Frontier Elementary School

21258 North 81st Avenue

School District

Peoria Unified
Grade

PK, K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:19
Type

public

School Map for Peoria 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 parent on October 30, 2024

I have had one kid go through Frontier, two currently there and one more than will go in the next two years. We have had many teachers at Frontier and I can say the one consistent thing about all of them is they care for our kids and always go above and beyond for them. Yes every teacher has their own thing about them but they are always so kind and reach push our kids to be the best. Admin is very involved and engaged with the students which is nice and there are so many events and activities that happen at the school. PTSO is very active and it is nice to have a good parent student teacher interaction. We definitely love this school and the employees.
Submitted by student on June 12, 2024

The teachers at this school do not do much other than supervise the kids. They don’t teach them at all and replace their teaching skills with technology. The 5th graders and above, have a temporary computer and charger throughout the school year that the students are responsible for and use them every single day all day. They also have an entire class for technology (TLC) which is just even more screens and learned nearly nothing from that class. The only thing they learn from TLC is how to type on a keyboard. Another thing to can note of, is that the teacher for that class does not help them and only sits at her desk and watches the students type on a keyboard all 45 minutes of that class.
Submitted by parent on August 10, 2023

Sadly we felt that this school does not prepare the children for their academic future. The basic fundamentals of writing and math were not taught. Now it's all about a software program and its' algorithm. Laptops are teaching. Teachers are there only so an adult is present in the classroom. Kids are not being educated or prepared for the future. Even in emails and notes from adults show that they do not know how to use proper grammar or spell. They only learn in scrience and ss.The school needs a major clean-up, new carpet, tile, the walls need to be scrubbed and repainted and if they could update the bathrooms. When you walk through there is an odor and it feels like a prison...dark and smelly.For the most part most of the staff is friendly. The front office is great. The whole school is one giant building so it can feel safe. Apart from kids being locked in the classroom while school is going on, can be a bit concerning. As well as the front office not having a secure protective barrier.There is moderate intimidation from both kids and teachers. However there is support from the school for speaking to a counselor. They have plenty of staff for disability kids.But overall the quality of education is not what one would expect from an A rated school. Look at other places, there are many other choices.
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2023

No support from teachers, I took my child out of this school. Do not recommend.
Submitted by parent on March 29, 2022

I do not recommend going to this school the teachers do very little to help with respect and responsibility and things like that my son is getting bullied and no one is doing anything about it the teachers do very little to help the students.
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2021

We have been a Frontier family for over ten years. We have been through several Principal’s and VP’s after losing our Principal to Sunset Heights. The majority of the teachers are amazing. The Principal is responsive and they did a great job managing the pandemic. I am proud of our school.
Submitted by parent on March 11, 2020

My kids love this school! While there are certain things that annoy me as a parent, my would never want to go anywhere else.
Submitted by parent on April 15, 2019

My experience at this school had been terrible. I do not recommend Frontier Elementary.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2018

Awful, avoid this school. Worst school ever
Submitted by student on August 07, 2017

Way to much homework has given me so much unnecessary stress. Some of the teachers are extremely rude and just absolutely terrible. I have been learning, though. So I have to thank them for that.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2017

Fourth grade does not assign spelling tests, does not assign book reports, does not teach cursive handwriting, does not assign homework packets. Science and Social Studies tests are given out randomly at the most 5 this year. My student has had a total of 4 grammar tests all year that consist of correcting 3 sentences. Very little instruction on writing and reading comprehension. The district paid for My Math curriculum, but the students were sent home with their workbooks midyear with only 54 pages completed out of 300. There is no adopted language arts method used by the teachers. The teachers use whatever they find on their own which makes the instruction inconsistent from grade level to grade level. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades had spelling tests, then they stopped at fourth, along with homework and book reports. At the end of third grade cursive was introduced. Fourth grade has not taught cursive at all this school year. Now the students have forgotten how to read and write cursive from last year. The teacher even prints when writing. When asking the teacher as to why the students do not have book reports, we were told, "it was a grade level decision". When asking the teacher why do the students not have spelling tests, we were told, "spelling tests do not make students better spellers." Absolutely no structure...
Submitted by other on April 04, 2017

The strange and dangerous drop off and pick up procedures here have had over 5 children hit by cars in 2016. This is only what I personally witnessed dropping off. The school states "yes, but the parking lot is much safer". I am grateful I do not have to send children here. Parents tell me that in 10 minutes all buses, walkers, drop offs must occur- WITHOUT using the parking lot. Can't the principal do math? That is 1300 children converging on one space in 10 minutes. No wonder so many children are hit by cars trying to get to school! Maybe give them 15 or 20 minutes? Maybe use your parking lot? Tired of the accidents.
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2015

