Desert Mountain High School and Chaparral High School were named as two of the top 1300 high schools in the country, according to Newsweek Magazine. Desert Mountain and Chaparral are two of only a handful of public high schools in Arizona to make the list. Desert Mountain was ranked 845th, and Chaparral was ranked 1057th on the list. Chaparral made the Newsweek list in 2006, 2005 and 2003. To view the complete list, please visit Newsweek.

Editor's note: Newsweek ranks public schools according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews which calculates the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2006 divided by the number of graduating seniors.

Scottsdale Unified School District will provide transportation for those freshman students who live in McDowell Mountain Ranch (MMR) and who are currently opened enrolled at Chaparral High School. The Transportation of Learners department has established a new bus stop for these students at the NE corner of Thompson Peak Parkway and Paradise Lane. The department will continue to transport these students for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years due to the 2006 MMR boundary change.

Exact times have not been established yet, but the estimated times for pick-up and drop-off are 7:40 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. The exact information will be posted on the SUSD Web site's Transportation of Learners Web page by July 31.

If you have any questions about transportation arrangements, please contact Dan Shearer, director of transportation of learners, at 480-484-8550.

At the July 2nd Governing Board meeting, the Board voted to adopt the District’s FY07-08 Budget as presented. The presentation is available on the District’s Web site at: www.susd.org/district/govboard/meetings.cfm.

At the June 5th meeting, the Governing Board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to renew the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) Override and to place a resolution for a Capital Override on the November 6, 2007 ballot. For factual information about either of these two initiatives, please visit www.susd.org.

At the February 14th Governing Board meeting, the Board approved the proposed calendars for 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and a template of subsequent calendars through 2017. The calendars are posted at: http://www.susd.org/district/administrativeservices/calendar.cfm.

When it comes to schools, there are many choices available in Scottsdale. Here are a few key points to consider when comparing schools to make your final enrollment decision.

• Specialized programs – International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), Gifted programs, Fine Arts programs, Athletics, Special Education and more!
• Outstanding principals and teachers – three principals named as AZ LEADS³ Circle of Honor Award, 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, Teacher of the Year from the Arizona Society of Economics Teachers, Arizona’s Teacher of the Year for Gifted Learners, “Preserve America History” Teacher of the Year for Arizona, Rodel Initiative Award and Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year to name a few. SUSD has more "Highly Qualified" teachers, 97 percent, than any other Arizona school district.
• Top test scores – as much as 30 percent above state averages on AIMS and as much as 43 percent higher on Terra Nova.
• New facilities – Arcadia, Chaparral, Coronado and Saguaro high schools are being reconstructed and renovations are being made to Desert Mountain High School and Sierra Vista Academy.

Did you know that clients purchasing a home outside of the SUSD boundaries may enroll their child in a Scottsdale Unified School District school? SUSD accepts Open Enrollment applications throughout the year.

Open Enrollment packets are available at all of our 33 schools, on our Web site at http://www.susd.org/district/administrativeservices/openenroll.cfm and in the lobby of the Education Center (SUSD District office located at 44th St. and south of Indian School Road).

Here are just a few reasons why your buyers should consider open enrollment for their children in Arizona’s Most Excelling School District:

• We have 21 “Excelling” schools.
• We have more National Merit finalists than any other school district in Arizona.
• SUSD students scores higher than state averages on both AIMS and Terra Nova tests at all grade levels and in all content areas.
• SAT scores for our college-bound students were above the state and national averages in both English and math.

Once accepted to an SUSD school through the Open Enrollment process, parents will not need to fill out another application for the remainder of their child’s public school career. Parents will need to provide their child's transportation to and from school. There are a limited number of our schools that are not accepting students through the Open Enrollment process because those schools are at full capacity. Please have your client call the school they are interested in to check Open Enrollment availability.

While summer temperatures sizzle, the Valley's real estate market is expected to remain cool, according to market watchers.

In today's market, potential clients have many choices when it comes to buying a home. Considerations include proximity to good schools/school districts, jobs, family, friends and a abundance of housing inventory. In most instances, buyers will choose a home because it is located in a good school district even if they don’t have school-aged children. According to the National Association of REALTORS, a good school district is an excellent indicator of home value appreciation.

When showing a house in Scottsdale, remind potential clients of the many advantages of purchasing a home within the Scottsdale Unified School District boundaries, including:

• Their child is assured of attending one of our 33 outstanding schools.
• Twenty-one of our 33 schools are rated “Excelling” by the Arizona Department of Education, and SUSD's goal is that all schools will be Excelling by 2010.
• Their child will receive a “private education” at a "public school price".
• Scottsdale Unified School District offers specialized programs such as:
  • Aviation Science Program at Coronado High School
  • Nursing Program at Saguaro High School
  • Culinary Program at Chaparral High School
  • Award-winning Media Communications Program at Arcadia High School
  • International Baccalaureate Program at Desert Mountain High School
  • Copper Ridge Math and Science Academy for 9th and 10th grade students
  • Foreign Language Immersion Program for first graders at Pueblo Elementary School
  • Seven middle schools with Enrichment Courses that ease the transition from elementary school to middle school and then from middle school to high school
  • Twenty elementary schools that lay a strong educational foundation