Great Hearts Academies - Archway Arete, Gilbert AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Great Hearts Academies - Archway Arete

Great Hearts Academies – Archway Arete is a public charter school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Gilbert, Arizona. It is part of the larger Great Hearts network, a group of tuition-free charter schools known for a classical liberal arts approach. The school operates as its own single-school district, Archway Classical Academy Arete, and because it serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report.

Academically, the school stands out within Maricopa County. On the state assessments, a large majority of students scored at the proficient level in both math and English language arts across grades three through five. The fifth-grade science results show a smaller share of students meeting the proficiency mark, a pattern parents may want to explore further with the school. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects places it in the top quarter of districts and charter schools in Maricopa County, a notably strong showing against a large field. Because state testing data is only available for the 2024–25 school year, trend information is limited to a single year.

The student body is diverse. A majority of students are white, with a sizable Hispanic population and smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, Black, and Native American students. Data on free or reduced-price meal eligibility, special education services, and English learner status were not reported, so it is not possible to gauge the school’s level of family economic need or the extent of specialized support programs from this data alone.

The school is located in Gilbert, a large, fast-growing residential suburb east of Phoenix. Gilbert has undergone explosive growth over the past several decades, transforming from a farming community into a master-planned suburban city. The built environment is almost entirely car-dependent, with wide arterial roads, single-family subdivisions, and strip commercial corridors. A small historic downtown along Gilbert Road, known as the Heritage District, offers some pedestrian-oriented restaurants and civic spaces, but most daily life requires a car. Home values in the area are elevated relative to national benchmarks, reflecting the area’s desirability and affluence. The town’s major employers include school districts, healthcare systems, and defense contractors.

Because Archway Arete is a charter school, it is open to students across the region by application, not bound by a traditional attendance zone. The district-level search for recent parent-relevant changes found none of lasting impact in publicly available sources. For families considering this school, the academic profile is clearly a strength, especially in math and reading. The absence of data on student poverty and special education means that a parent may want to contact the school directly to understand how it supports students with different needs. The school fits a family seeking a strong academic foundation in a classical charter environment, set within a growing and relatively affluent suburban community.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 67% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 70% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 68% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 73% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 64% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

This schoolArchway Classical Academy Arete (92312), 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.