Great Expectations Academy

Reviews

• Submitted by parent on May 24, 2024
  My son feels loved and supported by the adults at GEA. His interactions with his peers are age appropriate and handled by the admin and staff in a way that encourages the students to grow and learn.
• Submitted by parent on November 10, 2023
  Terrible school unfair and they have teacher that target and bully students my son was a victim to this and was immediately removed from the school. A formal complaint had been filed against the school
• Submitted by student on November 03, 2023
  I believe that this school is good ENOUGH for kids. ive gone here since about 3rd, and ive always gotten the good teachers. others may not have been as lucky. the teachers are great, though sometimes opt for group punishment when not necessary, work/tests are easy for me and most of my classmates, and even the office staff and others are very polite and kind. ive only ever had 1 issue, in which a teacher yelled at me Infront of my class (i still hold a grudge, and yes, they still work there). there are a wide variety of 6th period classes that include, P.E. art, band, library, etc. and the teachers have tutoring on select days through the week. the students in the school are kind, though you might get the occasional rude comment or playful argument. new students are usually welcomed with open arms and invited into groups immediately, and i have yet to hear any complaints from them. ive heard people have issues with the middle school lunch times, because we have 15 minutes of recess ( not allowed to eat) and then 10 minutes to eat, which for most children isn't long enough. i can tell you firsthand that some of the reviews here that are from parents don't know the full story, and go off of the little details their child had told them, so take it from me, someone who's gone to this school for about 7 years at this point, I Love it!
• Submitted by parent on July 25, 2023
  The principal, Mr. Topp, is open to dialogue. Wish the experience would have been better for my sensitive child. My child refused to return for the 8th grade after attending for seven years. My child felt unsupported and targeted by staff and students after struggling with gender identity issues.
• Submitted by student on March 05, 2023
  This is a really good school to go to.
• Submitted by parent on October 07, 2022
  Three of my children attended GEA one of them attended from K-8th. Throughout all of the years my children were at GEA the teachers and administration were caring and attentive to their needs. The teachers were in constant communication and administration was always helpful. I loved the small class sizes and my kids always came home happy. My kids were prepared for high school because they attended GEA!
• Submitted by parent on October 06, 2022
  Our family has had students attending GEA for over fifteen years. I have three students who have since moved on to high school and college, and my youngest still attends. Administration has always worked with us to get the best educational experience possible. My older students were well prepared for high school classes (in several cases, they reported that the middle school classes were MORE rigorous). Teachers are caring. They communicate well. They go the extra mile for individual students. The music program is great. The school works to rotate interesting classes like ASL, Spanish, art, PE, choir, band, life skills, etc. The expanded SPED programs are doing fantastic work. There are often fun themed campaigns like a Kindness initiative or Dr. Seuss week. I can't say enough good things about GEA.
• Submitted by parent on August 15, 2022
  Great Expectations Academy is a great school ! All the staff are very professional, caring and make for a safe school environment. They go above and beyond in regards to your child’s educational needs ! I would highly recommend this school !!!
• Submitted by parent on August 03, 2022
  We've had 4 children go through GEA from 2nd to 8th grade! Most of the staff and faculty are genuine and always helpful! Open communication is amazing and a huge priority! 3 of the 4 kids had special needs and were always taken care of, never left behind or lost in the system, accommodations recognized as above and beyond any public school! Bullying is zero tolerance!!! We have 1 more child going to GEA in a few years and couldn't fathom him going to an overcrowded public school. Not every school is for everyone, but GEA is the best in the area!
• Submitted by parent on April 30, 2022
  A 1 star review is too high of a ranking for this school. DO NOT IGNORE THE OTHER BAD REVIEWS. This school should have it's federal funding revoked. Administration is not interested in your child's education, they are interested in their job. The entire staff refused to help with my child's life threatening disability AND they wouldn't let me handle the disability properly. As other reviews say, the teachers are not required to be certified and it shows. The classes are not smaller than other local schools. We were never given homework or benchmark test results. My child had to catch up when we transferred to a different school. The school does not do anything "extra" for kids like musicals or Easter egg hunts. The school does only the basic necessities. DO NOT USE THIS SCHOOL. PUT YOUR CHILD FIRST & GO TO ANY OTHER SCHOOL. THIS SCHOOL IS CARELESS & DANGEROUS
• Submitted by parent on May 18, 2021
