Sonoran Trails Middle School

5555 East Pinnacle Vista Drive

School District

Cave Creek Unified District
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

School Map for Cave Creek Unified 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 February 12, 2025

I am more or less not recognized as my son’s mother, due to my mom and her husband not giving me custody back after all the terrible things that happened when my son was about 1 or 2 years old! No matter how many times we tell them, the school says they need a court paper stating that I’m his mother!! Frustrating because my son has ALWAYS lived with me and I’ve raised him by myself!
Submitted by parent on June 28, 2023

This school has been wonderful for all of my children. The staff and community is amazing. They just got a new principal and she has been a wonderful addition. Cave Creek School District is great!
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2022

The administration at this school is very incompetent! They allow bullying and actually punish those that are victims of bullying instead of the bully. I would NEVER recommend this school to any parent that loves their child! This is the worst school to ever send a child to! The iep program is a joke. They don’t seem to know how to help kiddos with special needs or even help kids that don’t.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2022

I have an 8th grader and we’ve been to 2 middle schools on the area . STMS is by far better for Academics as well as friendships and social life. Teachers are wonderful and caring and the principal is top notch.Lots of parent involvement. Plus they re-opening during the pandemic which was huge !!
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2022

This school can be best described as meh. We came from the feeder school of Desert Willow which we loved. Once we got into middle school it was a different story. Vaping, vandalism, and bullying seem to be ever present. For the most my part my kid has been able to rise above it. I figured this was just a middle school thing based off the the conversations with other STMS parents. I then mentioned it to other parents who go to other schools surrounding us and they were horrified. I started paying more attention. Kids seem to struggling with identity and demand pronouns like “they and them” be used. It’s definitely different then when I went to school. Cave creek has truly become the Wild West.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2019

This is my 3rd year at STMS. 2 years is not enough time for the pre-teen students here. With the leadership and the teacher involvement, I truly believe that 9th graders would have greater success if they remained under the guidance of the leadership here.The teachers, the staff, the guidance counselors, and the administration put forth such an effort to help these kids find a place where they belong.
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2019

Outstanding, so far. With two very different types of learners having gone through this middle school, they each found educators who cared and could modify lessons to their abilities or needs, as necessary. Also, the counseling, resource, admin, and support staff are excellent. Our family has found it to be a very inclusive and friendly school for differently talented/abled students. Everyone finds a place and an interest, and therefore a sense of belonging to the Stinger Family. I would highly recommend this middle school to interested families.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2018

Most teachers are great my kids did great as far as the class room it was out side the class room that the problem exist. The admin is just a bunch of hot air and looking for a way up not a way to help the kids.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2015

We had a great experience at Sonoran Trails Middle School. We found the teachers were caring and engaged. They challenged the kids and made learning fun. There are a number of great clubs and extracurricular activities. The principal is engaged and well respected. The counselors are fantastic and do a great job getting the kids to start thinking about college and what type of career they may want to consider. We had a fantastic experience at STMS!