for the first batch of students that sign up. The school is becoming an Environmental Studies Magnet in Fall 2014, building on its amazing Garden Science program, featuring its celebrated Garden of Possibilities.
Between the school programs and the afterschool programs, our kids get to do dance programs, music programs (our older daughter has performed several times at the House of Blues), art programs, science programs, engineering programs, foreign language experiences (nothing too deep yet but they are doing introductory Mandarin right now), etc. And the families are really nice, also, and very diverse. It’s such a nice, warm, welcoming community. We love it. And it’s free. And walking distance. What else could you ask for???
P. S. A better website for the school is
or
— goes to the same site.
P. P. S. There is a fun blog by a cute mom at the school: