Desert Heights Charter School, Glendale AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Desert Heights Charter School

Desert Heights Charter School is a regular public charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade on a single campus in Glendale, a large suburban city that borders Phoenix. The school is part of a small charter organization, Desert Heights Charter Schools. Glendale is a sprawling, auto-oriented city with distinct zones: a historic downtown, a sports and entertainment district anchored by State Farm Stadium and Desert Diamond Arena, and extensive residential subdivisions. Major employers include Luke Air Force Base, Banner Health, and several school districts. The city is growing modestly, with new development concentrated in the western Yucca district near the sports venues.

Desert Heights Charter School enrolls a student body that is predominantly White, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of students who are Black, Asian, or of two or more races. The school serves a full K-12 grade span, which means families can send their children to a single charter campus from kindergarten through high school graduation. This consistency of place can be appealing for parents who want a familiar environment across all years of schooling.

On state assessments for the most recent year, proficiency in both math and English language arts fell below the midpoint when compared to other schools in Maricopa County. In elementary grades, math proficiency rates varied across grade levels, with third grade showing a higher share of students meeting the bar and sixth grade a lower share. English language arts results followed a similar pattern, with some grade levels reaching a moderate proficiency rate and others falling well below that. Science proficiency rates for tested grades were also modest. A parent considering the school may want to discuss with the school how it supports students who are not yet at the proficient level and what interventions or academic supports are available across grade levels.

Because this is a charter school, there is no traditional district structure with school board elections, attendance zone boundaries, or neighborhood feeder patterns. Enrollment is open to any student in the state through an application process. The school’s authorizer or sponsor would oversee its charter contract, but the school operates with more autonomy than a traditional public school regarding curriculum, staffing, and budgeting.

No graduation rate information was available for this school in the data provided. The high school appears to enroll a relatively small number of twelfth graders compared to lower grades, which may reflect attrition or simply a smaller cohort. A parent with a child approaching high school age may want to ask the school about its four-year graduation rate, college enrollment outcomes, and the range of high school course offerings.

The school’s neighborhood context is purely suburban Glendale. Housing values in the area are close to the national typical home value and below the Arizona statewide benchmark, likely reflecting Glendale’s position as a moderately priced suburb. Rents are in a similar range. For families looking at real estate, the area around the school offers a mix of single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments typical of a mid-sized Sun Belt suburb.

No data was available on the school’s free or reduced-price lunch participation, special education population, or English learner population. A parent who wants to understand the school’s support systems for students with disabilities, English learners, or economically disadvantaged students would need to ask the school directly. Similarly, the search for recent district-level changes or strategic priorities turned up no information, so this narrative cannot speak to any new programs, curriculum shifts, or facility investments.

Desert Heights Charter School is a full K-12 charter in a growing Phoenix suburb with academic proficiency that is below average relative to other schools in Maricopa County. It offers the simplicity of a single campus for all grades. A family considering this school should expect to ask pointed questions about academic support, high school outcomes, and student services.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 44 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

512 schools plotted. 33 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 42% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 31% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 40% · ▲ 2 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 26% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 32% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 24% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 42% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 37% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolDesert Heights Charter Schools (81099), same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.