The Most Scrumptious Middle Schools & High Schools in Tucson

Sonoran Science Academy - East

"If I could choose no stars, I would... There's about 20-30 students to a teacher, a mice problem the principal laughs off, mold issues (probably due to the garbage that collects inside until you can no longer walk past it in the hall), and their physical education is basically letting the kids run around in the parking lot. This place needs to be shut down, and I will forever feel extreme guilt for exposing my child to this trauma."

Sonoran Science Academy

"I have had two students in this school and really love it. It's a small school so my kids have received a lot of personal care. After a year or two the teachers feel like family.BTW, regarding the photo in the previous post: That disturbing image was NOT taken in an SSA bathroom!"

Mountain Rose Academy - Charter School

"Mountain Rose is awesome location on the Northside for students that need to graduate early or on time. Haley the principal puts her heart into helping kids graduate. Rick the Assistant Principal also goes the extra mile. I'd encourage any parent or student to go for a tour. The facility is brand new, the computers are high tech and students can work at their own pace with help. I couldn't say enough about the staff. It's the real deal when other schools have dropped the ball."

Tucson Country Day School

"Couldn't be happier with the staff, faculty, and teachers at this school. They do a great job of including parents and teaching children valuable lessons outside of just the book stuff. Would highly recommend."

Edge High School - Himmel Park

"The Northwest campus has been home to my daughter for the last 2.5 years. I cannot say enough good things about this school. The teachers have been amazing! She finished up her senior year earlier than expected, and still the teachers and staff email her to check in and see how she is doing. They TRULY care about their students. I could go on forever with all the praises I have for them."

Legacy Traditional School - East Tucson

"Legacy is an amazing school and pushes kids to excel. When there are issues I am notified immediately to work on them with the schools. I have never since the school opened had anything negative happen with the teachers or the principles. They do expect kids to be respectful and obedient something missing in todays kids most of the time. Its a great education and coming from Texas that high as a high education its been great."

Ironwood Ridge High School

"Football!!!! Great high school with wonderful teachers who offer a lot of help for the kids if they are struggling. The football program is A plus plus....if your son is good and you are looking for a program that has a top notch coach that will help your son get into college then this is the school for you!"

Carden of Tucson, Inc

"It is our first year at Carden, but so far we really like it! The class sizes are super small, which is great. The teachers seem caring and competent. The administration knows everyone which makes the campus feel really safe. They Do a good job of organizing pick up and drop off. The homework amount is appropriate, not overwhelming."

Legacy Traditional School - Northwest Tucson

"A step up in quality education here in Tucson. They hold the children to a high standard and give you the parents the tools to help meet this goal. With high tech interfacing and up to date emails your child's homework assignments and science project due dates are just a click away!Why no fifth star?! Sigh, the lack of bus system really hamstrings this high speed/modern school. They have an acceptable pickup system, but by all that is holy, I pray for a bus system."

Academy Del Sol

"I wish I could give this school a 5 star seeing as my son goes here. However this may be his last tear at this school and here is why: ADS is participating in the AZ Merit testing metric system and they are failing at it drastically and it is not at the fault of the teachers but the testing is extremely difficult to pass. When a teacher says that your child got a D on the exam and this was one of the highest grades then something is wrong! I am involved in my son's school and went and spoke with each teacher and there was a consensus is that all the students are failing- how can the school continue to allow their students to FAIL! I am an extremely concerned parent that feels that this school is allowing our children to fail and this could drastically effect their future! The school grounds are nice and the uniform is extremely formal with blazer and tie. However again the fall at organizing the physical education class around this. In the summer months when it was 100°+ outside they had pants and a long sleeve collar shirt they participated in. Then there was an incident that occurred at the school that involved the sheriff's presence that parents we're given very little information about. And the most recent situation that occurred was a fire /gas scent incident that forced an evacuation of the school. Which I'm glad they did and they informed the parents via email. What they failed to mention is that this evacuation occurred and our children were outside in the rain! They failed to let us know that our children were soak and wet in December on one of the coldest days! The only way parents knew was if the child chose to call to get clothes brought to them. The only reason I gave 2 stars and not 1 is because I love the teachers! But they need to get organized and quick or we will be looking for another school."

Southgate Academy

"This school has some very passionate people working there who genuinely who the extra mile for your the children. The newly built highschool was beautiful and fresh when they opened it as well."

