Ward Traditional Academy

1965 East Hermosa Drive

School District

Tempe
Grade

K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
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 August 20, 2024

Ward Traditional Academy is a great school, don't get me wrong. However, a certain select of the teachers 6th-8th don't seem to understand how to ACTUALLY teach. They would either talk for most of class and prevent other students from their, "Hands-on" learning they promote, or even disregard most students trying to have the slightest bit of enjoyment in class. I don't mean start playing around in class, but while working with other people, if a teacher hears even anything remotely off task, they proceed to go off on ANYONE who even tries to take a little brain break. The safety in this school is a straight dumpster fire, (in some cases). In my personal experience, I have been bullied over and over again, and whenever I told the principal or anyone serious about it, they ONLY take sides. It's either one or the other, they hardly ever try to take part in both opinions and voices. Even when my friend showed them an audio recording of their bully bullying them as proof, they went off ON MY FRIEND instead OF THE LITERAL BULLY because of some STUPID simple reason, "You shouldn't be recording children without their consent and/or permission!" How else are we supposed to get proof? Tell them to stop politely? Obviously that won't work, because schools think that nothing has changed since they were last a student. Most teachers are pretty decent, and when I had, "thoughts" the counselor helped me through it. I haven't seen many special ed students, but when I have they are treated Pretty good. What we learn.. is pretty basic. For certain subjects it gets pretty annoying because all we do is take notes, then they quiz. They never actually teach us, they let some stupid Common Core Standards take charge... THEY USE GOOGLE SLIDES INSTEAD OF TELLING US THINGS. Finally, they like to include families with certain things they do, apart from obviously telling them what they teach us. It's ridiculous, outrageous, and this school surprisingly isn't that bad. Still bad though, 5/10 (Don't even think, "Well, their writing is pretty good so that's a plus!" I taught myself how to write like this. This school doesn't really sit well with me Middle-School wise.)
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2024

This school used to be the top rated school in TSD. However, the principal Amy Bemis is driving it into the ground. After she was hired, half of the staff left. I decided to keep my son enrolled after a teacher friend said he should be fine. That was a mistake. A student who bullied my son for three years threatened my son’s life and Amy decided it was appropriate to offer my son one solution - mediation. This was after I informed her of the bullying for three year, which she magically “forgot.” She thought it was appropriate that after someone threatens to kill my son to try to teach him “it’s okay, let’s work it out.” When I brought up issues, she’d tell me “I didn’t bring them up right after they happened so she won’t do anything” in front of her boss, who was kind enough to agree that parents can bring up issues when they feel it’s appropriate. If you do enroll your child here, Amy forgets everything, so I strongly recommend you keep an email record as proof. On top of that, when I brought my minority husband in to discuss issues, Amy gave him the nastiest looks which we both witnessed but kept quiet about. When bringing up these issues to the district, they didn’t care. This experience was so bad for my family we’re now leaving the public education realm and will be going to a charter school.Their counselor is a gem though!
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2024

My girls have been here since kindergarten. It’s a wonderful community where students are known by all staff and supported both academically and socially. We feel so fortunate to be walking distance from a great neighborhood school.
Submitted by parent on January 15, 2024

There are so many wonderful things about Ward that I could go on and on, but for us, it's the fact that our kids feel like they belong to a tribe of proud warriors who are molded to become internally motivated to grow and develop their potential as leaders in their communities. Every child at Ward is seen and valued. Ward does have high expectations, AND Ward also provides the support needed to get their students to achieve those high expectations. Everyone, including Pam in the front office is invested in every child's well being and in laying the foundation for positive life trajectories. Student diversity is valued at Ward. Although my kids are not the neuro-typical students which most accelerated curriculum schools prefer, my kids are by no means left behind academically or social-emotionally. Instead, my kids are coming home chanting things like "we don't quit because we have grit", and "FAIL stands for First Attempt In Learning." Ward has a push in rather than pull out policy for providing extra support. In other words, special ed kids are actually supported as much as possible in their classroom. Section 504 plans are actually followed at Ward--unlike so many other schools which simply sign a piece of paper and then forget it exists. My kids love their school and love learning because they are actually supported. I can't say enough positive things about this school. The principal has lunch with students, there is truly no tolerance for bullying, staff genuinely care about the success of their students, and the school counselor takes the time to directly interact with students to buildup social skills and self affirmation. The leadership at Ward is outstanding and works with families to help support the entire student, not just test scores.
Submitted by parent on January 15, 2024

