The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Freedom Prep Academy - Mesa
Freedom Prep Academy - Mesa is a single-school charter district serving kindergarten through twelfth grade from its location in Gilbert, a large and fast-growing suburb of Phoenix. The school’s campus sits in a fully built-out residential part of town, where most families rely on cars to get around. Gilbert’s Heritage District, with its restaurants and civic buildings, is a short drive west, but the school itself is set in an area of single-family homes and strip-commercial corridors. The town has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing municipalities for decades, though it has slowed, and its employment base is anchored by education, healthcare, and a mix of defense and professional services firms.
The school’s student body is comparatively homogeneous. A large majority of its students are white, with a much smaller share identifying as Hispanic, and still smaller shares as Black, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Asian, or multiracial. The total enrollment is modest for a school that covers all grades from kindergarten through high school, giving it a small-scale feel.
Academically, the picture is mixed. State math and English language arts proficiency rates are largely suppressed in the data for the most recent year, meaning the results do not appear in public reporting for most grade levels. For the two grades where a full result is available in English language arts, rates are well below what many parents would look for. In fourth grade, a little over two in five students scored proficient, and in fifth grade, the figure was one in four. Science results are reported only for fifth grade, where roughly one in four students reached proficiency. When the available data is taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among the many districts in Maricopa County. There is not enough multiyear data to identify a clear trend, but the two available data points show no meaningful shift.
Because the school serves grades kindergarten through twelve, it should have a graduation rate to report, but the data on that measure was not provided. Parents considering the high school years may want to ask the school directly about its four-year graduation rate and postsecondary outcomes.
Program offerings, including Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, career and technical education, or other accelerated pathways, were also not included in the available information. For a charter school that labels itself a “preparatory academy,” curriculum and course access are likely a central consideration, so a parent should look into what is actually offered, particularly at the high school level.
The school’s charter status means it operates independently of the traditional Gilbert Public Schools and Higley Unified School District boundaries that cover most of the town, so families choose this school rather than being assigned by address. No information was available about its special education or English learner populations, and the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was also not reported. On the civil rights side, no discipline data or staffing ratios were provided, leaving important aspects of the school environment opaque.
The parent district, Freedom Preparatory Academy, is a single-school charter district with no publicly reported recent curriculum changes, tax measures, or other parent-relevant shifts. The district brief notes that no such changes were found, so a parent should not assume any particular stability or instability; there is simply no public record of either.
In sum, Freedom Prep Academy - Mesa offers a small K-12 charter option in a fast-growing suburban setting, with a student body that is predominantly white and an academic profile that, based on the limited data available, falls well below the norm for the county. The missing data in several key areas means parents will need to ask pointed questions about curriculum, graduation rates, and support services before making a decision.
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