Acclaim Academy

Posted: May 27, 2023

I had the opportunity to substitute teach at Acclaim Academy this past April and May 2023. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the school’s learning environment. This is a safe and clean school and it shows by how engaged and respectful their students are. This is the first school I have experienced with a “no cell phone policy.” This is huge! There are no cell phones allowed during school hours, so there are no distractions in the classroom or on the school premises. As a result, students are totally engaged, respectful, and device distraction-free. How refreshing!

Acclaim Academy offers a clean environment. This is also the first school I have experienced with cleaning and custodial services being performed throughout the entire school day from start to finish. The halls, classrooms, and restroom facilities are fresh and spotlessly clean, and the grounds are well maintained. This clean and distraction-free environment enhances learning.

Acclaim Academy also reinforces responsibility. This could been seen in laptop charging stations being wheeled from classroom to classroom, essentially following the student with their assigned laptop, rather than students grabbing any laptop from a stationary charging station that remains in each classroom. As a result, the laptops are in excellent condition because each student is responsible for their care.

Acclaim Academy’s administration and faculty are dedicated and excellent to deal with. Classrooms are orderly, students are eyes-front and engaged with the teacher and lesson plan at all times. It was a pleasure filling in as a substitute teacher.

Posted: May 27, 2023

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Posted: December 8, 2017

Subpa, inconsistent, and emotionally and mentally draining

Posted: December 8, 2017

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Posted: December 8, 2017

No structuted behavioral/discipline system. No follow through or set schoolwide standatd

Posted: December 8, 2017

The director is a tyrant, the administration, teachers, teachers assistants, custodial services, and even cafeteria staff are forced to meet HER inconsistent unreasonable standards with little to no positive feedback.

Posted: December 8, 2017

There is no counselor, no support group, no real recourse for students being bullied and no correction for those doing the bullying

Posted: November 28, 2017

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Posted: November 28, 2017

I'm so glad my daughter moved her children here. They go home talking about the virtue they're studying. That's really helpful for my daughter who is working so hard at developing that in her children.

Posted: November 28, 2017

Posted: November 28, 2017

Posted: November 28, 2017

One of my daughter's children was being teased by an older student. When she reported it, the staff jumped right on it. In other schools, that type of behavior isn't viewed as serious.

Posted: November 28, 2017

One of my daughter's children was on Honor Roll at his previous school. This year he is being held to a much higher standard - and he's living up to it! It's great to see all of her children loving going to school each day, expecting the best of themselves in both behavior and academics, and learning things I didn't learn until much higher grades. The people in the office are really helpful and positive. The students are learning Spanish with Rosetta Stone and it's fun to hear them practicing when they talk to each other. They have had some great activities for families including a type of carnival, and Peter Piper Pizza nights. The teachers are there and having fun with the families. All in all, I highly recommend this school. If you are looking for a healthy, positive school for your children to learn a lot, take them to ACCLAIM!

Posted: September 28, 2017

The director is the biggest bully I ever met that trickles down

Posted: September 28, 2017

Please families! Take your kids elsewhere! Check out how all the last positive reviews are on the same day. That's not trustworthy at all!

Posted: September 28, 2017

Posted: September 28, 2017

the leader sets the culture and again she's a bully

Posted: September 28, 2017

In my time there I did not see the director show one of her own virtues, she often went after the students in the hall bullying and humiliating them over hair and dress code

Posted: September 28, 2017

The director is the textbook definition of a bully, is not compassionate or caring and she makes the decisions for all the children while following 0 of her own virtues

Posted: September 28, 2017

Absolutely not, director does not care about them at all.

Posted: September 26, 2017

I gave the school a 3 out of 5. I wish there was better communication between the school and parents.

