Surprise Elementary School, El Mirage AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Surprise Elementary School

Surprise Elementary School serves students from preschool through eighth grade as a regular public school within the Dysart Unified district, now branded as Dysart Schools. The school is located in El Mirage, a city in the northwestern Phoenix metropolitan area that grew from an agricultural settlement into a diverse urban community. El Mirage is car-dependent, with residential subdivisions, strip commercial along Grand Avenue, and industrial parks, and lacks a traditional downtown. Major employers include Luke Air Force Base, Walmart, and the school district itself, alongside industrial operations in the city's Foreign Trade Zone commerce park.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of White, Black, multiracial, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. About three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty school. The school enrolls roughly eight hundred students across prekindergarten through eighth grade, with class sizes consistent with a school of that grade band.

On the most recent state assessments in reading, math, and science, proficiency rates fell below the midpoint compared with other district schools in Maricopa County. Across grades, performance was mixed. In fourth grade, more than half of students met the bar in English language arts, a relative bright spot. In math, a low share of students were proficient in the lower elementary grades, with some improvement by fifth grade, before dropping again in middle school. Science results at fifth and eighth grades were modest. Graduation rate data is not applicable because the school does not serve high school grades. The district's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among Maricopa County districts, and this school reflects that pattern.

Housing in the area is less expensive than the state and national benchmarks, though home values have edged down slightly over the past year. Rents are similarly modest. The national mortgage rate at the time of data collection was just above six percent, and the unemployment rate was typical for the period. For families looking at the housing market, El Mirage offers relatively affordable entry points compared with much of the Phoenix metro area.

The district underwent a notable reconfiguration beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, converting eight existing schools into separate elementary and middle school campuses. This changed which grades are served at which school and altered feeder patterns across Dysart. Surprise Elementary was not explicitly named in the reconfiguration, but families should be aware that grade configurations and attendance boundaries may shift district-wide. In 2022, the district also rebranded from Dysart Unified School District to Dysart Schools, a move that coincided with the restructuring.

El Mirage has grown steadily, with the city investing in infrastructure such as a new city hall, parks, a YMCA recreational facility, and a Foreign Trade Zone to attract industrial and commercial development. Proximity to Luke Air Force Base has historically shaped development patterns. The city will mark its seventy-fifth anniversary soon. Public transit is limited, and the area remains oriented toward automobile travel.

For parents weighing options, Surprise Elementary is a neighborhood school serving a diverse, lower-income community. The academic results suggest room for growth, particularly in math. A parent may want to ask the school about intervention programs, support for English learners, and how the district's grade reconfiguration affects their child's pathway through elementary and into middle school. The school's size and location offer a familiar K-8 setting in a community that is still developing its civic and economic identity.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 46% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 30% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 30% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 33% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 27% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 37%

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

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 41% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 40% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 531%

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

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 46% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 50% · ▼ 7 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 51% · ▼ 11 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 43% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 42% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

This schoolDysart Unified District (4243), 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.