The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in Math. The lowest is 67% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Great Hearts Academies - Archway Glendale
Great Hearts Academies – Archway Glendale is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade charter school located in Peoria, a rapidly growing suburban city northwest of Phoenix. The school is part of the Great Hearts Academies network and operates as a regular elementary school. It serves roughly a few hundred students in each grade, with total enrollment near the middle range for a K-5 school in the area. The school’s address is in Peoria, and its parent district is the single-school Archway Classical Academy Glendale charter district. No broader district changes or referendums were found in recent years, so the school appears to operate without major administrative turbulence.
Academically, Archway Glendale posts strong results. In state assessments administered in the most recent year, the share of students scoring proficient or above was well above the county median in both math and English language arts across every tested grade. In science, proficiency was also solidly above typical levels. The school’s overall proficiency index across subjects and grades places it in the top quarter of all districts in Maricopa County, a competitive benchmark given the county’s many schools and districts. Multi-year trend data shows performance holding steady at this high level, with no sharp changes. Since the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, and the school does not report chronic absenteeism data, so those common metrics do not apply here.
The student body is predominantly white, with Asian and Hispanic students forming the next largest groups and small shares of students identifying as two or more races, Black, American Indian, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is not available, nor are counts of students with disabilities or English learners. A parent interested in those aspects of the peer environment would need to ask the school directly. The school is not a Title I school, and no information on discipline, staffing ratios, or course access was reported.
Peoria itself has shifted from an agricultural past to a leisure-and-resort-oriented suburb. Home values in the area are substantially above the national and state medians, and rents are similarly elevated. The city has seen rapid population growth, driven by master-planned residential communities and a major new semiconductor plant that is expected to bring a large number of jobs. The built environment is sprawling and car-dependent, with commercial and entertainment districts like P83 and Park West serving as discrete nodes. Lake Pleasant Regional Park, spring-training baseball at Peoria Sports Complex, and a performing arts center in Old Town are anchors for recreation and culture. The school’s location in this growing, relatively affluent part of the Phoenix metro area means families often choose it for its academic reputation and the stability of a well-known charter network.
For a family weighing options, Archway Glendale offers a clear academic strength: consistently high proficiency rates across subjects in a county where many other elementary schools are near the middle or lower end. The lack of reported data on economic diversity, special education, and English learner services is a gap worth exploring with the school, as is any information about the curriculum model beyond the Great Hearts name. The school’s size and grade span are typical, and the surrounding community provides ample amenities and a strong housing market. This is a school that fits a family seeking a high-performing, conventional elementary program in a growing suburban setting, with an academic track record that stands out in its region.
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