La Paloma Academy

"My son has been going to LPA for 5 years now. I give this school a 1 star because the majority of his teachers have been absolutely phonemnal and helped my son evolve into the young brilliant child he is today.  However the leadership at this school from principal ewald is absolutely HORRIBLE which is why it does NOT have 5 stars. Principal ewald will ALWAYS point the finger and play the blame game on everyone else except for who really needs to accept responsibility for the actions that were taken place.  He talks down to the parents with his huge ego and is very combative which is unprofessional.  His inability to effectively communicate/confront parents makes him a poor principal. I have no respect for him because of how he handles school issues but I do like the majority of the teachers at the school.  So since he isn't teaching my child I'll continue to keep my son at this school but be aware of this horrible leadership.UPDATE (8.3.18): I removed my son from this school after finding out the school was having the students pick up bloody bandaids/broken glass/and other trash around the outside campus during the after school program. They were teaching the kids it was everyone's responsibility to clean the community & didnt give them the proper tools to protect themselves or acknowledge the parents. The school is being cheap & trying to cut corners when this is something the janitor should be doing. This is child labor! No one at school could give us a clear answer & refused to pick up the phone after hanging up on us. This is one of the SEVERAL issues your child will encounter if you decide to enroll them at LPA. Also ask them about the "red circle game" where the PE teacher is allowed to throw footballs, basketballs, & soccerballs at the children as they walk around the basketball court & they have to catch it or be injured & NOT allowed to throw it back at the PE teacher. The PE teacher calls this game an evasion sport. More like target practice for him. They switched out the balls with rubber balls when the authorities showed up. This is one of the many dishonest actions that will never settle right with me with how this school handles issues to cover up mistakes. So for your childs safety do NOT enroll them to this school."

Kino Learning Center

"I'm a Kino high school graduate class of '94. Ahh that was a great year. Some of the best memories of music, movies and lost love. And the backdrop of it was this alternative K-12 school, which back then had the motto "Preparing kids for the year 2000." I went to Kino in '86 and again for my 4 years of high school. It doesn't have classrooms in the conventional sense, but rather much of your learning is based on self-paced. Things may have changed a little since 1994, but back then I was able to work with teachers and students to design my own classes and what I wanted to learn as long as they stayed within the accredited guidelines. That was cool. It let me feel in control and taught me a lot about managing myself. At Kino you have a homeroom with other students of all ages and you meet in the morning and afternoon to discuss what you will be doing and what you did. There are classes, an outdoor gardening area, animals to care for, play and recreational games, basketball, possibly mechanics, a wonderful photography lab. Kino also has a mock space shuttle made for the Challenger. You used to be able to stay in there and simulate flights.I made friends at Kino I still am best friends with today. It continues to touch and enrich me many years later in ways I didn't think possible at the time as a cocky 18 year old. I don't think I was as prepared for college as I would have liked coming out of Kino, but so many tools I picked up from there have shaped me."

Presidio High School

"This school was the worst mandatory 6 year investment of my life. I'm actually embarrassed that I have to say I graduated from this hell hole. I'll list pretty much everything I've seen, experienced, and more below. 1. Favoritism- If you are not on the good side of the staff, they WILL pick you out. The staff (excluding teachers and the front desk staff, who are extremely underpaid and under-appreciated) will grant favors to those who they think seem fit. You can see examples of this in their hiring, process as well. Some students may recall an incident where there was a feud between a student, and a student related to a staff member. Needless to say, no matter the evidence provided, the related student was protected, and the other was expelled. 2. Lack of Material, Staff, and Control- I don't know where the school spent their money, but there was never enough books, enough materials, or enough staff. The school couldn't keep control of their students, if their budget depended on it...oh wait, it does! My graduating class was ~12 people. 2 people didn't even show up to the ceremony, and 1 of those people were a 5th year graduate (which is a fairly common thing with this school). 3. No tolerance- This appeals to the same-sex couples. Presidio will try to do what they can to keep same-sex couples from showing affection towards each other. I'm sure many students and parents can testify to that. I'm not sure if this is because of religious, personal, or "professional" reasons, but I do recall a staff member saying this to me, as well as a few other students. "Not in front of the kids. Do it outside of this school." I'm assuming "it" meant expressing themselves in their relationship choices. 4. No Real Classes- Granted a music class where somebody just picks up an instrument and plays with it is fun, where is the learning involved? I learned to read music, and play songs together with my classmates when I was younger. Most of the time, kids in music class did nothing but sit around and play on their phones or watch movies. There was almost never any real learning going on in the class. Also, if you were expecting a PE class, or credit requirement...they didn't have one. I actually graduated without taking any physical activity classes at all. I actually graduated with the amount of credits totaling below what any other public school student would have had to do. I wish I could continue writing about the personal experiences I had there. How my sister suffered because I personally didn't make it to school on time. Or how they don't have a nurse on staff, and diddled their thumbs around when my little brother busted his head open. They still don't have a nurse to this day. I believe there was recently a picketing about it which I saw on the news, yesterday, 9/10/13. Naturally, Presidio board and staff refused to show their faces to the camera. If anybody is interested in even more details, feel free to contact me via email. It should be linked to my posting. This school should be shut down...should have been shut down years ago. I regret even staying long enough to graduate from this "school.""

Green Fields School

"Still a great school, and even during these tough times of pandemic, my daughter is supported, and also cared for. She has so much fun and not only that, she is more advanced in her studies now than she has ever been."

Casas Christian School

"My daughter went to Casas for 4 years and I have no complaints! I love the teachers and the rest of the staff. We only took her out due to a move out of state. I love the weekly chapel Service they have. Each class takes turns hosting so I visit whenever she's up. Parent involvement is very welcomed and encouraged. The teachers keep in close contact with parents. Principal Dowdle is amazing. He is very involved with parents and a great spiritual leader to the kids.My daughter comes home schooling me on the Bible and I love it. I highly recommend giving the church a try as well."

