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Sweetwater Community School

Public, Alternative Grades K-12

Summary

Sweetwater Community School is an alternative public school in Phoenix, Arizona, serving 187 students in grades K-12. The school faces significant challenges, with low graduation rates, poor test scores, and high dropout rates compared to surrounding schools and state averages.

Sweetwater Community School stands out for its high percentage of Hispanic students (52.41%) and economically disadvantaged students (47.59% receive free or reduced-price lunch), which may contribute to its academic struggles. The school's 4-year graduation rate is only 37.7%, far below the state average of 80%, and its test scores are consistently lower than the Paradise Valley Unified District and the state across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in 11th grade, only 11% of Sweetwater students were proficient or better in Science and Mathematics, compared to 29% and 46% respectively for the district.

When compared to nearby schools like Sonoran Science Academy - Phoenix, Great Hearts Academies - Archway Veritas, and AmeriSchools Academy - Camelback, Sweetwater Community School stands out as an outlier, with significantly lower academic performance and higher dropout rates. The school's unique challenges and student population suggest the need for targeted interventions and support to help students succeed and close the achievement gap.

165

Students ?

6.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

47.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4215 E Andora Dr
Phoenix, AZ 85032-6701

(602) 449-2300

District: Paradise Valley Unified District

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

63.6%

White:

22.4%

African American:

5.5%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 19th percentile in 2017 → 27th in 2023

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 8 percentile points since 2017

✓Small classes — about 6 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (17% vs 40% meeting standards)

!Graduation rate below the Arizona average (60% vs 80%)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school17%

District avg57%

Arizona avg40%

Not ranked this year

Sweetwater Community School did not have enough recent test-score data to be ranked. Check the trend below for past years.

106^th of 289Paradise Valley Unified District among Arizona districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	24.2	343 of 469	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.4	344 of 464	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.2	382 of 509	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.1	372 of 420	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	17.1	337 of 416	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	31.2	127 of 201	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.2	221 of 301	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.0	202 of 306	34.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	23.4	311 of 406	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.2	375 of 456	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.6	407 of 492	17.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.8	326 of 354	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	30.5	48 of 116	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	34.6	38 of 130	70.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	22.2	310 of 379	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.6	260 of 441	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	54.9	159 of 479	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	10.8	305 of 311	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	10.2	342 of 347	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.2	236 of 253	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	19.5	349 of 429	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.5	305 of 455	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.5	355 of 492	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	345 of 370	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	51.3	98 of 199	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	16.7	271 of 374	27.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	25.1	150 of 255	41.2%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	65.9	49 of 380	87.1%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	14.6	321 of 371	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	347 of 409	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.4	362 of 448	19.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.0	280 of 291	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

African American (2022)49th percentile

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)19th percentile

Male (2022)13th percentile

Female (2022)10th percentile

High school

Special Education (2022)87th percentile+61 vs school

Foster Care (2022)59th percentile+33 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)51st percentile+24 vs school

Native American (2022)41st percentile+15 vs school

African American (2023)37th percentile+10 vs school

Female (2023)23rd percentile-3 vs school

Male (2023)19th percentile-8 vs school

Hispanic (2023)18th percentile-9 vs school

White (2023)13th percentile-13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)1st percentile-25 vs school

★

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Schools Near Sweetwater Community School

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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)						AASA Mathematics (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 3rd Grade	AASA English Language Arts 4th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 5th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 11th Grade	AASA Mathematics 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 11th Grade	AzSCI Science 5th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 11th 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
Sweetwater Community School	Public, Alternative	K-12	4215 E Andora Dr	Phoenix	85032	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 449-2300	165	26	6.3		37 (22.4%)	9 (5.5%)	105 (63.6%)	3 (1.8%)	2 (1.2%)	2 (1.2%)	7 (4.2%)								(n/a)						17.0											$00			$00
pvONLINE	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	15002 N 32nd St	Phoenix	85032	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(602) 449-2450	127	22	5.7		72 (56.7%)	6 (4.7%)	31 (24.4%)	7 (5.5%)	2 (1.6%)	1 (0.8%)	8 (6.3%)								(n/a)						43.0										$8,729	$341	$469	$1,151	$7,343	$576	$7,919
Roadrunner School	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	16428 N 21st St.	Phoenix	85022	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 449-2600	70	52	1.3		38 (54.3%)	7 (10.0%)	16 (22.9%)	1 (1.4%)	2 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (8.6%)								(n/a)																	$00			$00
Great Hearts Academies - Archway Scottsdale	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	16648 N 94th St	Scottsdale	85260	Maricopa County	Archway Classical Academy Scottsdale	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 776-0413	1,079	57	18.9		700 (64.9%)	10 (0.9%)	154 (14.3%)	102 (9.5%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	109 (10.1%)								(n/a)	68.0	77.0	65.0				68.0	70.0	66.0				65.0				$00			$00
Vista Peak	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	19825 N 15th Ave	Phoenix	85027	Maricopa County	Deer Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(623) 445-3900	63	13	4.7		45 (71.4%)	4 (6.3%)	8 (12.7%)	1 (1.6%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (6.3%)								(n/a)																$39,957	$1,392	$65	$2,849	$37,815	$685	$38,500
New World Educational Center	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	5818 N 7th St	Phoenix	85014	Maricopa County	New World Educational Center	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 238-9577	209	17	12.2		4 (1.9%)	30 (14.4%)	156 (74.6%)	4 (1.9%)	7 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.8%)								(n/a)				41.0													$00			$00
Albert Einstein Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-9	8250 E Rose Ln	Scottsdale	85250	Maricopa County	Albert Einstein Academy of Arizona	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(602) 721-6610	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Aspire Deer Valley's Online Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	20402 N 15th Ave	Phoenix	85027	Maricopa County	Deer Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(623) 445-4992	225	20	11.3		151 (67.1%)	14 (6.2%)	51 (22.7%)	4 (1.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.8%)								(n/a)				80.0	81.0	70.0				52.0	65.0	52.0		73.0	43.0	$5,024	$90	$00	$180	$4,860	$73	$4,933
ASDB - Phoenix Day School for the Deaf	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	7654 N 19th Ave	Phoenix	85021	Maricopa County	Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 771-5400	173				34 (19.7%)	17 (9.8%)	101 (58.4%)	8 (4.6%)	12 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)								(n/a)
ASDB - Region 2	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	8055 N 24th Ave Ste 103	Phoenix	85021	Maricopa County	Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 770-3458	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Sweetwater Community School

What is the racial makeup of Sweetwater Community School?

Students at Sweetwater Community School are 64% Hispanic, 22% White, 5% African American, 4% Two or more races, 2% Asian, 1% American Indian, 1% Pacific Islander.

How many students attend Sweetwater Community School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 165 students attended Sweetwater Community School.

What district is Sweetwater Community School in?

Paradise Valley Unified District

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Latest Arizona data All new data »

2024–25 dropout ratesDec 2, 2025

2024–25 graduation ratesNov 7, 2025

2024–25 AASA & AzSCI test scoresOct 10, 2025

2023–24 dropout ratesJun 30, 2025

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.