Research Hearn Academy, The - A Ball Charter School charter Schools in Scottsdale, Arizona

“The school is a great school with a staff and administration that works very hard. There is a brand new playground with many activities for all the students. The school has after school sports that only cost the parents $40 a season. Students, parents and employees light the place up until 7 or 8 p.m. with activities that everyone enjoys. My child has done exceptionally well since coming. There are computer labs in most rooms, and a brand new library. Our family loves the school.”

“Great Academics. More Challenging than the public schools.”

“I am a former para professional and parent of Hearn Academy & quite frankly I am shocked to see the principal still there. The principal has done an extremely poor job running an effective school. The teachers have been strong through this tough 2 years and really care for their students. Keep up the good work!”

“Ms. Jallad is a gift to the second grade in this school. You could not find a more superior teacher anywhere...”

“The teachers at the elementary are great, caring and they are very committed to the students. The upper management is lacking in leadership. The shchool has hardly no parent involvement. Academically, the school is average. Compared to the public school it competes it with, I consider it the better of the two.”

“Teachers are involved in every aspect of the school. Helpful when you need it and most love to teach. school staff is always there to help also. One of my children went from straight f's at a public school to straight A's with the help of a wonderful 6 grade teacher”

“Their test scores speak for themselves. The school is just average. Needs more structure and commitment to learning.”

“I enrolled my 3 kjds the first year hearn opened..The elementaey program was good, but middle school always lacked a lot! Also there was no programs for gifted learners. My children felt like they got pushed aside since they were bright and didnt need a lot of help.. We ended up pulling our two youngest out the end of their 8th grade year because of the lack of jr high program..Some very excellent teachers in the place, unfortunately many have passed through..”

“Hearn is a wonderful school. My children thrive on the attention that they get from their caring teachers and principal. The school is a very safe place, and both my children have improved their Math and Reading tremendously since they have been in the school with the differentiated groups that the school provides. The students love the afterschool sports and the principal stops spends time with individual children and their concerns. They have a process called a 'Walk-up Child Study' that allows parents instant conferences on parent or teacher concerns. We love the school.”

“I am a current employee of Hearn and also a parent and I can tell you from an inside prosepective - we are an excellent academic school the staffs envolement and commitment the high quality dedicated teachers and carl ball's vision are all shine at this school - however nothing is perfect so as for the other reviews I have seen on this sight - I don't believe this school is for everyone but it is definitly the only place for me and my son.”

“The teachers--especially in the higher grades--are amazing. The only thing that disappoints us is the Principal.”

“We have been at Hearn about 4 yrs. now, and are in the final chapter at the school (8th grade). They have had some really remarkable teachers that have come through there. Unfortunately they do not stay very long, especially the ones who really care about the kids enough to make a difference and lasting impression. They do not offer enough classes for the students that are on the higher end of academia. Had it not been for the teachers and the friends that have been made we would not be there. Needs much improvement...”

“Academics are average to above average; parent support is plentiful; music and sports programs are great; teachers are outstanding; students seem happy.”

“My children have attended Hearn Academy for 4 years now and I have finally decided to move them to a new school. There have been a couple instances where my children were in situations that were not handled appropriately by Hearn Academy staff. I would not recommend Hearn Academy.”

“I have been at Hearn Acedemy for 7 years and remain faithful to the school because of the dedicated and knowledgable teachers and staff. Despite the administrative turn over, the school has remained strong and the academics high. I am a bit concerned about the administration, as I understand that many teachers and parents have left due to lack of leadership and inconsistency. But overall, I would highly recommend Hearn Academy, as the teachers truly care about their students and meet their academic needs.”

“Academicly good- a lot of teacher turn over. Kids seem happy. Upper grade kids out of control- lax discipline with older students. Board unresponsive to parents issues.”

“The academic programs are very good. The school offers a number of other classes such as music, art, sports, etc. There is a lot of parent involvement. Many students coming from a public school have excelled at this charter school due to teacher ratio and excellence in teaching. My children transferred from another charter school and have excelled in all of their classes.”

“Hearn Academy is an wonderful charter school with dedicated, well-trained, caring, highly professional teachers, staff and intelligent, involved parents.The students are hard-working, cooperative, bright, curious, well-disciplined, and energetic.The school art, music, p.e., afterschool care and a computer lab to help give the students a strong, well-rounded education.”

