Family & Education

A Place Your Family Can Thrive

Greater Phoenix offers families a diverse, welcoming environment along with robust educational opportunities including innovative K-12 programs, nationally recognized public and charter schools, and world-renowned universities. The region’s public school system consists of more than 1,000 public schools, not including the strong system of charter schools offering specialized programming.

Check the Stats

#2

Safest City in the U.S. - Gilbert, AZ
FBI, 2020

#7

Best High School in the U.S. - BASIS, in Chandler, AZ
US World & News, 2020

#8

Happiest City in America - Scottsdale, AZ
Wallet Hub, 2020

Education

Of the western United States, Arizona has the second-most schools rated eight out of 10 or better.

Public Elementary through High School Ratings

The market continues to invest in and strategize for increased education funding, including the November passage of a proposition that will increase funding in the K-12 system by as much as $900 million.

Charter Schools

Charter schools across the region offer diverse, specialized curricula, such as Phoenix’s Bioscience High School, which emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math instruction, and the Arizona School for the Arts, specializing in fine arts programs.

Higher Education Opportunity

Greater Phoenix offers a selection of highly-ranked colleges and universities with competitive tuition rates at schools including Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University along with the 10 colleges that are part of the Maricopa County Community Colleges District. Visit our education page to learn more about universities and other specialized higher education programs in the region including Midwestern, Ottawa and A.T. Still.

Family-Friendly Activities

There’s no shortage of family-friendly activities for all ages across the region. Below is just a sample of the entertainment and cultural activities across the region.

Spend the day at the Phoenix Zoo, which houses more than 3,000 animals and almost 400 different species, including threatened, endangered and native species that are part of conservation projects.

Desert Botanical Garden lives on 140 acres in Papago Park with 55 more acres under cultivation. There are more than 50,000 plants that include roughly 4,500 species, almost 500 of which are rare and endangered.

Photo: Ben Sarao, Primary Image 3D

Greater Phoenix has large water parks including Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa, Big Surf in Scottsdale and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Wet and Wild in Phoenix.

In addition, there are community pools spread throughout the region that include small slides, diving boards and lazy rivers.

Phoenix Zoo

Desert Botanical Gardens

Water parks

The collection of art spans from the Renaissance to the present at the Phoenix Art Museum features rotating exhibits and events to showcase different styles, geographic regions and eras.

Expand your curiosities at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix, which has more than 350 interactive experiences and learning opportunities for the 400,000 annual visitors.

The Hall of Flame Museum had more than 100 restored trucks and pieces of equipment dating as far back as 1725 from countries including the United States, England, France, Austria, Germany and Japan. Take a tour of firefighter history, complete with a safe hands-on activity for children.

Phoenix Art Museum

Science Center

Hall of Flame Museum

Youth Sports Leagues

With Arizona’s warm weather, even outdoor sports can be played and practiced year-round. Some leagues include:

Little League baseball and softball
YMCA Basketball
Pop Warner football
Soccer
Ice Hockey
Swim
Equestrian
Dance and ballet