Cheatham Elementary School, Laveen AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Cheatham Elementary School

Cheatham Elementary School serves students from preschool through eighth grade in the Laveen area of southwest Phoenix, operating as a regular public school within the Laveen Elementary District. It is the only school in the district that serves this full K-8 span, though the district operates several other K-8 campuses across the community.

The school has a substantial enrollment for its grade band, drawing from a broad residential catchment in a fast-growing part of Maricopa County. Laveen itself is a place in transition, historically dominated by alfalfa, cotton, and dairy farms dating to the 1880s but now experiencing explosive residential growth as new housing developments spread across what was once agricultural land. The area remains partly unincorporated and partly within Phoenix city limits, where it is designated Laveen Village. A major freeway extension opened in recent years, reinforcing the community's car-dependent character and prompting plans for new retail centers, a hospital, and ongoing development. Community activist groups have pushed to preserve rural elements by requiring equestrian trails and open spaces in new subdivisions, but the built environment today is predominantly suburban and low-density, with very limited walkability. The school itself sits on South Mountain Road, close to the southern boundary formed by South Mountain Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the country.

State testing data from the most recent school year shows significant challenges in academic proficiency across both math and English language arts. In fourth grade, roughly one in five students scored proficient in math, and about three in ten did so in reading. By fifth and sixth grades, those rates dropped even further. The school's overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quarter relative to the more than two hundred other school districts and their schools within Maricopa County. The pattern holds in science as well, where proficiency in fifth grade was below the county median. While results for some grade levels were suppressed from public reporting, the available data points clearly to an academic environment where most students are not meeting state benchmarks. A parent exploring this school should inquire directly about the instructional supports in place for students who are below grade level.

The district recently passed two funding measures that bear directly on the school's resources. A bond approved in 2023 provides funding for new classrooms, safety and security upgrades, and technology infrastructure, all aimed at addressing enrollment growth across the district. A budget override passed in 2024 funds full-day kindergarten at no cost to families, as well as art, music, and physical education programs at all schools, plus lower class sizes and expanded preschool services. These are funded through secondary property taxes that affect homeowners in the attendance area.

The student population is highly diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by Black students, with smaller proportions of White, two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian students. The data does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor the percentage of students with disabilities or English learners, so a full picture of the school's socioeconomic and support-needs profile is not available from publicly reported sources. Given that this is a regular public school serving a broad attendance zone in a rapidly growing area, a family considering Cheatham Elementary will want to visit, talk with current parents, and ask directly about the school's approach to academic intervention and enrichment. The community context is one of strong growth but also of ongoing development pressures, and the academic results suggest a school still working to raise achievement levels across its student body.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 37% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 22% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 44% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 31% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 38% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 42% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 30% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 27% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolLaveen Elementary District (4276), 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.