Posted: September 26, 2017

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Posted: September 26, 2017

ME parece que mis hijos estan en la mejor escuela que les pude haber elegido, ya que me gusta mucho el manejo de la disciplina y como les inculcan valores diariamente

Posted: September 26, 2017

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I give the school a 4 out of 5 stars

Posted: September 25, 2017

GREAT SO FAR, MY DAUGHTERS LIKE COMING HERE

Posted: September 25, 2017

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Posted: September 25, 2017

Excellent so far. My son has learned a lot and enjoys coming to school

Posted: September 25, 2017

ME GUSTA COMO MANEJAN LA DICIPLINA Y LAS REGLAS EN ESTA ESCUELA

Posted: September 25, 2017

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Posted: September 25, 2017

I am really satisfy with the school and staff. Keep up the great work. Thank you for all your support

Posted: September 25, 2017

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my experience for this school is really good

Posted: September 25, 2017

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Posted: September 25, 2017

very good or exeptional all the teachers are very well educated

Posted: September 25, 2017

Posted: September 25, 2017

muy Buena por eso desedi dejar a mi hija como estudiante en esta escuela

Posted: September 25, 2017

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Posted: September 25, 2017

i am really satisfied when ever i have concerns or questions they get back to right away Thankyou!!! Acclain Academy

Posted: September 25, 2017

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great kids love it have recommended to friends

Posted: September 25, 2017

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Posted: June 29, 2017

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Posted: June 29, 2017

As a parent, I would never bring my child back to this school. Some teachers are not HQ and my child was not given the right education. No supplies nor advance teachnology to help students succeed. I had recently made a comment and it got deleted. Why do you guys delete negative comments. this should help you make your school better. Since Melanie Powers does not bother to take time and speak with parents or teachers. I am so sad the Mrs. Kinball was fired. After she had asked for help from Mrs. powers she was always ignored. Rude comments were said toward her physical disability.

Posted: October 21, 2016

the kids here are well behaved. i think the principal is a bully.

Posted: October 21, 2016

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Posted: October 21, 2016

Im pretty sure they would be effective but they dont last long here.

Posted: October 21, 2016

the students dont have a teacher, so no homework can be assigned

Posted: October 21, 2016

My son is currently attending ACCLAIM but not for much longer. His teacher quit at the beginning of the year and he has gong without a teacher for two months and is now failing! The prinicpal Mrs. Powers refuses to meet with me or other parents in regards to this. She says she is too busy teaching the 8th grade class because they dont have a teacher either. I even requested to meet afterschool to not interrupt class but no one is ever available.

THis website helped me choose this school, I chose to ignore the bad reviews, I should have never of done that. They were accurate.

Posted: August 11, 2016

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Posted: August 11, 2016

The school changed this year. The secretaries are nice and helpful. There are no substitutes in 7th or 8th grade and there are teachers back from last year and before. The teachers that are new this year are good teachers and they make class interesting. The food is better too.

Posted: August 11, 2016

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Posted: August 11, 2016

The school has a lot of rules that are different from the other schools but the teachers help kids feel like the rules are there to help them learn

Posted: July 28, 2016

I like ACCLAIM with my whole heart. I am a social-justice minded person who wants the world to be better than it is. I believe academics are important but I believe it is more important to treat people well. I have worked at ACCLAIM for nine years, since 2009, and all of my interactions with students have been an opportunity to learn, for me and for them. The school is not perfect and the last few years have been very difficult because of staffing challenges. I am part of the interview team that has been hiring new staff over the last two years and we are doing all we can to find staff who will be dedicated to our students and our school. At this school I have learned what it means to persevere, what it means to pursue excellence and what it means to accept people how they are and make choices that always lead to a better place than where I currently find myself

Posted: July 28, 2016

ACCLAIM teachers, staff and administration really care about the students. We work hard to learn new strategies to teach students and help them love learning. We also make a great effort to talk to students about the virtues and help them practice those character traits at school.

Posted: July 28, 2016

The effectiveness of the teachers can be seen in the student test scores. ACCLAIM students get two State mandated tests and five reading and math program tests every year. On the State tests the students do so well that ACCLAIM has earned a B rating from the State, meaning most kids approach, meet or exceed grade level or improve their English-language proficiency. The reading and math tests show the students continually moving from one academic level to another: from Urgent to Intervention, from Intervention to Approaches and from Approaches to Meets or Exceeds the benchmark. While the students take the tests, the teachers do the daily work of organizing lessons that students enjoy and understand. There are new teachers every year, due to the extreme teacher shortage in Arizona but every effort is made to find teachers who love our students and our school environment. And when the right teachers are found, teachers like Mrs. Bustos, Mrs. Walther and Ms. Piceno not only are the teachers effective, but they help develop school spirit and create joy.

