Dysart Middle School

12950 West Varney Road

School District

Dysart Unified District
Grade

5-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on April 17, 2023

This school and staff were the missing piece of getting my son on the right track. A once troubled child now a few weeks away from A B honor roll. His behavior, attitude, and overall demeanor have all improved. The best part is as his grades and behavior continue to improve be becomes more of that playful energetic child who looks forward to school and ahead to field trips and school lunch.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2023

This school is amazing the staff is very professional they are always a call away. The principal and vice principal work as a team and all questions and concerns are resolved rapidly. Highly recommend this school.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2023

My son is on an IEP and has had difficulties with some processing and making friends at times. At dysart the staff has helped him tremendously and he went from dreading school to loving school as staff has taken the time to help him academically he has went from and c- d student to A-b student they have also made him feel accepted. He has gained some peer friendships and enjoys going to school so much and feels safe there.
Submitted by parent on January 26, 2022

The Worst middle school I have ever seen. My child has been attending dysart since kindergarten. Sine the merge with El mirage elementary it has changed in the Worst way. Some of the teachers are awesome, however the assistant principal, I really have no kind words for him and never met the "principal". My child has never had a problem with bullying until now, I have spoken with the "assistant principal " nothing has been done. The only person who has made an effort to help in this situation has been his teachers. My child will most likely be attending this school for 6th grade. That's why I give this school a 1 star, if I could give zero I would.
Submitted by parent on April 20, 2018

Great school. My daughter is thriving and learning. She loves going to school every day and wakes up excited. The staff has a very hands-on approach toward learning. The staff is easy to communicate with and they value feedback. I could not ask for a better school for my daughter.
Submitted by parent on April 03, 2018

Our daughter absolutely wilted as a result of attending this school. Her confidence is nearly non existent and her interest in academics is completely gone and she is only in the third grade. We moved from England. She was happy, scholastically bright but now she is riddled with anxiety, chaotic and miserable. This school broke my child and I am uncertain how to repair the damage. We have two children who attend here. Our kindergartener is thriving, jolly, and outgoing. We do not have the same concerns for her as we do with our older girl. My older daughter stopped caring about her appearance, her grades. She has asked advice from me on how to make herself more invisible to her classmates and it is heartbreaking. I feel guilty of child abuse for sending her here and making her endure two years. With this school year nearly at a close and with plans to move over summer, I only hope a better school experience will rectify our mistake. If your child is gentle, shy, bright and fair minded do not send them here because this is a school for big personalities with thick skins. If you have a rowdy kid with a well of social overconfidence who can take playing the game “would you like a punch in arm or a kick in the leg?” With the other kids, then they will fair much better than my child did. It is not so much a case of bullying that she is experiencing as much as it is a severe shock to being submerged into a school of very dominant and aggressive children. Her academics dropped because she doesn’t want to ask her teacher questions, is too frightened to remain at school for tutoring, and is afraid to draw attention to herself by turning in work. It is a mess. I recommend you do not overestimate your children’s ability to cope with adversity. If you do send them here, I strongly recommend you join the parent groups and become active in the school in order to be a voice and form a protective shield for your quiet child. The teachers and staff have been great and as I said it was not a case of negligence or failure to control “bullying” that is not the issue. The kids are just dominating personalities and that makes for loud classrooms and antics and lots of time spent redirecting them back to academics. Naturally gifted children with strong personalities might do well here.
Submitted by parent on May 08, 2017

Both my sons have gone here and have made a tremendous improvement! The staff is amazing and friendly. The teachers truly care about the students and their well-being. We were previously in the Paradise Valley district and hated it. Dysart is an amazing school!
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2016

My daughter is in second grade at Dysart and our experience has been almost universally positive. Dysart did cut bus funding for students which caused some problems, and I feel their budget overrides are distributed to all but the students and teachers, but this school is great! My daughter loves her teacher, there has been no "switching", homework is encouraged and is expected daily.
Submitted by other on January 08, 2016

Horrible! We will either be home schooling or moving to get out of this school and district
Submitted by other on October 01, 2014

