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Best Public Schools in Sanders, AZ

At a glance

Schools

624

Students

Districts

◉

Smallest classes

Valley High School 9.4 students per teacher

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Summary:

The city of Sanders, Arizona is home to three public schools serving students from elementary through high school: Sanders Elementary School, Valley High School, and Sanders Middle School. Unfortunately, the data reveals that these schools are consistently underperforming compared to state averages across a range of key metrics.

None of the three schools in the Sanders Unified District can be considered standouts. Sanders Elementary School has alarmingly low proficiency rates in English Language Arts (11-24%) and Math (9-14%), well below the state averages. Valley High School has a 4-year graduation rate of 84.5%, lower than the state average, and a dropout rate of 6.3%, which is higher than desired. Sanders Middle School has extremely low proficiency rates in Science (7%), ELA (13-19%), and Math (2-3%), ranking in the bottom 10-20% of Arizona middle schools.

The schools in Sanders face significant challenges, including very high poverty levels, with 81.8% to 87.4% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Additionally, the student populations are overwhelmingly Native American, with minimal racial/ethnic diversity. Despite the high per-student spending, ranging from $20,476 to $24,040, the schools are not seeing commensurate improvements in academic outcomes, suggesting a need for more targeted, evidence-based interventions to address the root causes of the district's struggles.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				AASA English Language Arts (2025)	AzSCI Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
NATIVE - Sanders Valley High School	Public	9-12	I-40 & Us 191	Sanders	86512	Apache County	Northeast Arizona Technological Institute of Vocat	No	(n/a)	No	No	(928) 656-4121	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)				$00			$00
Sanders Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-7	I-40 and Hwy. 191 S	Sanders	86512	Apache County	Sanders Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(855) 678-7873	267	20	13.3		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (6.0%)	3 (1.1%)	240 (89.9%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.0%)								(n/a)			$20,476	$5,379	$4,026	$14,785	$8,804	$2,266	$11,070
Sanders Middle School	Public	6-8	Apache 7160	Sanders	86512	Apache County	Sanders Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(855) 678-7873	164	9	19.2		3 (1.8%)	1 (0.6%)	12 (7.3%)	2 (1.2%)	139 (84.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.3%)								(n/a)	20.0	21.0	$21,932	$5,901	$4,242	$16,043	$9,182	$2,608	$11,790
Valley High School	Public	9-12	I 40 and US 191	Sanders	86512	Apache County	Sanders Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(855) 678-7873	193	21	9.4		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	184 (95.3%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)								(n/a)			$24,040	$5,063	$4,545	$14,670	$11,165	$3,267	$14,432
Lichii Deezh ahi Learning Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	I-40 Hwy 191	Sanders	86512	Apache County	Sanders Unified District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(855) 678-7873	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)				$00			$00

Cities Near Sanders

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Houck	14.1 mi	1
Chambers	17.43 mi	1
Saint Michaels	29.66 mi	1
Window Rock	36.45 mi	2
Ganado	36.72 mi	9	102^nd

See the top AZ Arizona cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.