Whispering Wind Academy

15844 North 43rd Street

School District

Paradise Valley Unified District
Grade

K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:12
Type

public

School Map for Paradise Valley 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 April 20, 2023

I would not recommend this school to any parent unless you don’t care about your child or children’s well being. The staff do not communicate with parents what so ever. Lack of respect is beyond my comprehension. Horrible school
Submitted by parent on July 31, 2019

Like many schools I am assuming all have their strong areas and areas of improvement. My children have learned a lot and I have not had any concern of pulling them out. My kids are learning another language which is great. There has been some turnover for various reasons to put it all on one specific reason is not right. The teachers do so much to help out these kiddos.
Submitted by parent on May 10, 2019

We are very proud to call this our neighborhood school!They offer a Mandarin Dual Language Immersion program at Whispering Wind Academy. This is a program where students starting in kindergarten spend half there day in a Mandarin speaking classroom learning the standard curriculum. This has been an amazing journey for our family and we are excited to continue it into middle school.
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2019

We moved into the north Phoenix area from Peoria last summer and Whispering Wind is our boundary school. I've always preferred to attend the neighborhood school matter where I am living. I have a 2nd grader and a Kindergartener starting next year. I have zero complaints with the teachers, staff or facilities I have interacted with at Whispering Wind. I volunteer a couple of times a month in my child's classroom and just try to help out where I can when I am not working. The school offers lots of great programs, including STEM classes, a Mandarin Immersion classes, monthly family movie nights, and good fundraising activities and a lot more. I wish there were a couple of more afterschool/enrichment classes available like at other campuses but otherwise, we are very pleased!
Submitted by parent on December 09, 2017

Great experience - lots of opportunities for extra curricular and responsive staff!
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2017

Fantastic school. The teachers and principal are available, responsive positive and my children love going every day.
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2016

I don't even know where to begin. The children that attend the school are extremely disrespectful to everyone. The teachers are disrespectful to the parents. The principal is in way over his head, if you go to him with a problem he blames the parent. The administration is extremely unorganized and rude. There is a high turnover rate with teachers. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Submitted by parent on July 28, 2016

My son with down syndrome goes here and i couldnt be more happy he is attending this school. I have seen him improve in so many areas and has blossomed .With help of his fantastic teacher (Ms.W) and the staff & therapist there .Thank you so much for letting my son feel so welcomed.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2016

I am deeply concerned with the extremely high turnover of staff during the last four years. I have two children who have attended the last five years, and it seems that both the lack of leadership of the latest principal and support of PTO plays a role in this demise. It is very clear that teachers are not appreciated. I am definitely rethinking re-enrolling my youngest next year. This is NOT the same school compared to before the merger and becoming title.
Submitted by other on December 14, 2015

Low teacher morale and high staff turnover. Has lost over TWENTY people in the last TWO years! Poor leadership that doesn't back teachers and has minimal experience of teaching in the classroom himself. After this year, I predict almost the entire original staff from 5 years ago will be gone since this principal took over. How the district doesn't see this huge red flag is beyond me.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2015

I have had children in the public school system for 15 years. This is the first school I have felt concerned about the environment my children are in. There seems to be a lack of leadership and overall respect in the school. The children do not show respect for the teachers and the teachers do not show respect for the children. Some of the teachers are leaving the school and have checked out of their responsibilities to their classes. The bullying is better than last year however it is still very prevalent and the administration has failed to redirect this and prevent this behavior. The teachers are overwhelmed and lack the control needed to maintain a healthy learning environment. I have been an involved parent from the beginning. I have seen some amazing teachers here doing their very very best and excelling at what they do . Sadly I have seen some teachers who really have no interest in their jobs and should have moved on years ago. The new VP this year has made some positive changes, I am hoping it will continue into next year. This is our home school and my children will be attending for a few more years.
Submitted by parent on January 09, 2014

This school has had a lot of change over the last couple of years. There seems to be no real leadership or vision for the school anymore which is sad because we sent our child there for the STEM program but it doesn't seem to be a priority any longer. We will be looking for a new school for next year.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2013

