Sunrise Drive Elementary School

5301 E SUNRISE DR

School District

Catalina Foothills Unified District
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Catalina Foothills 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 March 01, 2021

This is a wonderful school where teachers truly care about students. My children were made to feel welcomed and included from day 1, even starting in the middle of a challenging year for all schools. They have beautiful outdoor learning spaces that they utilize to the greatest extent. The teachers are kind and creative and highly qualified. I have one child who participates in the gifted program and loves it and one child who receives special education services and they are incredibly inclusive and wonderful with her. All my children made friends right away and love their teachers and the specials that are offered. The parent community is caring and involved, I cannot say enough good things about this school!
Submitted by other on March 13, 2017

My children have attended Sunrise Drive Elementary school since 2011. After leaving a high-quality school district in the East to move to Tucson, I was concerned about the level of education my children would be offered in Arizona. I have been so pleased at Sunrise. The staff has high, but reasonable, expectations for the students and holds the students to those standards. The students are taught how to not give up when working on solving difficult problems or on difficult assignments. The teachers and administrator teach and model kindness and responsibility. This school has exceeded my expectations and I am so glad my children had the chance to attend Sunrise.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2017

I have been very happy with my son's experience at Sunrise Drive. He has special needs and has always been accepted by peers and adults throughout his years here. Everywhere we go in the community someone always says "Hello" or says a positive comment too him. If my son is not around, people make positive comments about him to us. The school counselor regularly teaches lessons in classes about kindness, acceptance and friendships which I think positively contribute my son's great experience.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2017

My daughter has had a great experience at this school. The educational programming is phenomenal and challenges her. She is pushed to be a critical thinker and problem solver. She loves going to school and constantly talks about what she has learned after the school day.In response to another review about bullying, I completely disagree. My daughter participates in kindness and social lessons taught by the school counselor and teachers. When I am on campus, I always see students being kind to one another. In addition, she has students in her class with special needs and the students are inclusive and kind. The school also offers great opportunities after school through the Community Schools program. My daughter has taken several classes and enjoyed them.
Submitted by parent on September 10, 2015

My daughter is in the Chinese Immersion Program and she really loves it and is learning a lot. I don't know what the class sizes are in the English only classes, but in the immersion classes, the class sizes are really small. Her class has 18 or 19 kids I think.
Submitted by parent on August 31, 2015

I would not send my children back to this school. The principal allows underhanded bullying and the class sizes are high. There is no character education or kindness curriculum being taught. If you can send your children to Manzanita or a private school instead.
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2015

This is an excellent school with wonderful programs and teachers. My son thoroughly enjoyed his time at this school and I wish that he could have stayed. Since we are out of district, the distance to the school from our home made it a challenge to get there on time every day. The parking lot to get in and out of the school in the morning and afternoon can get very congested, though the staff does a great job at making this as smooth of a process as they can. My only issue that we had was that we had originally put our son on the waiting list for before and after-school care on campus before the start of the school year. When I called to find out his place on the wait list I was informed that he was moved to the bottom of the wait list and that they had tried to contact me. I asked which phone number they used and it was not my phone number, yet we had to remain at the bottom of the wait list and he was never given a spot in before and after-school care which was part of the reason we had to eventually switch schools. I do recommend this school to parents.
Submitted by parent on March 13, 2015

I'm really happy with Sunrise. It's supportive and they have a lot of programs. My daughter is really happy there.
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2014

We used to love Sunrise Elementary. This is my child's 4th year at this school, it's been a rocky semester. Sunrise has had three principals in the past 4 years. It also emphasizes the Chinese immersion program and the English only classes are crowded. My fourth graders class has 33 students in it! The teacher is good but overwhelmed. We like the cultural diversity and the new playground. The new principal is friendly and knows children / families. The district needs to firmly cap enrollment to allow excellent teachers to educate not simply teach to the lowest standards and keep kids safe in over crowded classrooms.
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2014

The Chinese immersion program is great. This is the best program in Tucson right now for native English speakers to learn Chinese.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2014

This school is excellent. My child loves the teachers, the staff, and the after school opportunities.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2014

Sunrise is a great school. My child has had the opportunity for extended learning, where each child is taught at their level in the classroom. My child has the advantage of having physical education, art, music, and Spanish. My child loves that the teachers are caring and I love that the teachers are educated in their fields of study. Even with the transition to a new principal this school continues to excel. My child has attended this school for 3 years and we have had nothing but positive experiences.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

The first year of the Chinese Immersion program is going well so far. My son loves the program and is eager to learn more. Hats off to the English and Chinese teachers in First Grade!
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

Mrs Bergerson, the 3rd grade teacher does a good job. My son really likes her.
Submitted by parent on June 20, 2013

Have been disappointed by this school. The principal and 16 teachers have left the school this year. What does this say about how it's being run? My son's teacher clearly hated her job and had ridiculously high standards for grading. My child did not enjoy a single day of his year and did not feel encouraged or motivated by the monotonous worksheets requiredevery day. Parents seem to form groups that stick together and do not welcome newcomers. A lot of effort is being put into a Chinese immersion program, when more basic problems need to be addressed.
Submitted by parent on April 13, 2013

Sunrise Drive has many places to improve. My child was tramatized by one of the teachers. I filed a complaint to the District and never heard a word. The lack of open dialog is disappointing. My child's teacher this year is adequate. She teaches to the middle and has a difficult time reaching children outside the bell shaped curve. The Principal is also more focused on moving on to here new job at a private school than addressing concerns brought to her attention. There are good teachers but my child does not have one this year. Hoping for better leadership next year.
Submitted by parent on October 15, 2012

Sunrise Drive is a well organized school. The teachers are wonderful and the Principal is outstanding. My daugther is very happy attending this school. She feels that the parents, teachers and students are all very nice. Grade level teachers work well together, they work as a team. This is our third year there and I believe my daughter is receiving an excellent education.