Posted: July 28, 2016

ACCLAIM gives homework in math and reading only to 3rd-8th graders. The students are in school for 7 1/2 hours. They are expected to read at least 30 minutes at home and complete some practice math problems. At the end of the day, that's about 8 1/2 hours of learning per school day. On the weekends students should read a lot more because they have more time, but ACCLAIM believes the families need time to be together and giving lots of homework for nights and weekends can take that time away.

Posted: July 28, 2016

The school is a safe place to learn and the students are the number 1 reason for that. They respond to the expectations of the teachers and administration because those expectations are valuable to the students themselves. They want to learn, they want to be good people, they want to live a valuable life. ACCLAIM helps them do that by being able to come to school and learn instead of being afraid or worried.

Posted: July 28, 2016

ACCLAIM is an established west Phoenix educational institution. Entire families have started in Kindergarten and been promoted through 8th grade, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, and even children of former students. Because the school has been around for so long the programs are well developed and the administration has been with the school since the very first day. That means something very important because the school has a B rating with the State of Arizona, 400+ students year after year, and is now celebrating its 20th year. That must mean the Director, Melanie Powers, leading a really great team of educators!

Posted: June 9, 2016

Virtues what virtues. If a school is going to say they have a values plan it should start with the adminstrative staff. If it doesn't start there how can the teachers and students show those virtues. Administration is more focused on dress code, what food is being eaten and talking down to people than what the real focus of a school should be educating the students. Making sure teachers have the supplies they need to teach the standards. How this school has run for so long is only through lies and deceiving parents.

Posted: June 8, 2016

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Posted: November 16, 2015

As a former employee, I would NOT recommend anyone to enroll their children in this school. Ms. Powers, the school's director/principal, is unprofessional and extremely disrespectful to staff, students, and parents. She yells/talks down to them in the front office lobby for everyone to hear. She makes inappropriate comments about people's weight and eating habits. Her sister is the librarian and daughter teaches at the school, they are both extremely sweet but her daughter is not certified or highly qualified to teach. Teachers are always quitting or being fired for not agreeing with her.Ms. Powers is the leader and she is leading the school right into the gutter. ACCLAIM was a good school at one point and had great teachers who loved their job and the students. Most of those teachers are gone. I am sure the school can be great again but she needs to make a big change. She makes strict rules about uniforms and what students bring for lunch. That should not be the school main focus, they should focus on academics, building the students confidence and not putting them down. Most of my review is about Ms. Powers but like I said before she is the leader, she started the school. She creates the rules and makes the decisions. The school does have a governing board but she pretty much runs that too.

Some of the previous reviews seem a little fishy to me. They were all submitted on the same day. I do not think they are honest reviews.

Posted: November 4, 2015

Compared to the homework that I did when I was a student this school gives more. I never did homework.

Posted: November 4, 2015

I do feel they do develop honesty, integrity and fairness in their students - at least in my experience this is what I have seen.

Posted: November 4, 2015

Because I am learning new Spanish words when I talk to the director. She is giving me a better vocabulary.

Posted: November 4, 2015

I can only judge by my own experience. In my experience they are totally effective in producing positive results.

Posted: October 23, 2015

I have never seen in an environment that is so negative and completely disorganized. My child has had substitutes all year. This is horrific. Teachers that have left have left feeling disgusted by Ms. Power's lack of professionalism. She told my child she is honest and some people cannot handle the truth. I think she is confused. Honestly and respect are two different things.

Posted: October 23, 2015

What teachers? This year alone four teachers have left the school. This is common at this campus and I thought things would change.

Posted: October 23, 2015

There is not enough homework because there are no teachers there to teach students. My child has been taught by substitutes for the last nine weeks.