“I am a parent of a student at hearn and have been greatly disapointed. There are two playgrounds at hearn. Only one has a small piece of equipment. The other playground consists of a basketball court and grass. My child says he is very bored on the playground. The paras try to play organized games with the students, but the principal doesn't allow them on the grass because she says that it is dying because the kids trampel on it. I find that unacceptable. The doors to the classrooms are held open with boulders and cause many people to trip on them because they often find their way on the sidewalks.Air conditioning and heating problems have also been a problem this year. The principal does a poor job leading her students and staff. .”

“Hearn Academy has been an average school for our kindergarten daughter. She has been in the half day program.”

“Hearn Academy is a goos school if you want good elementary education. Their middle school education, is not that great. They don't have alot of choices for music all they have is chorus and piano. The level of parent ivolvment is very low I hardly see any of the parents at all, I am a working mother and I have better parent involvent than that of the stay at home moms.”

“My friend sends her son to this school and he loves it. Previously he'd been in a public school and really suffered academcially, but now he's all caught up and even surpassing what had been hoped for him.”

“I have nothing but negative feeling towards this school. 1st of all the pricepal does a very poor job of addressing concerns of students/parents. The is a lack of parent involvement, the academics are poor and of lack of leadership. The school does not address those students that are gifted, they do not challenge these children.”

“I am a currently an eighth grade student at Hearn Academy and I am very displeased. I am appalled at the middle school staff (meaning teachers). However their is one good teacher who is professional and actually teaches, witch is Mr. Semien the social studies instructor.”

“I would not recommend this school. We have been there since kindergarten and now we are in 3rd grade and the problms are numerous.”

“I am an eighth grade student at hearn academy [o6-o7]. I have been at hearn since 5th grade. let me tell you, the school WAS great. It changed immensely and i wouldn't recommend it for children with low self esteem. Once your child enters middle school, every teacher will belittle your child. The teachers are unethical and cruel, as well as academics. I can tell you that i have not learned one thing this year, with the exception of one class [social studies] I am glad to say that my that my time is up at hearn. and i am moving on. Sincerely, Alexis Rizo. .”

“School lacks leadership and professionalism. Awesome teachers do come through this school, but they do not provide any programs for gifted students, they do seem to get pushed aside. Way to petty about the small stuff, and discipline lacks consistency. Until they clean up their act I don't believe they will have to many families stay for a long period of time. It is important to allow a child to grow some roots at the school they are attending, I do not believe this is the place however.”

“My daughter will be in 3rd grade this year. Hearn Academy is a very good school. The school has excellent safety standards. The Principal, Dr. Vert works long hours, can even be seen helping with clean up of the campus on weekends. I've met with her when I had concerns about a teacher not being the right match for my daughter and she was easy to work with and provided me with excellent advice which helped to resolve the situation. My daughter has been there since 1st grade. Two of her teachers were excellent. One teacher was a bit over-zealous, but responded well to my requests for change. My only comment would be that curricula changes and classroom placement could be better communicated to parents.”

“At first, the school seemed like a good choice- good academic and individual student focus- as time has passed (approx. 1 yr)- things have changed. Most of the teachers with the exception of a few, are very degrading to the students promoting low self-esteem among other things. the principal also turned out to be quite disappointing!”

“Great school with plenty of activities to stimulate students interest.”

“This is the first year that our daughter has attended this school. We love that she has options for music and sports. She loves learning Spanish and her teacher.”

“A wonderful school with awesome teachers who care! The sports program is well rounded and all 4 specials are offered. We also have a great PTSA organization!”

“I love the teachers and the academics but I'm very disappointed with the principal.”

“any school will have problems overall hearn is more lax than valley but not as bad as chancellor so u pick your battles, principal leaves alot to be desired so if you can avoid her u will see tht the school runs well when she stays out of it. Teachers are great and could get along well with out her butting in.”

“I have been with hearn as a parent for 5 years i love the school especially the teachers jallad ehnes partridge nurmi the receptionist jenny the aides ashley, michelle, lucy and carly and the school nurse angie are incredible they are all so loving and caring and you can see by the way they do their jobs they love working with kids i am so greatfull they are a part of my child's education - my child is a straight a student because of the cirriculum and small class size there is no doubt i chose the right school however i do wonder whether or not the choice in principals over the years allows me to have faith in the school's board!”

“I pulled my children out I was very displeased!”

“This school has come a long way in a few years. I think it is really a safe environment and the principals and teachers are excellent.”

“A caring set of teachers work hard to help all the kids excel at their own rate. My kids have been here for two years and from all of my research I can't find a better school. Smaller class sizes and oppertunity for students to excel.”

