Camelback Desert School, Scottsdale | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I’ve had at least one student at this school for the last 4 years.

Pros:
– the administration is extremely accommodating. If you’re running late, you need extra care, you need to drop something off, etc.

– there is a great sense of community at the school. They have several family events throughout the year so you do get a chance to meet other parents. Your child will perform twice a year as part of the music curriculum.

– It is very educational. In the 2s, they focus on sensory play as well as an intro to letters and numbers. In the 3s they move to more academic focus that is still very play based. Your child will know all numbers, alphabet and majority of associated letter sounds. Great precursor to reading. In PreK they are learning so much! Early math, reading and intro to history, money, etc. My daughter was so well prepared for Kindergarten.

– they have an app so that teachers can send updates and pictures of your child. We typically receive 3 pictures per day. This is very helpful and allows parents to trigger dialogue with their child so you get more information about their day.

– they have a lot of great teachers and really wonderful supportive staff. Miss Larkman in Pre-K has such a wonderful way of engaging children and creating a real love of school. They learn so much in one year in her class it really is incredible. Mrs. McCarter is a seasoned expert that knows how to manage each child during a really difficult growth period (the Threes!). They both communicate wonderfully with parents.

– their specials are above and beyond what you see at a traditional preschool. Great art studio, engaging Spanish teacher and wonderful music room.

– I’ve noticed they are constantly improving the school. The infrastructure is often updated (playground received new turf, updated play equipment, classrooms remodeled). They are sharing best practices among grades and implementing new ideas.

Cons:
– they don’t follow the SUSD calendar so your younger student at CDS will not have the same breaks as your grade school children. For a preschool there are a lot of teacher development days as well. They then ask you to pay for camp so you are covered. Great way for them to make money, very inconvenient for parents.

School three stars. I cannot speak to the curriculum that is provided to the students. I cannot comment on how the teachers interact and treat the students or on management. I did not enroll my child into the school for a few reasons.
Reason 1 the hours of operations to pick up and drop off my child did not work with my schedule. I will be charged extra for early drop off and late pick up.
2 parents have to pay for new or used uniforms. They are not provided as part of the tuition for the school.
3 Tuition also does not include any meals. Parents have to either provide their own meals or pay extra for meals.
4 tuition is astronomical for pre k It is 2000+ a month with a 1000 and 1800 deposit to hold their position that is nonrefundable. To charge parents such a high amount is unnecessary. During my tour, I saw nothing nothing that would reflect justifying such an expensive tuition. Curriculum was explain to me nothing more than common curriculum that you would find out any other school. No inclusion of extracurricular activities, such as swim lessons, or gymnastics or music lessons. For the cost of tuition you’re paying for the ZIP Code location.
As a hard-working parents to provide an education for my child if I was to enroll him in the school for the 2000+ tuition I expect meals to be covered, uniforms, extracurricular activities, and no extra charge for early and late drop off .
The school does not prepare children for any form of a prep Academy or Ivy League school. In my honest opinion just from doing a tour it would be a waste of money to send your child here.

This school has been an incredible experience for my son. The preschool program was very well rounded. By the end of Pre-K my son had learned many skills, such as counting to 100, that put him ahead academically. The school also teaches from the whole child approach, meaning social, emotional, and wellness skills were are also taught. I think being taught those skills is what helped him because so strong academically.

This year we have stayed for the Kindergarten program. While the class size is smaller, and my husband and I were hesitant about that, we now couldn’t be happier we chose to stay. This kids receive extremely individualized plans. Some kids are more ahead than others academically and the teacher teaches to where each individual child is at, not where the class is at as a whole. It’s fantastic. My son had the freedom to explore his interests, while still receiving a well rounded education. Social and emotional wellness is also taught in Kindergarten. The first day back to school they worked on handwriting exercises, based on a book they read. They wrote about how they were feeling. I think exercises like this help my son feel more relaxed and open to learning.

The most important things I feel like my son needs in his early education years are that he is in a school environment where he feels loved, welcomed, relaxed, and secured. The principals, all staff members, his teachers, other students and parents at CDS, have created such an environment and as such, I feel it has really given my son the confidence to soar academically.