[Shar81]

Hi all,

I am considering a nursing program at U of A in Tucson, but can any parents out there tell me of any good charter elementary schools near the university ? I have two little ones ages 4(almost 5) and 3(almost4) but i won't move if the schools are not great. I've heard some horror stories about gangs in the public schools in Tucson. Is the foothills area near the university, and if so how is that area ? Please help

[inthesky]

You should probably post in the Arizona forum. I live in Tucson, but I'm not a parent. The foothills (NW area of the city-- 15+minutes from the U) is a good area..although expensive. I love living around the University area, but I'm not sure I would raise a family here.. it's not the safest area. Tucson has a lot of nice and not-so-nice areas close to one another. Sabino canyon area is beautiful as well (although 30 minute from the U). Oro Valley is very safe, but also a bit far out. It also depends on what you are used to. My boyfriend grew up in a bad New Orleans ghetto and thinks the Tucson "ghetto' is a joke =P I haven't heard about elementary school gangs; how scary!! the Tucson school district is better than the sunnyside district. Come visit and drive around; make it a vacation. Tucson is beautiful in late oct =).

[Wicked Wahine]

There's actually a magnet Montessori school named Drachman that's near the UofA. You can also check out greatschools.net, which is a great resource. Good luck!

Arizona ranks very low in national education rankings, however there are tons of charter schools and magnet schools (not to mention excellent private schools) available now and some of them are truly excellent. So while you may need to do a little homework to find a good school, they are out there and accessable.

As for the gangs and stuff, well I just think it's terribly overrated and high schools anywhere tend to have all one issue or another.