Pardes Jewish Day School

Pardes Day School is a wonderful, nurturing community where your children will learn key values such as kindness, respect, and giving from Day 1. The academics are superb and rigorous and the small classes allow for a lot of individual attention. Our children have a very strong sense of their Jewish identity and are well-versed in Hebrew. Our daughter is thriving in high school as a result of the incredible faculty and rigorous academics. I could not think of a better secular or religious education for my children than Pardes. In terms of creating a "bubble," I completely disagree. These kids are some of the most confident, self-assured kids I have seen, capable of excelling in honors programs, speech and debate teams, theater programs, sports teams, etc in all types of high schools through the valley, both public and private. Our graduates go on to some of the best universities in the Country in large part because Pardes prepared them so well early on. Our new head of the school, Peter Gordon, is a phenomenal leader, so well respected, and has key ideas about the direction in which to take the school. Aside from his outstanding ideas, he is personable, approachable and well liked by all, students, parents and faculty alike. I have no doubt he will do great things for Pardes.

Total waste of money. Teachers L and N are involved inappropriately and everyone knows it but they turn a blind eye. A gossip haven full of unprofessional so-called teachers and administration. Its nothing but nepotism and busy-bodies. They claim they are two years ahead but that means nothing. Just because you use textbooks that are a higher grade level does not mean they actually teach the kids with the skill required to truly educate children. Just a lot of hype with no results. And the parents are afraid to be honest because they were sucked into the baloney and now its too late to pull their kids out. But when the kids hit high school they are woefully unprepared and need tremendous help to catch up. Buyer beware!

To all parents, My son was enrolled at Pardes for 2 years and in that time period he increasingly protested his education and by the end of his second year he hated to learn he hated homework he hated to read..before attending Pardes this was never the case. I should have followed my instincts so much sooner. Wow. After endless meetings with his teachers and the schools upper leadership, which never produced any positive results in my child’s behavior and performance in school. I made the decision for my son to attend another private school. A school that each year sends members of their graduating class to Ivy League schools. A school that from DAY 1 (my first meeting with faculty) took very seriously the disproportion my son experienced and immediately addressed his intelligence, his sweetness, his incredible social awareness and together we partnered to overcome the extremely disproportionate educational system that Pardes embraces and sadly to my sons disadvantage. After removing my son from Pardes, now a year later, my son has made a COMPLETE turn around. Unlike Pardes he is now excited to learn and diligently engages in academics and social environments. Unlike Pardes he has consistently achieved beyond his grade level and received honorary awards for his achievements. Unlike Pardes he loves to learn, he is so happy and is proud of himself. I am saddened to think that I paid Pardes to take those feelings away from him. Fortunately the hard work of dedicated educators and administrators his turn around began virtually instantly within 4 weeks of starting the new school year. There was never any doubt in my mind that once removed from Pardes my child would thrive in a real educational environment. He is such a star and he always has been. When I remember back to the final weeks of his last year at Pardes. It was, in writing recommended to me that my son be enrolled in an institution for children with learning disabilities. I WAS SHOCKED. When he receives his 1st acceptance letter from an Ivy League I promise you Pardes will be sent a copy along with the email they sent me. Mark my word. To all working parents that are considering Pardes, our recommendation as a family is to take your hard earned money and your child’s bright future elsewhere. ALL children have the right to be treated equally in the classroom. However, equality does not exist at Pardes. Every child has the right to be given encouragement and inspiration to believe in their own abilities and grow. This will not happen for your child at Pardes. There is a strong possibility that the opportunities every parent works tirelessly to provide to their children will never be provided to them at Pardes. In fact they will be intentionally denied. After my son finished the year at Pardes, I homeschooled him during the summer. He tested was accepted in another private institution. Now I understand Pardes can make claims to be advanced but PARDES is no where close... when the facts from work assigned from both school are compaired face to face. They are NO WHERE CLOSE. In fact I would rather place my child in an Arizona public school than Pardes. Not only will you find inferior education at Pardes but you will find that some students are favored while most others are ignored. The teachers and staff at Pardes are instructed to favor certain students and also to discourage other students based on the schools agenda or even their own. Why then as a parent would you even take the chance and send your child to Pardes? What we discovered at Pardes over a 2 year span? exclusionary, judgmental, unkind treatment towards certain students and parents are behaviors that Pardes teachers and faculty engage in and are encouraged to engage in and sadly these are the fibers of the Pardes foundation. This is not what we paid for or worked so hard for or expected from any educational institution. I cannot believe I paid for that. This is not the kind of Jew I was raised to be and certainly not the type of Jewish community I want my child to ever experience.

Too much money to spend on a Jewish School. Only decent departments are English and math and science. Not getting for my buck is worth. Pardes is a bubble and they make children become friends. When they leave and go into the real world. They will not survive for a while untill they fit in. You should go to PCDS if you want a better Jewish education!

Our eldest daughter graduated from Pardes in 2017 and is thriving at Phoenix Country Day School, where one-third of their new 9th grade students this year are Pardes graduates. PCDS has been extremely impressed with the preparedness of the Pardes students. Her other Pardes classmates have also transitioned extremely well to their respective high schools. We look forward to our other daughter, who is still at Pardes, having a similar seamless transition to high school. Pardes not only provides a wonderful academic education, its holistic approach makes learning interesting and relatable. The students form incredible bonds with each other and the community of families is extraordinarily warm and friendly. I can't imagine our daughters having a more positive experience. And, the middle school is extraordinary! These students learn incredible reading and writing skills and the science teacher is like having a college professor--although he really challenges the students, he makes it fun and engaging. And, I love that our girls have gained a strong Jewish identity and pride in their Judaism, in part, through their Pardes experience. Thank you, Pardes, for all you have done for our girls!