The new principal Ms. Little from Desert Harbor is not at all communicative. There is constant confusion about events. She does not use the resources available to her in that regard at all. The school definitely is in a decline and SHE COULD turn it around if SHE put in some effort. The Principal is the only staff member who really doesn't listen to a Parents input. The rest listen very attentively. The admin here is spectacular. The special ed here is spectacular. Teachers at Frontier are mostly veteran teachers who actually care about students. Not one teacher has given me a lecture about Common core and how wonderful it is, instead I find help and open dialogue with my 4 children's teachers. I have been at another Deer Valley school and 1 other PUSD school and this one is by far the best!! Ms. Little should turn her focus on communication so the parents could actually help her out a little more. Also the crazy restrictions on time to drop off and reduced time to eat lunch is getting old.
Submitted by parent on May 28, 2015

My daughter has attended Frontier since Kindergarten. This year she entered the 3rd grade. The school failed to hire enough staff over the summer. As a result, the entire 3rd grade was split between 3 teachers ( 30+ students/teacher). In October, a 4th teacher was hired. A group of students, my daughter included, were selected to move into the new teacher's class MID WEEK! This teacher did not respond to emails/calls/notes regarding grades and even failed to inform me that my daughter was an award recipient. I missed the assembly! She was also absent frequently. There was a situation where she did not notify the school of her absence, so there was not substitute arranged. The students were just left, locked out in the hall, bewildered. I finally reached out to the principal for help. The principal informed me that she could not be of assistance. I was told the teacher was on a 2 week hiatus, but upon her return would surely be in touch to address my concerns. Needless to say, I never heard from the teacher because SHE QUIT! She stopped coming to school 5 weeks before summer. The principal never sent any correspondence home to parents informing us that our children would yet another teacher for the remainder of the year. No call, no email, no letter, NOTHING. Our children were shuffled around, pushed aside, forgotten about, then abandoned. We are currently researching better schools nearby for 4th grade, as my daughter will not be treated as refuse for one more year at Frontier.
Submitted by other on October 23, 2014

I feel like the teachers have favorites and don't really care about the students. Also, some of the teachers are very mean.
Submitted by other on November 09, 2013

I am currently a 6th grade student at frontier, and I have had a lot of bad experiences since the current principal, Mrs. Connely, arrived. The assistant principal is amazing, and always helps out with events such as the Student Council Heroes Luncheon. On the other hand, you have the principal, who I believe is very lacking in character and I think drove the good teachers away. Over 30 teachers left or retired in about 2 years. In addition, their kitchen staff is incompetent, the cheese that they were serving was about 2 months expired! And according to them, freezing it makes it not expire. Yeah, right. My fellow students and I heard them saying that not eating the vegetables is okay because they only give them out to make sure they get passed by the health inspector. The only reason that I give my school 3 stars is due to the fact that I have made some great friends, they allow us to compete in the district spelling bee and patriotic speech contest, and we have quite the packed trophy case from our sports teams. This is coming from a gifted student, who has been at the school since kindergarten, and overall, I wouldn't recommend going to this school.
Submitted by other on October 08, 2013

Frontier Elementary is a wonderful school with caring and professional teachers. Rae Connelly is an excellent principal and is very forward think. My granddaughter started 1st grade this year and is excited about school and is progressing nicely under the direction if Ms. Pearson. Excellent school! Rita Martin Peoria, Az
Submitted by parent on September 05, 2013

This school is horrible if you are from out of state. The assistant principle is wonderful and very helpful; however, the teacher believes differently. If kids work out issues isn't that a good thing? Not in this teachers eyes. Now she is scrutinizing my child and listening to the children that are constantly in trouble. I'm over it. My son comes from a very good background. He gets good grades and is well mannered. He has never had a behavioral issue. So suddenly....my son has issues with other kids picking on him then the teacher is angry with him? This has been a horrible experience. Not to mention that the first 2 weeks of school the teachers couldn't get my son's schedule correct. I give the teachers 2 stars for the other good teachers. I suggest looking elsewhere for school.
Submitted by parent on August 27, 2013

Frontier Elementary is a wonderful school with great community spirit. Rae Connely the principal is a visionary who has garnered respect from her teaching staff, parents and children. I had my daughter at an exclusive private school and paid a fortune in tuition for kindergarden. She was so stress out and miserable that I decided to search out other schools. After an extensive search we decided on Frontier Elementary our community public school. She started 1st grade and is thriving! She is excited to go to school, loves her teacher Ms. Pearson and has become excitied about learning again. I have found everyone very welcoming and we feel a real sense of community. It's a great school and if your looking for an environment where children are excited about learning this is the place. Check it out you will not be disappointed.
Submitted by other on August 27, 2013

We are the grandparents of two Frontier Elementary students and could not be more pleased with the school. The principal Rae Conelley is tuned into the needs of the school and the staff is very friendly. Any day that we can walk onto the Frontier School campus is a good day for there is magic in those halls and we are happy to be on their team. Most sincerely, Judy Ambelang