The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in English language arts. The lowest is 53% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kyrene Del Norte School
Kyrene del Norte School sits in the southern portion of Tempe, an inner suburb of Phoenix that is shaped heavily by the presence of Arizona State University’s main campus. While the northern part of Tempe, near the light rail line and ASU, has a dense, urbanized feel with high-rises along Tempe Town Lake and the Mill Avenue entertainment district, the southern reaches where this school is located are less dense, with single-family homes and strip malls. The school serves students from preschool through fifth grade.
The student body is diverse. A majority of students are Hispanic, followed by a substantial share of White students, and smaller groups of students who are two or more races, Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The school’s enrollment is in the mid-range for an elementary school. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and English learners was not available; a parent who wants to understand these support structures should ask the school directly.
State testing results from the 2024-25 school year offer a mixed picture. In math, the share of students scoring proficient was similar across grades three, four, and five, with each just above the midpoint. In English language arts, performance was more varied. Third graders posted proficiency at a lower level, while fourth and fifth graders were stronger, each scoring above half. In fifth-grade science, a majority of students were proficient. When looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint for elementary schools in Maricopa County. There is only a single year of comparable data for most subjects, so it is not possible to assess trends.
The school operates within the Kyrene Elementary District. In November 2022, voters in the district approved the continuation of an existing override, which maintains funding for art, music, physical education, foreign languages, and smaller class sizes. That is a concrete and lasting feature of the district’s finances that affects what is offered in the classroom.
The housing market in the school’s area reflects a mix of affordability pressures typical of the Phoenix metro. Home values have seen a modest year-over-year decline, and rents have also ticked down slightly. Compared to renting, buying a home is more expensive on a monthly basis given current mortgage rates, and the typical home value is above the national median. This is a well-established suburban area, not a new-growth fringe.
There is no high school on this campus, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school ends at fifth grade, meaning students will eventually move on to a middle school within the Kyrene district. Families looking ahead may want to learn about those feeder schools.
Kyrene del Norte is a regular public elementary school in a stable, middle-ring suburb. Its academic results are a mix of solid math performance across the tested grades and a noticeable dip in third-grade reading that a parent may want to follow up on. The district has maintained program funding through a voter-approved override, which supports the arts and other specialties. The setting is auto-oriented, residential, and part of a large, diverse school district in a city dominated by a major university.
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