We have been at this school threw 3 prinicpals & the current principle is AWEFUL. My kids have been called liars by the principal to other children. He tells the kids to come talk to him if they dont agree with something than he argues with them that they are wrong instead of listening to them. My daughter has been choked by a boy & then my other child was threatened by the boys mother in the front office. My daughter got in trouble for defending herself & taken into the principals office w/the boy & the princpal he then made both kids sign a document w/out another adult present. The principal didnt even call me until 6pm to explain what happened. 2 of my other kids tried to explain what happened during the incident & were told to stay out of it & the duty aides did nothing to stop the fight when they were in formed of it. The PE coach has yelled at kids in their face & belittled them in front of classmates. Ive had to go to district to get the nurse to look into a matter more. Over all I would never recommend this school & are happy to be leaving as I dont want my current kids or Kindergartener going there. I will dearly miss some teachers that we have been w/for years
Submitted by parent on February 25, 2013

Yes that s right school doesn t only need a good principal but need to change some of the staff too. Some of the teachers are really good but others I regret sending my child to this school, soon she will be going to better school. Any way we drive so we rather drive them to better school. If your kids are smart, always get good grads and you always work with them on their studies don t keep them here, especially if they are gifted. Because you expect staff should be friendly and encouraging and towards education. But forget about cooperative and encouraging this schools gifted services staff is unfriendly, dominative, and BULLY. And I think its quite natural because talking to principal does not make any difference. Everybody in school is focus towards fund raising events/things and making money. Forget about kids and forget about education. Being a parent we need to move our kids to education.
Submitted by parent on February 25, 2013

Yes that s right school doesn t only need a good principal but need to change some of the staff too. Some of the teachers are really good but others I regret sending my child to this school, soon she will be going to better school. Any way we drive so we rather drive them to better school. If your kids are smart, always get good grads and you always work with them on their studies don t keep them here, especially if they are gifted. Because you expect staff should be friendly and encouraging and towards education. But forget about cooperative and encouraging this schools gifted services staff is unfriendly, dominative, and BULLY. And I think its quite natural because talking to principal does not make any difference. Everybody in school is focus towards fund raising events/things and making money. Forget about kids and forget about education. Being a parent we need to move our kids to education.
Submitted by parent on February 22, 2013

This school used to be A+. After Mr. Clancy left the school went down hill. The new principal just doesn't work for this school. This used to be one of the best schools in the district but not anymore. The support isn't that great and the teachers seem defeated. Get a new principal and get the moral back up with the teachers.
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2012

We have loved this school so far. Mandarin Chinese is a great language to learn since it is spoken by the largest number of people in the world. There is always communication between the parents and teachers/principal. I am happy my son gets to be apart of the school as is he. He's always got a smile on his face when he comes home.
Submitted by parent on June 18, 2012

School allows teachers to feed kids sweets in class without first asking for parent consent. The school promotes fast food by partnering with McDonald's for events. An important part of learning is promoted by a healthy clean diet. The school seems behind on the math curriculum. They teach Mandarin Chinese and do not offer Spanish. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the States! They could offer more music class sessions. Music class is proven to improve a child's IQ. P.E. is also not offered throughout the school year.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2012

My daughter has attended the school for 2 years. One thing that I like about and I think is extremely important for the school's progress is what kind of principal there is. The previous principal was a great person and very close with the students. The current principal is even better. He is a very down-to-earth person who will take the time to listen to your concerns. He is always outside telling kids goodbye at the end of the day and making sure they cross the streets safely. He goes the extra mile. Teachers are happy with him too as he has provided them with much wanted improvements and technology in their classrooms. The teachers in WWA are nice and constantly make interesting projects for the kids to do. Overall a nice school, but I don't know why its rating dropped so much. Used to be a 9/10.
Submitted by parent on August 06, 2011

My kids have been going to WWA for 5 yrs. now and we have seen a tremendous change... When Mr. Clancy came on board, the moral, integrity & philosophy really kicked in to overdrive. The teachers and faculty on various occasions commented how they are really enjoying coming to work now. It has shown in so many ways. There is a real sense of team work. No more... The leadership is an equal playing field. Even the students are more inspired... It seems that everyone lights up when they interact with Mr. Clancy. However... With the New School year 2011 comes a New Principal... We are hopeful ... although many think he has some big shoes to fill. We know it is not far to judge & we will certainly go into this with an open mind. We already miss Mr. Clancy and will always have fond memories... We wish him well at Desert Shadows and maybe we will be lucky enough to share his leadership again when my 3 move onto middle school...