“Grades 1 to 4 are stronger than grades 5 to 8. The school promotes reading but lacks strength in sciences and math. Test scores are good for younger children and become average for upper grade levels. The school has financial problems and has cut back staff and programs but is still having a hard time meeting expenses.”

“We have been at the school for 4 years and are very satisfied. The leadership could be stronger,but the curriculum is strong and my kids are really learning. The new campus is beautiful.”

“principal could be better but the education is on the high end and we love it there they care alot and are very much into each child as they are -small classes allow one on one time.”

“The school and teachers appear great. Teachers plan relavant lesson and care about the students. Administration has the best interest of the students in mind. There does appear to be some tension in the relationship between administration and the educators.”

“My child went to Hearn for kindergarten and first grade. At the end of the first grade year they passed him on to second grade but during that summer we moved and had to enroll him into another school but still chose a Charter school in Glendale. This new school tested him for grade placement after enrollment and we found that he was not able to pass the test - did not meet the State Requirements for second grade placement!! He had to repeat the first grade but if he had stayed at Hearn, who knows when we would have found out he was having difficulty. I read another parents comment about the playgound...that has gone on since they built the school and no improvements?? We were obviously very disappointed in the leadership at Hearn as well.”

“I have nothing but positive comments about the school, the new principal, and the new campus. The teachers are very caring and my son has taken a complete turn around since going to Hearn. There are lots of sports available, and lots of exploratories and advanced classes for the middle school.”

“My daughter has Mrs. Hammond for kindergarden this year and she has taught the kids so much. She is a great teacher and we are lucky to have had her!”

“The school gets better and better in many ways. My children are being cared for and taught at their own level. The teachers do well with gifted students. We have been with the school for 3 years and we believe because of the principal and some outstanding teachers, this is the best year yet.”

“I'm thrilled with the way my son has excelled this year while attending only several weeks. I'm very impressed with the teachers as well. He seems to have a different outlook on school which is wonderful for all involved. He attended a public school since the age of 4 and each year seemed to retreat a little further into himself. I hope they crack down on those who had been taking lunches and personal property in backpacks, and bullying. I give it a 10 otherwise.”

“I think the Teachers are wonderful. I tried to express my concern to the principal about kids not washing thier hands before they ate lunch, and she acted like it was no big deal. I was told my child would not be on the big play ground that it was for 4-8 graders only, and suprize they do let the little ones out there, funny thing is, is how they keep that big play ground a secret,As parents you need to walk back there yourself, just dont fall into one of the holes, or off the edge. I think this School is waiting for a law suit!! I am very glad to have pulled my child out of here!”

“I am a student at Hearn Academy and I have been there since fifth grade and am now in eighth grade, four years. It has awesome teacher who are very committed to teaching and helping the students out. Most kids don t mind the longer school hours and some students even prefer it. We have some very committed parents that help out with various school projects and things. The school has had three parents from an eighth grade student to help with our end of the school Catalina trip for the eighth grade students. The students are also able to help out with the PTSA (Parent Student Teacher Association) where they are able to help out with different decisions about the school. I do think that the principal choices are a little poor. My fifth grade principal Dr.Summerford was an awesome principal and will do very good at the high school he now works at. I do think that they could slack on the uniform code a little more even though we don t have as strict as one in other schools. I do really like this school and will miss it a lot.”

“The new principal is fantastic. The school is has an excellent academic reputation and she is making it even stronger - an outstanding leader. The teachers are excellent and really care about each individual child. There is a real focus on the important issues.”

“I love the school and feel like the Principal is doing a great job. I feel safe knowing my children are safe and learning from the best education has to offer!”

“We have been disappointed with the turnover of teachers at this school and most disappointed with the principle's leadership. The principal does a poor job of addressing concerns. She hired a new teacher for my childs classroom and informed parents 2 days after the teacher was in place. The school does have art, music, PE and Spanish, however there is a lack of communication between these teachers. There seems to be little resources for gifted/special needs children and it takes a great deal of effort to obtain what they have. They encourage parental involvement. The academics are good and my child is learning, however it's offset by the lack of consistency in the teaching staff and the decision making and lack of leadership demonstrated by the principle. It's unfortunate the administration is so poor as my childs teachers work hard to help my child succeed. We will not be returning.”

