Gilbert Classical Academy High School

1016 North Burk Street

School District

Gilbert Unified District
Grade

7-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
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 student on February 21, 2025

i love this school and i recommend it to anyone
Submitted by student on February 21, 2025

I love going to this school and hope everyone has the opportunity to learn at a school like this.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2025

It’s true this school is not for everyone. The student must be motivated and have a desire to excel. If they do, they can be very successful at this school. My oldest child graduated from GCA and at the time thought it was too difficult and not worth the extra work. He struggled a bit, worked hard, and had decent grades. Then he went to college and found he was so much better prepared than his college classmates. He found himself tutoring others and he ended up graduating with honors. Now my youngest child is attending GCA and she is doing exceptionally well. I do think they have lightened up on homework loads and it is a bit easier but still an excellent high school education.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2025

The teachers here are awful. They are the exact opposite of supportive and in my experience do not care for the success of their students. My child has attended in grades 7, 8, 9, 10. Comes home having cried almost daily. She is an A student and has earned those A's basically teaching herself. This is not ok. She has made the decision to switch schools. She comes home attempting to do homework having not learned how to do it. The teachers laugh about it the next day in class while the students communicate their struggles. I would not recommend anyone go here.
Submitted by student on January 28, 2025

Amazing school that will prepare you very well for college
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2025

My son has flourished at GCA. He previously studied at a Montessori school which served his needs and interest very well, but we came to a point where he needed more. His choice was GCA.The exposure to interesting subject matter, and the broad array of activities, and sports has created a tremendous spark in him. He’s working hard, being challenged, and stretching his boundaries academically. That’s important to us as parents. We felt part of the community from the beginning. The staff and faculty are great to work with. Accessibility and approachability is high. We have had opportunities to chaperone trips, volunteer for the science fair, and provide support to the activities at the school.We’ve been pleased with access to additional tutoring for Math and Latin, including peers. The program at GCA is demanding but the reward is high. It’s an awesome school. Go Spartans!!!!
Submitted by student on January 24, 2025

this school is really stressful and the teachers shouldn’t be called teachers because they dont even teach. the kids are annoying and if you are tall you cant wear a skirt because they are too short and you will get dress coded even if your legs are long. i would not recommend this school
Submitted by student on January 24, 2025

Coming into GCA in 8th grade seemed like a great challenge to take on but as I grew accustomed to the teachers and my fellow classmates, I learned how to deal with GCA's expectations of their students as well as my own for myself. Along the way, I met many friends and acquaintances and shared many fun, stressful, and memorable times with them. GCA's cirriculum is nothing to sneeze at, it's rigorous and fast-paced at times, but it's a great way to test your abilities and prepare yourself for what's to come in college. The HS Senate has been nothing short of amazing when it comes to planning events and activities for the students on campus, it's a great way to spend some time relieving stress and having fun with friends both in and outside of school time. I've gotten to become friends with several teachers and I'm never afraid to pop in and ask for a little more help. GCA's a small campus but that means everyone's open to each other and you can make friends with practically anyone. There's never a dull moment (well, maybe during certain classes) but it's all worth it in the end! (Also, I really like Armageddon Day, it's super fun)
Submitted by parent on January 18, 2025

Students do get prepared for next phase of life! Love this school!
Submitted by parent on January 17, 2025

Both of my students attend GCA, 8th and 11th grades. Both of my students have attended GPS school through their elementary years. My son in 8th grade is the only one from his elementary school that went to GCA. He was a bit nervous and anxious in the beginning because he didn't know anyone and he's a pretty social student that was involved in various school activities in elementary school. Slowly, he started to get more confident and met other kids from others schools and have created a good solid group of friends. I have heard many not so great stories from other junior/high schools about the culture of their school and how it's quite different from GCA. One thing I have noticed is that GCA students are quite respectable and courteous bunch, which is rare to find in this age group. I have volunteered many times at the school and it's one big difference I felt. GCA culture really focuses on respect, integrity and hard work and you can see that on the campus and student behavior. I would ask my children if they have seen any 'bullying' type of behavior and they always say no, and the kids are too busy with either academics or sports. I highly recommend this school to families who are looking for a place to have their children learn the value of hard work and perseverance.
Submitted by parent on December 19, 2022

This is a great college-prep program that actually prepares students to be successful in college. My 8th grader is excelling at her classes and loves the challenging curriculum. The teachers and counselors have her talking about what colleges she wants to go to, what extracurricular she plans to take in high school, and her overall plan to get accepted to one of her top 3 -- in 8th grade! I couldn't be happier with the level of education she is receiving and the life skills and sense of determination that this school is instilling in her. Things like the trip to D.C and the trip to Greece are also fueling her love of history and learning Latin.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2022

My son started here in 7th grade transferring from a Legacy school wanting to challenge himself academically and this school has lived up to task. When he is struggling or having any problems with materials the teachers work with him to help him improve his grades and teach better study habits. The teachers have many years of experience and know how to teach their subject matter. The front office staff as well as the teachers are helpful and compassionate to try to help their students succeed. I am glad we chose this school for my son and will be proud to see him graduate in three short years. I would highly recommend this school. If your child is driven, wants to be challenged academically, college bound and they are dedicated to their education then this is a good fit.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2022

