Paragon Science Academy

My son was an honors student in public school. We decided that public school was just not the place for him due to how easy everything seemed to come for him. We were a little late in the enrollment process, and were treated as if we were the worst parents on the planet because of it (even though he was still enrolled in public school just in case).
First, I walked into Paragon Science Academy to get him enrolled and the place was filthy! Granted we did this over the summer. However, I had gone to my daughters public school that very same day to make sure that we were all set to start, and everything was spotless and organized. When I had walked into Paragon, and floors were filthy, there was a cockroach on the floor, and there were boxes stacked to the ceiling of the lobby. Can we say un-​organized?
Second, when I walked up to the sliding window to get the enrollment process going, the girl who was sitting behind the counter was so rude! She had to ask everyone else what was going on, and didn’t know anything. The amount of information they required to get him enrolled was also ridiculous, but I had everything requested. When I asked about uniforms, she didn’t even know anything regarding that.
There was some other stuff that took place, but to skip ahead…
My son had missed the first two days of school because of lack of organization. The day that he was supposed to start, we had gone in and no-​one could give me any information. The school was still filthy, and the floors looked the same (minus the cockroach). (Cleanliness is very important to me, especially in a private school.) We immediately went and toured Summit School of Ahwatukee, which is now where he goes. They didn’t require near as much to enroll, were VERY friendly, respectful, and expedited enrollment for us. The place is immaculate, and my son was able to start the first day of school. I am paying for a private education, and my son deserves the best. Paragon Science Academy is not it.

My son transferred to Paragon this year. This is definitely an accelerated school, and they work exclusively in textbooks that are a year ahead of their actual grade. If you have a child who is good at managing 2 hrs of homework (in the middle grades, anyway) and is ahead of their classmates, then this is a great school for you. Otherwise start them at Paragon or one of the sister schools (SSA) as early as possible; preferably Kindergarten. It is hard to transfer from a public school without going back a grade.
They offer free tutoring (actually more of a group review, but the teacher makes it fun) and some cool after school clubs like archery and Lego League. I love that there are uniforms. Getting ready for school is no longer a battle every morning, and my son can be ready in 5 or 10 minutes. Also, the drop-​off at this school is MUCH easier than at most non-​bus schools.
The teacher we have at Paragon is SO dedicated to the success of her students. She will answer emails in the evenings and on weekends. She is on her classes online program (called Edmodo) and available for the kids to ask homework questions every evening. She is at the school until late into the evening every day. She keeps me informed about my son’s work and/​or struggles EVERY day when I pick him up. She does a GREAT job of teaching the kids organizational skills. Each subject has a different colored notebook and matching folder. She will even help organize and label them so the kids always know where their study notes etc are.
I also love how my son can submit a lot of his homework online, because it means less work going back and forth to school, and less wasted paper. Also the online chat room in Edmodo means the kids can get to know each other and talk about their school projects and homework.
I would recommend this school to anyone, unless the child is struggling in their current grade. If your child needs another year to mature, have them repeat a grade at Paragon, and give them more time to mature and hone their organizational skills. If you have a child working ahead of their peers, then you will NOT be disappointed with this very academically-​focused school!

I chose Paragon to start my son off in Kindergarten last year and only managed to keep him there for the first month, primarily because I had already paid for the full month’s before/​after school care costs.
Meet the Teacher Night: The lists posted outside had the wrong room number information on them, the line was out the door for uniforms and I asked several employees for information that no one seemed to be able to assist with.
Day 01 of School: I arrived at 7:15, before school care starts at 7 and the doors were locked. Another mother knocked and someone opened the door up to inform us school didn’t start until 8 at which point we replied that our children were enrolled in the before school care program. Apparently, they didn’t have anyone staffed to manage before school care or after school care. For the first few days they had our children sitting on the floor in the front office until I emailed the principal outlining the number of reasons their before «school care» was unacceptable.
I chose to leave my son enrolled and to give them the benefit of the doubt. The principal explained they had recently lost that employee although, to me, it didn’t excuse them not finding a temporary alternative or failing to inform the parents that paid for that service.
On another instance the school phoned me after a half day and asked if I usually pick up my child after school, evidently they weren’t aware that my son attended after school care every day that they provided themselves at the school.
It was a mess and a nasty experience for my son’s first year in school. I ended up transferring him to Athlos Legacy Traditional Academy which I couldn’t be happier with (see my review on Athlos).