K through 8 · Enrolling for 2027
A school the size of one classroom.
Twelve learners per guide, four days a week, in a converted studio off Hayden Road. Mornings are mastery work. Afternoons are projects. Fridays we are outside.
- Grades K to 8Mixed-age studios
- 12 learners per guideHard cap in every studio
- Monday to ThursdayFriday field days
- North ScottsdaleHayden and Thunderbird
How a day runs
Mastery in the morning. Building in the afternoon.
Kids do not move on because the calendar says so. They move on when they can show the skill. That is the whole method, and it is why a small room works.
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8:30 to 11:30
Core mornings
Math, reading, and writing at each child's own level. Short lessons, long work blocks, a guide who knows exactly where all 12 kids are.
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11:30 to 12:30
Lunch and free play outside
Under the ramada, with no screens. Older kids and younger kids eat together on purpose.
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12:30 to 3:00
Project afternoons
Six-week builds that cross subjects: a desert water study, a small business, a scale model of the Salt River watershed. Work gets presented to parents at the end of the six weeks.
Every Friday
The whole studio goes outside on Fridays.
We meet at the Gateway trailhead at 8:30 and spend the day in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, at the Desert Botanical Garden, at the Salt River, or in a working shop somewhere in the Valley. Parents drive the carpool rotation. Every field day ties back to the project the studio is building.
Week at a glance
What a Mesa Verde week actually looks like.
Four instructional days, one field day. Drop off opens at 8:15, pickup is 3:15. This is the 2027 schedule.
Core masteryMath conferences and independent reading. New week goals set with each learner.
Project launchTeams pick their question and build the plan for the next six weeks.
Core masteryWriting workshop, then math work blocks by level.
MakingShop time: hand tools, circuits, clay, and drafting in the back studio.
Core masteryReading seminar across ages, then individual skill checks.
Science labDesert ecology and physical science tied to the current project.
Core masteryMath and writing, plus Spanish with Ms. Ochoa at 10:30.
PresentationKids present the week's work to the studio. Parents welcome from 2:15.
Out in the ValleyPreserve hikes, the Botanical Garden, the Salt River, or a working shop visit.
Field journalsSketching, measuring, and notes that feed straight back into Monday's project.
Field day locations are posted the Friday before. Families who need care on the fifth weekday can join our partner co-op two doors down, and we are glad to make the introduction.
Tuition and ESA
The scholarship covers almost all of it.
$8,400 a year
That is tuition for a full K-8 year, billed in 10 monthly payments. Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account pays roughly $7,300 for most K-8 students, which leaves about $1,100 for the year. We take the ESA payment directly and handle the paperwork with you at enrollment.
Included: all materials, field day entry fees, Spanish, and the end-of-year portfolio. There is no separate technology fee and no fundraising requirement.
- ESA accepted
- Listed on AZ Ed Vendors
- Ask about the payment plan
Our son went from hating math to explaining it to a fourth grader. Twelve kids in the room is the whole reason.
Book a visit
Come see a Tuesday morning.
Tours run Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9:00 while school is in session. Bring your child. We will answer in one business day.