This school does not welcome diversity. They mistreat students of color and inflict harsher punishments on students of color. This not just for older grade levels. They attempt to label African-American and Hispanic students as being bad or disobedient children while ignoring identical behavior by white students as early as Kindergarten. I’ve witnessed this first-hand while sitting in classrooms observing. Through conversation with staff and principal, their stance became more apparent. They recommended sending my child to a lower rated school where he would be “better accepted” although the student was classified as “gifted.” They do not implement a progressive discipline plan. Their best solution was to remove the student from class and force him to sit in the front office for 5-6 hours, disrupting to student’s ability to continue learning. My child had no previous behavior concerns before attending this school and after transferring to a new school has not had any additional behavior concerns.
Submitted by other on June 23, 2023

Teachers here are very gossipy and talk negatively about their students, and like to argue with literal 12-year-olds... Only allow students to use the restroom 4 times each quarter, very unreasonable. My daughter was denied permission to use the restroom many times. Also this year certain grade levels have acted out and continue to do so even after strict rules have been made, obviously it seems the principal and the staff are not helping students be their best. And the principal I would say is questionable. I would say she holds grudges for students who have had behavioral issues in the past and treats them differently from other students, for example, puts them on the bottom of her respect list instead of helping them to become better versions of themselves. I would say this school doesn't help your kids emotionally and puts them in mental distress.
Submitted by student on November 01, 2022

This school is extremely unfair and uninclusive towards POC, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, etc. I am a current student here and my friends were treated so unfairly at this school and so was I. The teachers were okay and there were some who were just so above and beyond but the new principal is extremely unfair and unreasonable regarding middle school and dress code and way more.
Submitted by parent on May 10, 2022

It's hit or miss with this school. You either get a great teacher (one of the Smeltzer sisters) or you can get stuck with someone who isn't the best. This is a very small school, in fact too small. There are good aspects to the school but there is also staff gossip about families and LOTS of labeling. Once a kid is perceived in a negative light or is just different by any type of social norms (like a boy having long hair) lookout for the bad label and staff gossip about the family among themselves, and even to other families. I've heard things about other people's kids from the staff that was completely inappropriate to share and was honestly just opinion-based and very NEGATIVE. Little kids should not have any labels put on them.Punishment seems extreme and unfair-- and unevenly handed out to the kids who are already labeled as being bad. Once a kid makes a mistake they are now the problem child and anytime something goes wrong it's that kid's fault before questions are asked. The school is not at all inclusive or diverse either. Our family has not seen a sense of community unless you are white and/or gifted, do not have any special needs or learning variances, do not identify as LGBT+, volunteer at a minimum--15 hours of your work day time per child per year, and can finacially continue to pump school supplies into the class all year long--then-- you are allowed to be part of the school community. And as part of the community, you get to get in on that gossip about the "others". The dress code is over the top strict compared to other schools with dress codes. You can't even go to Target or Walmart and just buy the right colors from their school uniform clothing section because although an item may work at other schools it's not appropriate under Ward's ridiculous standards. But yeah, lots of high expectations to do well on state testing and grades. So that's a positive. And there really are some superstar staff members. It's just such a small school that the bad apples really do spoil the rest of it. Also, a focus on inclusion and acceptance of others needs to be part of the culture. It's honestly missing right now.
Submitted by parent on October 12, 2020

