Pardes Jewish Day School, Scottsdale | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

To all parents,

My son was enrolled at Pardes for 2 years and in that time period he increasingly protested his education and by the end of his second year he hated to learn he hated homework he hated to read..before attending Pardes this was never the case. I should have followed my instincts so much sooner. Wow. After endless meetings with his teachers and the schools upper leadership, which never produced any positive results in my child’s behavior and performance in school. I made the decision for my son to attend another private school. A school that each year sends members of their graduating class to Ivy League schools. A school that from DAY 1 (my first meeting with faculty) took very seriously the disproportion my son experienced and immediately addressed his intelligence, his sweetness, his incredible social awareness and together we partnered to overcome the extremely disproportionate educational system that Pardes embraces and sadly to my sons disadvantage.
After removing my son from Pardes, now a year later, my son has made a COMPLETE turn around. Unlike Pardes he is now excited to learn and diligently engages in academics and social environments. Unlike Pardes he has consistently achieved beyond his grade level and received honorary awards for his achievements. Unlike Pardes he loves to learn, he is so happy and is proud of himself. I am saddened to think that I paid Pardes to take those feelings away from him. Fortunately the hard work of dedicated educators and administrators his turn around began virtually instantly within 4 weeks of starting the new school year.
There was never any doubt in my mind that once removed from Pardes my child would thrive in a real educational environment. He is such a star and he always has been.
When I remember back to the final weeks of his last year at Pardes. It was, in writing recommended to me that my son be enrolled in an institution for children with learning disabilities. I WAS SHOCKED.
When he receives his 1st acceptance letter from an Ivy League I promise you Pardes will be sent a copy along with the email they sent me. Mark my word.
To all working parents that are considering Pardes, our recommendation as a family is to take your hard earned money and your child’s bright future elsewhere. ALL children have the right to be treated equally in the classroom. However, equality does not exist at Pardes. Every child has the right to be given encouragement and inspiration to believe in their own abilities and grow. This will not happen for your child at Pardes.
There is a strong possibility that the opportunities every parent works tirelessly to provide to their children will never be provided to them at Pardes. In fact they will be intentionally denied.
After my son finished the year at Pardes, I homeschooled him during the summer. He tested was accepted in another private institution. Now I understand Pardes can make claims to be advanced but PARDES is no where close… when the facts from work assigned from both school are compaired face to face. They are NO WHERE CLOSE. In fact I would rather place my child in an Arizona public school than Pardes.
Not only will you find inferior education at Pardes but you will find that some students are favored while most others are ignored.
The teachers and staff at Pardes are instructed to favor certain students and also to discourage other students based on the schools agenda or even their own. Why then as a parent would you even take the chance and send your child to Pardes?
What we discovered at Pardes over a 2 year span? exclusionary, judgmental, unkind treatment towards certain students and parents are behaviors that Pardes teachers and faculty engage in and are encouraged to engage in and sadly these are the fibers of the Pardes foundation. This is not what we paid for or worked so hard for or expected from any educational institution.

I cannot believe I paid for that.

This is not the kind of Jew I was raised to be and certainly not the type of Jewish community I want my child to ever experience.

There are a couple of recent negative reviews about Pardes, which is interesting considering that Terry Braun and Julia Foldman are not current or former Pardes parents (but present themselves as such). I would recommend to any prospective Pardes families to do their own independent research about the School–speak to Pardes admissions and current Pardes families to discuss their experiences about the School.

I personally cannot say enough great things about Pardes. The middle school is extremely strong academically. Our son is in 8th grade and has been there since kindergarten. He’s two grade levels ahead in math and one grade level ahead in science, and will enter Chaparral High in honors in both subjects. He is Student Council President and his flag football team won the conference championship in 3 out of 4 years (against Rancho Salono and PCDS). Our daughter is in 4th grade and is similarly thriving. More important, Pardes has instilled a very strong sense of identity and self-confidence in our children. There are no doubts this foundation will serve them well both academically and socially in the future.

The new Head of School is a positive for Pardes. The former one left the school in a great place, and the new one is bringing a high level of experience and energy which will continue growing enrollment to record levels.

For those who complain about the cost of Pardes, there are tax credit dollars available from multiple outlets that can significantly reduce the cost of tuition. Anyone who wants a Jewish education for their children should and will have access to one at Pardes.

My boys started Pardes in middle school. They had been in a secular private school prior to Pardes where they excelled; however, it felt more like a country club than a community. We switched to Pardes because my boys expressed their desire to be with their friends. It is difficult to express my appreciation and gratitude for what Pardes offered my boys. They had amazing teachers who were truly invested in their success, there is a sense of community that is unparalleled, and the student body is kind and caring. I can say without hesitation that this is the absolute best middle school experience I could have imagined for my boys. In middle school there are programs that involve middle-schoolers and pre-K children as well as seniors. This provides an opportunity to teach and practice chesed (loving-kindness) among the entire age range of the Jewish community. Although such programs may exist, I personally have not seen that in other middle school programs. I believe there is value in teaching children to be humanitarians along with teaching them substantive material. Pardes is a warm and caring community, the administration knows the children and families, and it is very safe.

In addition, my son just completed his his freshman year at Chaparral with 3 honors classes and earned straight A’s. Despite previous reviews, my son was academically and socially well prepared for high school. My younger son will be starting Chaparral in the fall and I am certain he, too, is well prepared to succeed in his honors classes.