Original Research by School Decision on Step up Schools Inc. (4313)
STEP UP Schools Inc. is a small, single-school charter district serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Maricopa County. The district operates one school, STEP UP SCHOOL, and the student body is small. The demographic composition is majority Hispanic, with a substantial Black student population and smaller shares of White, Native American, and multiracial students. The district’s size means that many routine data points are suppressed by the state to protect student privacy, which shapes what a parent can learn from public records.
State testing results for math, English language arts, and science are all suppressed for every tested grade. This is not unusual for a district of this size—when very few students take a given assessment, the state does not release proficiency rates. As a result, there is no publicly available picture of academic performance on the state's AASA and AzSci assessments. A parent interested in how students are doing academically would need to seek that information directly from the school, since the standard public metrics are absent.
Because the district ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The academic pathway here is focused entirely on elementary and middle grades, with no high school component under this district.
Chronic absenteeism is a notable soft spot. The district’s rate places it in the bottom quartile among Maricopa County’s districts, which means a relatively high share of students are missing substantial amounts of school. This is worth a parent’s attention, as consistent attendance is closely tied to learning and school engagement. The school’s leadership would be the best source for understanding what drives this pattern and what supports are in place.
Per-pupil spending is in the upper range compared to other districts in the county. For a small charter school, higher per-pupil spending often reflects the fixed costs of running a standalone school with a small enrollment rather than an indication of unusually rich programming. The district brief turned up no lasting, parent-relevant changes in recent years, so the school appears to be operating in steady mode.
The peer environment is shaped by the school’s small size and its demographic mix. With only a few dozen students spread across kindergarten through eighth grade, class sizes are very small, and students likely receive a lot of individual attention. The school’s racial and ethnic composition is diverse, with a strong Hispanic majority and meaningful Black representation.
For a family considering this school, the key unknowns are academic outcomes and attendance patterns. The suppressed test scores leave a gap that must be filled by talking to the school directly. The high chronic absenteeism rate is a flagged concern. The small scale means tight-knit, personalized instruction is plausible, but it also means limited peer variety and fewer extracurricular or course options than a larger district would offer. This is a niche option within Maricopa County: a very small charter elementary and middle school whose public data raises questions a parent will want to explore before deciding.
See more original research from School Decision →