Posted: October 23, 2015

This school does not develop honesty with students. The students are in the dark. They cry because their teachers leave and do not understand why things are so bad.

Posted: October 22, 2015

As a parent I believe the school has changed a lot over the years. There's been so many teachers coming and going, test scores have dropped and teachers and staff members that have been there for years have finally left and no explanation on behalf of the director. The school focuses more on making sure the student is in proper uniform, when they are missing a belt or have the wrong shoes they are sent to the office to wait until we arrive and then returned to the classroom. Educating my child should be more important than a wrong pair of shoes or even a missing belt. I understand and followed the rules but everyone makes mistakes and minor things like this could be disciplined in a different way than spending the entire day in the office. I was sad to hear Ms. Christina was no longer there. Both Ms. Vanessa and Ms. Christina were awesome secretaries, very helpful, always knew the answer and when they didn't know something they would always ask and get back to me. The new office ladies are rude, unprofessional and always in a bad mood. Too busy to help or answer a question and wont go above and beyond. Customer service should be their priority! The director is very rude and believes she's right no matter what! I've had the worst experience at this school and happy to have withdrawn my son from there.

Posted: October 22, 2015

Constant change is never a positive thing, especially in a school environment. My son was not learning a thing with substitutes every week. There was no teacher in the classroom.

Posted: October 22, 2015

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Posted: October 9, 2015

Posted: October 9, 2015

Its a good school, follows the rules. Good dressing and Its make the students responsible and follow the rules. I am happy that my kids come to this school.

Posted: October 9, 2015

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Posted: October 9, 2015

I like how the students learn about values and to work hard to achieve excellence. Teachers communicate with parents and also the office staff is always helping the parents.

Posted: October 9, 2015

ACCLAIM Academy works very hard to have excellent teachers. The teachers are weekly trained to help the students succeed.

Posted: October 9, 2015

Homework is done during RTI which gives the teachers an opportunity to help individual students.

Posted: October 9, 2015

Posted: August 29, 2015

This school is disorganized. My child is in middle school and has had a math substitute for many weeks now. How can this be? To make matters worse my child has no recess. She has to wait in the lunchroom for 20 minutes, because the school does not want to destroy their "playground". I warn anyone that is looking to send their child here to look else where! I do not think that parents are completely aware of the situation. We are looking for another school.

Posted: August 29, 2015

All new teachers this year. Difficult to know. Last year was the same story. Substitute teachers for many subjects. This does not seem like a safe and effective place to me.

Posted: August 29, 2015

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Posted: May 31, 2015

This is the worst school I have ever seen. Do not send your children to this school. The principal is degrading and belittling to the teachers and students. Teachers are fired on the spot for no reason and therefore, the school is left to hire whoever they can find on the streets. The school is unsafe and unsanitary. After a flood last year, the school refused to close and neglected the mold growth that is now consuming the school. The principal forces students to stand in a corner with their nose to the wall when they will not listen even at an 8th grade level. The academics are inferior to anything imaginable. The teaching staff is comprised of mainly substitutes that have no idea what they are doing because the teachers that were hired in the beginnning of the year all get fired or leave by christmas.

Posted: June 3, 2014

Very unorganized . The principal is very rude and unprofessional . No actual playground . My child can't wear colored shoes other than black (do you know how hard it is to find black shoes that are comfortable to my child) You have to wear a belt or else they will send you to the office . Does it harm anyone if my child wears nail polish or if she has skinny jeans (of course uniform ) On free dress day you cant wear leggings . This school is absolutely insane . Also the classes are way behind education .

Posted: May 28, 2014

This school is very unorganized. I had to take my children out of there. The rules are ridiculous. The director is very rude and disrespectful. The 7th grade changed teacher each month. How are my children supposed to learn at a school were they don't even know what they are doing.

Posted: June 5, 2011

The Teach for America teachers at this school are exceptional. They have worked hard for my children, and made sure that they learned this year. I agree that the dress code policy can be a bit to strict, but my children enjoy going to school each day and I love sending them!