Centennial Elementary School

3507 South Ranch House Parkway

School District

Higley Unified
Grade

PK, K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Higley Unified School District

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 other on February 07, 2025

From the front office staff, to School Leadership Administration, and top notch Teachers/staff, Centennial and it's Centennial is a great school for Elementary students!!
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2025

I have had three children in Centennial and it has been a blessing truly. They have a wonderful special education program and many resources to help all children including gifted resources.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2023

All my kids absolutely love this school. Not only are they excelling but are in extra curricular activities that are offered.
Submitted by parent on July 06, 2023

This school does not know how to properly support children with disabilities. They were unable to work with me to come up with solutions to make my child have an easier learning experience. They constantly made it seem like my child was the issue when they did not provide the support that my child desperately needed. My child’s teacher was heard whispering badly about her students to other teachers which is 100% unacceptable. This school is unprofessional and I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere for your child. My child did not feel comfortable or accepted in this school. After making the transition to a different school my child has greatly improved. I was even told by his new teachers that the IEP that Centennial wrote doesn’t even sound like they are talking about the same child. Bottom line, look elsewhere. The Centennial school is garbage.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2022

The administration and teaching staff are not good. I would not trust your child being in the care of this school.
Submitted by parent on March 10, 2021

its the best there no bullying at all
Submitted by parent on July 09, 2018

We love (and still do!) our Centennial parent & student community. The friends we made are amazing. The administration just really let us down with their inflexibility and unwillingness to work with us on better solutions. They tried to be sneaky and when we caught up to them it became a fight. It was very stressful and disappointing in the end and the experience has somewhat ruined elementary school for me as a parent. :(
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2017

If this school is an A+ rated school, I am terrified to see see what a non A+ rated school looks like in this district. We cannot make a switch soon enough. Thank God for School of Choice. These "teachers" are not teachers at all they are glorified baby sitters. Do yourself and your child a favor and check out one of the Charter Schools in the area (American Leadership Academy, Benjamin Franklin or Legacy Traditional ---- BTW all tuition FREE!!! AND Common Core FREE!!!). This school is just a facility for a bunch of "group learning" with little to no teacher involvement or instruction. Just laziness at full capacity here. They need to spend less time fund raising, ordering coordinating teacher shirts and worrying about when their next break is and spend more time teaching!!!! TO students and NOT to tests!! Wish we would have switched out of this school sooner...a complete waste of a school year for our child
Submitted by parent on June 30, 2016

My 3 girls have academically excelled at Centennial! I couldn't be happier with their progress. The school is great and the teachers are always so kind and good to the students. I also really love the school spirit they have, keeps the students engaged and a sense of togetherness.
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2016

Great school. Very happy our kids go here and get the attention. Obviously, it is the best public school in AZ.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2016

I just moved here in June 2015 and have to say I'm pleased so far! My daughter is currently attending kindergarten and has progressed so much from pre-school. I don't know about you but being able read, write and do basic math easily for a 5yr old is pretty impressive to me. She is challenged with homework everyday which I like! Parent involvement is the best I've seen and after reading other reviews I haven't experienced anything bad from the administration. If anything administration have been kind and very helpful. If there is one thing I dislike about Centennial it's the kids per classroom. 24-26 kids in one class is not horrible but I dislike seeing our teachers overwhelmed at times. However, remember AZ public schools are not the best in the nation. I plan on keeping her in Centennial for years to come. And will keep posted every year on her progression. I hope my posting helps...
Submitted by other on July 27, 2015

Administration is horrible and mean. Teacher turn over is very high. I've seen some teachers after they left the school and they said they were bullied out by principle and vice principle. They have great scores because they work on test prep for months. Great test scores aren't everything. Avoid at all cost!
Submitted by parent on November 23, 2014

Been with this school since the doors opened and while we still like it it has changed a lot. With huge teacher turnover over the years, we basically have a new staff every year at the start. We love the teachers who put the kids first and genuinely enjoy teaching. They are amazing. The administration and the teachers who are in the pocket of administration unfortunately have changed the entire dynamic of this school. They are hostile, caddy, and unfriendly. If administration could go through the change that they have forced on amazing staff (causing them to leave) this school might have the chance to be great again. Scores are wonderful.. but, the school experience should be more than data and scores.
Submitted by parent on October 02, 2014

The parent involvement at this school is absolutely amazing, it is great to see parents get so involved here! Unfortunately, the administration is very hostile, politics abound in the work environment, staff members tattle on each other, and the principal's treatment of some of the students is inappropriate and harsh. The school has wonderful ratings but the scores are achieved by hard-working teachers and helpful parents, not from leadership of the administration. I hope things change here in the future. At this point I would not consider sending any of my children to this school.
Submitted by parent on September 30, 2013

Both of my children have attended Centennial Elementary since they started kindergarten, and we love this school! The teachers make learning fun and adapt their teaching to accommodate individual students and their learning needs. All of the teachers my children have had have high expectations for their students and are firm, yet loving in their disciplinary practices. The teachers have great communication with parents and welcome parent involvement. My children LOVE school, LOVE their teachers, and LOVE learning! Great job, Centennial teachers and staff!
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2013

My daughter has gone here for 2 years and absolutely loves it. The teachers and administration have been available to me any time I reached out. We will happily be attending this school until she goes to jr high.
Submitted by parent on July 29, 2013

I have seriously mixed feelings about this school. I adored one child's teacher, while my other child's teacher was an outright bully. The administration tends to send mixed signals. Sometimes they are very responsive, while at other times they are totally uninvolved. They bent over backwards for my child who had an IEP, but when my other child still couldn't add 2+3 by spring of their first grade year, it seemed like no amount of emails or expressions of concern from me could get either the teacher, the administration, or the special Ed professionals to get involved. Was it because the child didn't have an IEP? I don't know, I never could get any answers. I've been teaching my child math over the summer to attempt to catch up. We've given this school two fair tries, but won't be sending our kids back. Also, parents, please watch for bullying events here. We had several things happen to our kids, and as stated earlier, one was from a teacher.
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2013

Are you kidding me? This school is horrible! The administration is horrible and unsupportive when issues arise and most of the staff is snobby and only interested in one thing, themselves. I've pulled my children and will NEVER attend another Higley school! My children are not where they are supposed to be academically and are struggling to catch up in their current school. I can't say that is all because of Centennial, but I know there are a lot of behavior issues due to the lack of administrative support.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2013

I have two kids attending Centennial, one of which is mentally disabled, for 3 years now. My husband and I have been extremely happy with this school each year they have attended and I intend to keep them and their younger sister there for the duration of their elementary school years as long as we keep seeing these results! The special education program is top notch, our son has advanced so much in the last few years, it's mind-blowing. They do encourage and assign more homework and parent-student work than some other schools but it is worth it, once you see how much it helps!
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2013

My daughter is completing her first year here. I couldn t be more satisfied with our experience. Her teacher will give me all the time I need when I want to talk about my daughter s development.