I have two students who started at GCA as 7th graders. It is by no means a perfect school, but I do think that staff and teachers aim to make it a welcoming environment. The rigor of the academics is appropriate for a college prep school and I appreciate that they are upfront about the level of work required to be successful. I also appreciate the culture of community service and giving back that exists all throughout the school. Students who graduate from GCA have a great sense of identity, self worth and exude confidence. If you are looking for a smaller public school with a great student culture, GCA is an excellent option.
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2021

I have had two children at the school over the past 5 years. The last three years have been a decline. Instead of being just "college prep" it has become more of a military school environment. The administration is extremely negative. The homework load is more than I have in my current graduate classes at Park University. The culture is a "perfect people only" attitude. The only way they keep their graduation rate high is by expelling students who can't keep up instead of mentoring them. The principal and certain teachers pride themselves in reminding students that even if you have straight As in all of your classes, but one has an F at the end of any given semester, you will "be asked to leave the school." This reminder went out via email to all parents and students DURING COVID LOCKDOWN when students were having trouble adjusting to the at-home classroom.
Submitted by parent on May 25, 2021

Parents are willing to chauffeur their children to and from this school because they are invested in their children. The school maintains it's rankings by expelling any student who does not meet their expectations. Teachers give a ton of HW to hedge their bets. As a senior my son transferred. He said that GCA's AP bio class covered three biology classes at his new school. That is all well and good but colleges see AP Bio and think that is the class he took. If my son is doing the work of 3 biology classes condensed into one class and getting straight A's, I want colleges to know that. The teacher wants to make sure everyone gets 5's so she overworkds her students rather than teaching them to study smarter. A vital skill is being able to anticipate what will be on your tests. This is not taught. Instead you are taught to overcompensate. The AP Chem and AP math teacher were not that knowledgeable but since their students are high achievers the poor teaching skills go undetected. My son said he wouldn't have gotten 5's on his AP tests if he hadn't transferred out. At his regular district school he received better detailed, relevant instruction. He was taught what material to zero in on. Many kids, after GCA, find the local colleges easy after GCA. That should not be the case. Your high school should be preparing you for college not overworking you to the point of exhaustion. Each high school year should get progressively harder preparing you for college. If high school overworks you to the point that you find college easier, something is wrong. This model communicates to some kids that they can't handle high school so why bother with college. I had two kids attend GCA and both were bullied. When they switched to a regular district school, everyone wanted to do group projects with them because they are smart. At GCA kids are competitive to the point of disproving their peers in order to prove their worth/grade on group projects.
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2021

Both my kids go to GCA. We moved from the East Coast where they attended excellent public schools. Coming to GCA was difficult from a social perspective but the staff/students where adjusting. My kids feel challenged more than ever before and I personally think it's a great thing. They are also surrounded by other kids equally motivated and dedicated to education.
Submitted by student on December 10, 2020

I understand that this is supposed to be a "hard" school, with lots of homework, but the vast majority of the staff use this as an excuse to treat their students awfully. Homework is piled on us, with no regard for personal well-being. Do teachers even communicate with each other? There have been weekends where there are 5 projects due the following Monday. So many students, including myself, suffer from mental health issues due to the stress and lack of awareness about it. I suppose the school tried to fix this by spending thousands of dollars on "character strong" instead of actually fixing their mental health policies. Recently the school got a mental health counselor, which is great, but its like shes hidden away, as it was never explained to us how we can reach out to her. Teachers are awful. So many cases where you get yelled at for asking a question, and its like they barely teach as they act like you should already know everything. Miss one lesson? All of a sudden you can't complete the rest of the unit as you'll get yelled at for asking questions. In my 3 years of being at this school, I've probably had a total of 2 teachers that actually care about their student's well being, or at least recognized we're people with outside lives. And as soon as these teachers try to talk to other staff about our well being they're shut down by the principal. Now lets talk about the dresscode. Now, I've never really complained about the dresscode, it was tough in 7th grade but you get used to it. But sometimes the staff goes overboard in making sure everyone is in dresscode to protect the "learning environment". And this is all stupid things like tiny logos on jackets and hoodies, slightly off-color shoes, and khakis with outside pockets. Really? Out of all the issues that you cause by your curriculum, and your more worried about jackets? I wish GCA would change. The one thing I can enjoy from it is the small community. But it seems like they have this ideal that they are so much better than other public high-schools, and therefore don't need to change anything about themself. "Its a hard school" is all you get if you're struggling with stress, anxiety, or depression. Maybe GCA would be able to be better if they actually had regard for their students.
Submitted by parent on November 17, 2019

Wouldn’t recommend. Only good thing was that all honors classes transferred to the local public schools and my child was placed in all honors with excellent teachers - much better than GCA.
Submitted by parent on May 14, 2019

Terrible. One of the worst experiences ever!
Submitted by parent on September 09, 2018

I have found that for my sons, this has been a great school. And that is what is most important. Each child has a school/learning environment that fits best. Thankfully here in Arizona we have school choices and not stuck to only the "Assigned school".