“We really enjoyed her first year, but felt there was far too much emphasis on monetary contributions. In our daughters first grade year, we were not as pleased with both the Principal's contribution to the school and with the continued emphais on monetary contributions and class size. Classes were much too large in some cases and do not allow for necessary one-on-one interaction of the teacher with students on an ongoing basis. Students not presenting as 'problems' or 'disruptive' fell under the teachers radar and were left for long periods unsupervised and then subsequently marked down on preformance reviews as 'lacks attention to detail' or 'does not use time wisely'...no surprise that a 6 year old will lose focus with almost no supervision or reinforcment of task at hand. Very unahppy with teacher to student ratio and will not have child continue at school.”

“Hearn Academy's academics are state standards based and current. Each teacher is given a four quarter plan that is specific to all subjects. I am a teacher and am proud of the work that we do as a team - researching, working together, and staying committed to the students. Many of the teachers are also coaches, work with extra curricular activities, are involved in local arts programs, and also work during the summer months with arts and creative activities. This year, Hearn is priding itself on a curriculum focus of writing. Together, the staff is working on creative and research based programs to enhance the students' writing skills. I am proud to say that I work with a very competent staff. Overall, it is a great place to work because the teachers work with one another. Plus - did I mention that we all love our students?”

“We are sincerely happy with this school. The principal is very responsive and the teachers are top rate. My children's academics have improved greatly since they came to Hearn in August. We especially like the Chess Club and after school events for families.”

“Teachers at Hearn are accessible and responsive to parents' concerns. The paraprofessionals care for the students, and are active as parent volunteers too. Last year, middle school classes were less than challenging, and students seldom had their work returned to them so that they (and parents) come evaluate their progress, and what they needed help with; this year looks far more promising. More office personnel is needed; understaffing results in great frustration for parents calling for any reason, or appearing in person and needing assistance. The front desk people are easily doing twice the work expected of one person. Children do appear to be thriving in the 'small school' environment Hearn offers. The ups and downs of the Stanford 9 scores do raise some doubts and questions, though.”

“I was very happy with the treatment of the teachers and believe me that is hard when you teach a bunch of 13 adn 14 year olds. My favorite part of it was that they are a k-8 school so that way kids dont lose friends during school transition.”

“WOW how much do I love Ms. Eary thank god she is there - we are so blessed to have her!”

“My son has attended Hearn Academy since Kindergarten and will be graduating from 8th grade this year. My daughter attended from 4th-7th grade. Hearn Academy has all of the qualifications we were searching for when we started way back when. If you want a school where the education is exceptional! Where the individual needs of each student are as important to the staff & educators as it is to you. This is the school for you. They truly care about each child. Your child will love their time spent at Hearn Academy!”

“This is my son's first year at Hearn Academy attending 7th grade. I have nothing but praise for the 7th/8th grade teachers and Dr Stone. These teachers go beyond 'just teaching', they personalize education to make sure 'their' students are getting what they need. Whether your child is gifted or needs the extra help - these teachers will see to it that the student reaches his/her potential and is very supportive. My son absolutely loves his new school. Keep up the great work Hearn Academy! Great academics and football team too!”

“My son has gone for 5 years and we have been really happy with the school, the parental involvement has been great. They offer many extras through the school, dance,karate, soccer for the younger ones.”

“My son is excelling in every way possible. Loads of homework, but my son has benefited from it. He is reading well beyond his pairs, all his friends refer to him as the smart one. We had him at another school and he was failing! The school has noticed that my son catches on quickly and gets board just as fast, so they have taken on the change of keeping him challenged.”

“This school taught me a whole years worth in two months. I really liked Dr.Holland and Mr.Simion. Thanks :]]”

“I would not recommend this school. The leadership is very weak. Unfortunately the leadership is very wishy washy and are not willing to deal with internal problems. They try to wish them away, but the problems just get larger. My son graduated this year but I will be enrolling my daughter elsewhere. There are some great teachers. Coach Adele rocks! She genuinely cares for the kids and is a computer whiz too! Dr. Holland is an awesome scientist! Mr. Semien is a wonderful teacher and assures that the students learn the material studied. Miss Griner is the best!”

“My children and I love all of the teachers and staff at this school. They are always willing to go the extra step for them to make sure they are happy and comfortable at the school. Jane Vurt does not appear to have good communication with parents and/or staff and I belive the school would thrive with another administrator. The technology and specials are amazing, I love that my children are able to teach me new technology that they have learned in school. The campus is clean and well maintained. My only complaint, other than administration, is parking lot. Something needs to be done about the parking and pick-up situation!!! My 5th grade child is still ranting and raving about Mrs. Weimer and Mrs. Kennedy. The new teacher Mrs. Rund is turning out to be a hit with him as well. Keep it up Hearn Academy!”