  This is our first first year @GEA. Students and faculty are great. My daughters (5th and 6th grades), love the teachers, classes, and classmates! We came fr. one of the few A-Rated charter schools in Arizona. Academics were great but the student body not so much. My girls actually have friends and are happy.
• Submitted by parent on January 11, 2021
  My kids attended this school for several years and I kept trying to give the school the benefit of the doubt but I wish I had transferred them sooner. As with anything, it's not all bad, but the bad outweighs the good in my opinion. The facilities are not good quality, money is spent on band for a small group of students instead of the desperate needs of the run down facilities and the rest of the student population. There is a HIGH teacher turnover rate which often happens mid year since they don't require a teaching contract. Having been at another school, I now know how lacking the education was that my children received. They had a lot of catching up to do. The administration was all over the place on how they handled problems. If your children have any kind of special need OR you want advanced classes, do not put your child in this school. They do not have the infrastructure in place to handle it. Also, several of the parents become teachers that have no teaching degrees. They only require a 4 year degree of any background to teach. They do have smaller class sizes, but that doesn't always equate to quality education. I do not recommend.
• Submitted by parent on June 24, 2020
  We have been very pleased with the education our child has received. I love the small school atmosphere where all the teachers and administrators know every student, including those not in their own classrooms. I appreciate that they value relationship building as much as reading, writing, math, etc. because people skills are just as important as any other area.
• Submitted by parent on May 19, 2020
  We LOVE GEA. Our 3 children have attended here for 2 years and we absolutely love it. This school is smaller and everyone becomes family very quickly. Every member of faculty and staff knows all the kids by name. They get lots of outside play time. They get to run and play and be kids!!! They offer art and music as well as all the basics. Many schools these days are just focused on test results but this school focuses on the child and how to help them as an individual not just a number. The classes are small so they aren’t overlooked and there’s not as many behavioral issues to handle because they have a great student to teacher ratio. Every time I’d go to campus the kids are happy and smiling-that’s hard to find these days in schools. They do great teaching and preparing the kids for the things they need to do but they don’t add the stress like other schools. I’d highly recommend GEA to anyone. It’s been proven that a child can’t learn until they feel safe and loved in an environment and GEA definitely provides both.
• Submitted by other on October 03, 2019
  Terrible. I'd never recommend this school. Facilities are lackluster while funds are spent on pet projects and big boy toys.
• Submitted by parent on August 17, 2019
  Very poor experience. Do not send your kids to this school especially is they have any type of special needs.
• Submitted by parent on February 03, 2018
  Son has attended this school from k-5th so far and we have loved it every year. I love that it is a small school that can give individual attention!
• Submitted by parent on January 25, 2018
  This is the best school around. My son is far more smarter than his friends coming from the public schools in this area. He loves this school and his teachers and he's a straight "A" student.
• Submitted by other on November 21, 2014
  Great Expectations Academy is a very well organized school. The first day I brought my grandson there, about 1 month ago, everyone went out of their way to help him get settled in. He just loves his new teacher because she pays attention to the kids in her class and isn't on her cell phone texting or playing on Facebook like his past teacher. He loves having PE, Art class, Music class and having a real library. Leaving Air & Space Academy in Sahuarita was the best thing we could have done for him. He really, really enjoys going to school and never complains like he did in the past 2 years. I sure hope parents and grandparents enroll their children in this school if they have that chance. It sure beats the "in house" fighting that was happening in his past school. Happy kids makes for better learning and no more stress. I'd give this school 6 stars if I could!
• Submitted by other on November 09, 2014
  I am a retired teacher who has taught twenty-eight years. I taught in a traditional public school south of Green Valley. For the past five years I have been a substitute teacher at Great Expectations. I have taught in all grade levels(K-8). I am tremendously impressed by all aspects of this school. The students are polite and highly motivated to learn. They are respectful to teachers and other students. The administration takes the effort to know all the students by name and maintain a friendly atmosphere in the office. All teachers are highly skilled in their field and have great programs to teach the skills needed and to motivate their students. Any parent not happy with their child's public education because of a poor learning environment or skills not being taught effectively, I recommend Great Expectations.

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