Canyon Breeze Elementary, Avondale AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Canyon Breeze Elementary

Canyon Breeze Elementary serves students from preschool through eighth grade in Avondale, part of the Pendergast Elementary District. A regular public school, it is not a charter or magnet. Because it does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the academic measures that exist cover only the grades tested by the state.

On Arizona’s state assessments, the school’s proficiency rates in both math and English language arts fall well below the midpoint among districts in Maricopa County, placing in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency. In math, the share of students meeting the bar decreases as grade levels advance, with roughly a small portion of third graders proficient and an even smaller portion of eighth graders. English language arts results vary more by grade: fourth graders show a larger share proficient, while third, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders each show a smaller share. In science, tested in grades five and eight, the proficiency rates are also low. Several grade-level results for math were suppressed due to small testing populations, so the full picture is somewhat incomplete. A parent considering this school will want to ask about the academic support and intervention strategies in place, particularly for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks.

The student body is diverse and predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of White, Black, Asian, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, receiving special education services, or classified as English learners were not available, so it is not possible to describe those dimensions from the record. The school’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary and middle school combination, with a noticeable bulge in the upper grades.

Avondale itself has transformed rapidly from a farming community into a fast-growing bedroom suburb of Phoenix. The city is auto-oriented, with Interstate 10 providing the main regional artery, and newer master-planned subdivisions dominate the landscape. A historic Old Town district along Western Avenue offers a contrast with small independent businesses and community events that draw residents together. Major employers include Amazon, the Maricopa County Community College District, several school districts, and retail and logistics firms. Phoenix Raceway, a major NASCAR venue, is also in the city. Housing values in the area are close to the state average, and rents are moderate relative to incomes, though both have seen slight recent declines. This context matters for families deciding where to live: the school draws from a growing, relatively affordable suburban area.

Canyon Breeze is one of several elementary and middle schools within the Pendergast Elementary District. Because the district ends at eighth grade, students move on to different high school districts—Tolleson Union High School District or Agua Fria Union High School District, depending on which side of the Agua Fria River they live. A search for recent district-level changes turned up little publicly reported information, so there are no major developments to describe.

The school’s website was not referenced in the data, so details about specific after-school programs, extracurriculars, or parent involvement opportunities are absent from this account. Similarly, no information on discipline, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism was available. What is clear is that academic proficiency is the central challenge here, and families weighing this option should investigate how the school addresses those gaps—through tutoring, intervention blocks, or other supports—as well as how its middle school prepares students for the high school experience ahead. For a family seeking a neighborhood school in a growing suburb with a predominantly Hispanic student population, Canyon Breeze offers a familiar setting, but the academic trajectory is one that merits close attention.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 19% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 18% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 16% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 18% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 23% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 37% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 22% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 25% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 31% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 19% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 20% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

This schoolPendergast Elementary District (4283), 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.