North Valley families will soon have another choice in tuition-free public charter school education in the growing North Phoenix/Anthem area.
BASIS Charter Schools plans to open for the 2024-25 school year, initially serving grades K-5 in Caurus Academy’s elementary campus on Anthem’s west side at 41900 N. 42nd Ave. School growth plans include adding one grade level per school year to ultimately serve grades K-12.
BASIS has agreed to lease Caurus’ K-5 campus for the first school year, and then move into Caurus Academy’s middle/high school campus, just north of Daisy Mountain Post Office.
Planning for this location has been in the works for several years, according to Basis Vice President of Communications Phil Handler. The official announcement came in November.
“We are hearing area families who want the known quality and excellence of the BASIS Charter Schools network, which has been in Arizona since 1998. And with the residential influx following tech firms into northern Phoenix, and the broader economy there aligning with the incredible STEM-infused curriculum that we provide, we determined—and heard—that we’d be a great fit for this area,” Handler told Valley Vibe in an email.
Class sizes generally range from 25–30 students, and multiple sections per grade level are anticipated, Handler said. At full growth, the BASIS School footprint generally serves 900 students, Handler said.
When it opens, the new campus will be the twenty-third school in the Arizona charter’s network, which first began in Tucson. Open enrollment is already underway. Interested families can visit www.enrollbasis.com/phoenix-north to apply, to join the interest list, or to sign up to attend an information session.
A spokesperson for Ed Key/Caurus Academy could not confirm if Caurus K-5 plans to move into its middle school/high school building for the 2024-2025 school year, as of this writing.
BASIS Phoenix North Information Session
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 5:30 p.m.
Caurus Academy (Middle school/High school campus)
44111 N 43rd Ave., Phoenix
www.enrollbasis.com/phoenix-north
By Valley Vibe Staff Writers | [email protected]