Leman Academy of Excellence-sierra Vista, Sierra Vista AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Leman Academy of Excellence-sierra Vista

Leman Academy of Excellence-Sierra Vista serves kindergarten through eighth grade as a charter school in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Sierra Vista is a city shaped by the presence of Fort Huachuca, the U.S. Army post that serves as the community’s major employer and economic driver. Nearly half of all jobs in the city are government positions, and the professional and technical services sector is unusually large due to army contracts. The local population includes military personnel, students, families, and retirees, and the city functions as the main commercial and recreational hub of Cochise County. The built environment is largely suburban, with strip commercial corridors and a public transit system. Housing values in the area are below the state average, and rental costs follow a similar pattern, making the area relatively more affordable than much of Arizona.

This is a regular public charter school, meaning it operates independently from the local school district but remains publicly funded. It is part of the Leman Academy of Excellence Inc. charter network. Because the school serves only elementary and middle grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school’s academic performance is measured through Arizona’s state assessments for math, English language arts, and science. Across tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of Cochise County districts, a strong showing relative to its immediate geographic peers.

In English language arts, results are consistently solid. Proficiency rates sit at roughly two-thirds of students or just below that mark across grades three through eight. Reading and writing, as measured by the state test, appear to be a relative strength for this school. The lowest ELA result is for sixth grade, where slightly more than half of students met the proficiency bar, but every other grade level lands higher.

Math proficiency rates are more modest. Across all tested grade levels, the share of students scoring proficient hovers around two-fifths. Third, fourth, sixth, and seventh grades each fall in that range, while fifth grade sits a few points below it. Math is an area where a parent may want to look into how the school supports students who are not yet meeting the state benchmark. For eighth grade math, the school’s result was suppressed due to a small tested population, so a reliable figure is not available for that group.

Science is assessed in fifth and eighth grades. In fifth grade, fewer than a third of students reached proficiency. The eighth grade science result was suppressed due to a small number of test-takers, so that score is also unavailable. As with math, these results suggest room for growth in science instruction.

The school serves a modestly sized student body for a K-8 campus. The student population is diverse. About two-fifths of students are white, roughly one-third are Hispanic, and the remainder includes students who are Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, the number of students with disabilities, and the count of English learners were not available in the data reviewed. A parent may wish to ask the school directly about these supports and the resources allocated to them.

Because this is a charter school, enrollment is generally open to any student in the state, subject to a lottery if demand exceeds capacity. The school does not charge tuition. The Leman Academy of Excellence Inc. charter organization operates the school, and no recent district-level changes of note were found in publicly available sources. The school is located at 1000 East Wilcox Drive in Sierra Vista.

For a family considering this school, the takeaway is a charter option with strong English language arts outcomes and a peer environment that reflects the broader Sierra Vista community’s demographics. The math and science results are softer, and the school may be worth a closer conversation about how it approaches those subjects and supports students who are still developing those skills. The lack of high school grades means families will need to plan for a transition after eighth grade. The school’s overall academic profile is competitive within Cochise County, and its location in a military-adjacent city offers a particular kind of community context that fits some families well.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 46% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 48% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 46% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 39% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 43% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 53% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 62% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 53% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 58% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 764%

School 64% · District 57% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 57% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Science

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 33% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolLeman Academy of Excellence Inc. (92730), 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.