Original Research by School Decision on Asu Preparatory Academy (90273)
ASU Preparatory Academy is a small district in Maricopa County that serves only a narrow band of elementary grades in practice, despite being listed as serving preschool through twelfth grade. The district has just one school, ASU Preparatory Academy – South Phoenix Intermediate, which enrolls students in grades three through six. The total district enrollment is small, and the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a very small share of Black students and even fewer Asian, white, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of support for those populations.
State assessment results for math, English language arts, and science are all listed as suppressed for every tested grade, meaning the numbers are too small to report publicly while protecting student privacy. The multi-year trend data shows a single year of reported rates for the district as a whole: a proficiency rate well below the state average in both ELA and math, each in the single digits. Because there is only one year of data in the trend, it is not possible to say whether performance is improving or declining. The comparison data among Maricopa County’s districts shows that overall proficiency data was not applicable for this district, likely because the small tested population prevented a reliable comparison. A parent should treat these results as a signal that academic attainment at this school is very low by state standards and that the small number of students makes year-to-year comparisons unreliable.
The district’s chronic absenteeism rate places it below the midpoint among the county’s districts, and the rate itself is high. Per-pupil current spending is in the upper range compared to other Maricopa County districts, which may reflect the cost of running a very small administrative structure and a single school.
No information was available about programs such as Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, career and technical education, or arts offerings. The district brief found little lasting information beyond basic profile data, so there is no account of recent changes, initiatives, or strategic priorities. Parents looking for a sense of the academic pathway or special programs will need to contact the school directly.
In terms of housing and community context, the locale brief was not provided, so there is no description of the neighborhood or housing market surrounding the school. A parent considering this district should be prepared for a very small, tightly contained elementary setting with very low reported test performance and limited publicly available information about supports and programs. This school may fit a family seeking a small, close-knit environment where the staff know every student, but the academic numbers and the lack of data on key areas like special education and English learner services are things a family would want to discuss extensively with the school before enrolling.
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