Reading this makes me happy :) this school feels like home and is A rated. I am saddened however to read "the principal is a hot mess" or that the cafeteria staff treats kids worse than animals. When parents have such massive complaints, get involved, join PTO, volunteer and make your voice and concerns heard by becoming a part of this awesome community. There are always underlying factors to everyone and everything. Don't judge without all of the pieces of the puzzle.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2014

Great staff that genuinely care for students. The principal is a hot mess but everyone else is top notch.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2014

I'm so disappointed about the cafeteria staff at th I s school. They treat kids worse than animals. :( it really sad to know that because you child had no balance on the lunch acct. They will give him/her a sack of lunch with sandwich bread and a cold piece of yellow cheese instead of calling and let parents know they have 0 balance. I talk to the cafeteria manager and she didn't do anything about it. Plus the school principal has no clue of h o w to handle anything.
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2013

great school...its like my kids second home and when you go there it feels like home all the teachers are really connected my 2 kids have went there for 4 yrs and we love it!
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2013

Looks like this site is out of date compared with the school's site. It's an "A" school and the principal is Linda Shaw with an enrollment of 951. We recently moved here and our children have loved this school. The staff and teachers have been wonderful to work with.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2013

We went to Dysart after having fled a horrible special education experience over at Rancho Gabriela Elementary in 2012. We stayed at Dysart for a few months and then finally moved to Scottsdale. Our short stay at Dysart was so warm and inviting. There is a real sense of family and community there. Dysart will always be in my heart as a fantastic school with very hardworking faculty members. If we were still trapped in the Surprise school district, my children would be going to Dysart. Even with a lower socioeconomic environment, Dysart beats all the other Surprise schools. It's Surprise's best kept secret. Kids in this area may not have the best home life, but they are treated respectfully at Dysart. They are all given free breakfast and teachers treat the children like family. God bless the faculty at Dysart Elementary. They are doing a remarkable service.
Submitted by parent on August 25, 2011

I love Dysart Elementary. There are outstanding teachers, both Ms. Orozco's, Mrs. Sprankle, Mrs, Heck, Mr Kleinow, Mrs Garrett, Ms Clark, Ms McLain, Mrs Cisneros.... Ms Buck was an amazing principal and now the new principal Ms Shaw seems to be just as great and has a fabulous record. I love the office staff and always feel welcomed at the school. Mr and Mrs G are a great part of the staff as well. I have had 8 of my own children attend this school and I have had very few problems and the ones we have had were address well. I always feel that my concerns are welcomed and heard. Yes, there is a problem with parent involvement, but the kids have a great team of staff and teachers there to teach them and support them. If the parents would get more involved then this could easily be an A+ school.
Submitted by other on April 01, 2011

I think this school is absolutely great. I am an employee of the district and I travel to different schools within the district a few days each week, so I am able to compare schools. I work with 6th thru 12th graders, and I have to say the atmosphere is terrific at this school. The staff really takes pride in making the school a great place for children to come and get a good education. The principle is always out and about in the halls and classrooms;she is caring and involved with the students. Front office staff is awesome! The most important thing however is the amount of energy and effort the teachers put into making sure your children are getting everything they can out of their education. They care!
Submitted by parent on March 08, 2011

The school is awesome I truely feel that my kids are safe there and the teachers truely care about them. I enjoy the events put together by PTA and the school its self. My child made student of the month and the celebration was awesome. made the students feel very importatnt for what they have done. ThankYou to Ms. Buck she takes great pride in her school
Submitted by parent on February 16, 2011

I would seriously reconsider sending your child to this school. The children are allowed to bully each other, They have no money for extra programs and there is no communication between administration and parents unless you find out from your child first or the offence is worthy enough for a phone call. Pushing and hitting is not enough to warrent a phone call home.My children had only attended a couple of months and each went through at least 2 teacher's. My youngest had pretty good grades and this was the first time he had ever recieved an F ....in science. This is his favorite subject. I finally pulled my kids out of there and the front desk didn't even bother to tell the teacher and my daughter wasn't even able to say good-bye to a couple of the classmates she was able to be friends with. I called them twice to notify them, yet the teacher had no idea. Half the kids in our neighborhood don't even go to this school, they go to a local charter school, now I know why. I wish someone would have warned me before I enrolled my kids here.