My son loves the small class room and the school reminds me of my school as a child. Has a great community feel and the biggest disadvantage is there is a lot of homework for the kids.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2020

Ward Traditional is the perfect environment for students who want to be challenged. The teachers are supportive and helpful. Choosing Ward is one of the best decisions we have ever made.
Submitted by parent on January 13, 2020

I've had both of my kids going to this school for the last 3 years. It has been a fantastic school and any bullying issues have been immediately dealt with.
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2018

They don't deal with bullying at all.
Submitted by parent on May 27, 2017

This school has been a good fit for my oldest child. It is a small community with only 2 classes per grade level. There is a focus on character and achievement. The homework can be excessive, particularly in the younger grades. Additionally, the school could benefit from more support services for children who lead differently.
Submitted by other on April 23, 2017

Our child was bullied and the teachers and principal did nothing about it but helped spread the rumors. No one would help us.
Submitted by other on April 07, 2017

I had really high hopes for this school, but it turned out to be such a disappointment... The kindergarten teacher was inadequate to teach this grade level (she thought it is okay to call kids "losers" and single them out). There is no positive reinforcement, only constant punishments for "bad" behavior. Techer did nothing when I addressed it. Principal has "my staff can do no wrong" approach. My child hated going to school and cried just talking about school. It shouldn't be like this when the kid is only 5! All problems disappeared once we transferred to a new school. The new school is wonderful, and my child loves it, even upset on the weekends that there is no school!
Submitted by parent on November 21, 2016

We are in the middle of our ninth and final year as a Ward parent and are always so impressed by the friendliness and professionalism of the staff and teachers at Ward. We can honestly say that our experience with this school has surpassed ALL our highest expectations of what we had hoped the education of our daughter would be. Just a fantastic group of people dedicated to serving the community. We are do grateful to Ward and the district for their service to all families!
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2016

As a parent, I appreciate the high behavioral expectations at this school. My child has done well in this highly structured environment. We will continue at WTA for the foreseeable future.
Submitted by other on October 13, 2014

I went to Ward for grades 3-8. I remember HATING the rules. No talking in class, raising hands to ask to get up out of seat, strict dress code with consequences, boatload of homework, working to the bell, decent behavior at all times, critical thinking for every assignment(which can be tiring). However, I soon learned that this is ESSENTIAL to becoming a successful student. The kids at Connoly and any other middle school don't get the same education that Ward provides(for free?!?! this is private school material). This was all very apparent to me when I entered high school as a freshman and observed the lack of drive for school work from the students that didn't attend Ward. Im now a freshman at ASU and the skills that Ward taught me will follow me for the rest of my life!! I highly recommend this school.
Submitted by other on May 06, 2014

Students are extremely brilliant, and really try to succeed. The behavior of students is exemplary. There are many excellent teachers, who really care about the students and try to help them succeed. But there are other teachers who don't really care about them. The uniforms themselves are nice, but the dress code is too extreme. There are many restrictions that seem ridiculous, such as regulation of shoelace color. How will my red shoelaces distract the learning of others? Or do they regulate small things like this to take away our individuality? There has been a bit of a debacle on the wearing of leggings on no uniform days. Girls that come to school wearing leggings will be forced to change into uniform pants. This is appalling. Why are they forced to change? So boys don't stare at them or get distracted? girls shouldn't be punished for this. We should be teaching boys to respect girls. Making girls change teaches boys that it's the girls fault. Also, the discipline system is too harsh. We are taught negative reinforcement, versus positive. hardly ever will you hear a teacher praise us. The people are great, and some teachers are outstanding, but the rules are too harsh.
Submitted by other on January 22, 2014

I love this school! I started attending WTA the beginning of the school year and I have nothing but good reviews for the school. I was worried about making friends, but when I got there, everyone was so inviting! I made friends so quickly. It has little to no cliques, and everyone is so friendly. The teachers are great, if you are having trouble in class, almost every teacher has tutoring in either the morning or afternoons.