Alice Vail Middle School

"Do not send your children to this horrid school. Let me review our 3 years with Alice Vail Middle School. My eldest daughter was in the full GATE program. This was the closest middle school that had the program. (TUSD puts the GATE program in the lowest scoring schools in an attempt raise the scores.) The first 2 years weren't that bad, but the principle quit in protest after they stripped away all of the electives. The new principle made a bad school even worse. My daughter was bullied constantly, as were her fellow GATE friends. We received no help from the school, the counselors were cut along with the electives, and counseled our daughter ourselves. My daughter and her friends had to eat outside because there was no seating in the cafeteria. Any open seats were banned from them by the little brats sitting there. Instead of chastising that behavior, the "monitor" yelled at my daughter and her friends for eating outside! What happened to teachers monitoring the cafeteria? We didn't have "monitors" when I was in middle school, we had teachers, and this kind of nonsense never happened. I didn't grow up in a small town either, I grew up in Houston, Texas. The "monitors" pick on the good kids and do no nothing at all to the students who are causing the problems. TUSD can't afford real books, but we can pay for these useless "monitors"? When we attended my daughter's concerts, we were treated horribly and spoken to like dirt by the "monitor", so my daughter was spot on in her complaints. What a waste of our tax dollars. I have more, one day my husband had car trouble on his way to pick up our daughter. She didn't have her phone that day, so she went to the office to call home. The phones had been shut off for the day! Not one person offered their cell phone. My daughter was then sent outside while the office staff closed up and left. They left a young girl, on her own, outside! Our tax dollars are paying for this, ladies and gentlemen. Luckily, my husband got the car working and was there soon after she was kicked out from the building. That behavior is absolutely disgraceful from people who are supposed to be looking out for our children. If anything had happened to her, we would have filed a lawsuit that would have completely bankrupted TUSD. I can't express my outrage enough about this incident. As for the teachers, we had to stay on top of her grades constantly. We lived on the TUSD Stats page. I can't count how many wrong grades were entered or how many were overlooked. Aside from that, it's a good thing that my husband and I are educated, because we pretty much taught her throughout middle school. Now for orchestra. The beloved teacher passed away at the beginning of my daughter's 8th grade year. They replaced him with someone who cannot play any string instrument. Seriously, they have someone teaching orchestra who can't play any of the instruments! Well, he started a glee club which seems to be his only interest, so I guess that makes him an expert on all things musical. At the end of the school year, the Asian, African American and Hispanic kids who had done well were given certificates for their accomplishments. The certificates were worded specifically concerning their race. The other students who excelled got nothing. Racism, perhaps? Honestly, I could go on and on, but hopefully you've got the message. ETA: I received a message from a supposed former student, defending the school and attempting to refute my review. It's quite odd that I was the first reviewer of Alice Vail in the several years of Yelp Tucson and somehow a former student located my review and became so offended. All I can say is that I've written the absolute truth and I stand by every word. Do not send your children to this school."

Desert Christian High School

"Our family is new to Tucson, and after a great deal of searching we settled on Desert Christian High School for our daughter, who is a freshman this year. In every way, this private school is spectacular! The teachers are top-notch, the curriculum exemplary, and the school staff helpful and thoroughly dedicated to providing a superior education to every student. We also appreciate that the theology behind the curriculum and school atmosphere is, generally, non-denominational. Desert Christian is neither overly-fundamentalist nor overly-secularist in their approach to education, which was a big draw for us. Our daughter loves the school and we'd highly recommend it."

Desert Sky Middle School

"Overall great school majority of the staff is kind and helpful, a few slightly rude staff only act that way when someone breaks the rules which could be clearer but still make sense. A friend was in trouble (for privacy reasons I will not reveal the situation) which should have resulted in almost a week ISS(in school suspension) instead they were given 2 days out of school suspension. Said student was told to talk to the principal afterwards but was not told their punishment until after school. The student also saw the principal talking to two mean who were not staff (they assume it was her husband and son) which seems a little unprofessional. But other than that small event that school and staff were great. Very good events as well"

BASIS Oro Valley

"Both my boys have had a wonderful experience at Basis OV. They're quite advanced academically thanks to the curriculum. My boys knowledge of Math and Science was important to me and the school has given them an exceptional understanding of if. My 3rd grader knows a lot of Mandarin, it's really cool to hear him speak it and be excited about learning it. Once in high school it's a sometimes daunting amount of work but it's surely prepared him for college. The downside is there isn't much time for athletics or clubs, unless they require little investment of time. It's not a perfect balance so I would say it's not ideal for many different types of kids. They have to be academically ambitious and fully focused or it's not the right fit for them. We may be leaving for a different high school next year so my son can have time for clubs and more activities but I am so grateful for the foundation Basis has given him to be a high achieving student with exceptional knowledge in every subject."