There are a number of reasons that homes all across Phoenix, Arizona are so highly sought offer – Phoenix offers an excellent climate, stabilizing real estate values, plenty of hiking and biking trails, magnificent urban mountain ranges, year-round outdoor living and entertaining options and much more. Here’s another reason that’s at the top of the list for many families, large and small: many Phoenix public school districts offer excellent educational experiences.

The City of Phoenix is home to 325 public schools in 30 school districts along with more than 200 charter and private schools, and chances are, if you’re looking to buy a home, land, condo or other residential real estate in Phoenix, you’re probably already interested in checking out the local school district. While there are many exceptional private and charter schools, numerous Phoenix public schools are also highly rated by the Arizona Department of Education. The Department of Education rates schools in five categories, with "Highly Performing" and "Excelling" being the top two categories, so when searching for schools, be sure to look for these ratings.

Many school districts cross city boundaries; for example, the Scottsdale Unified School District has schools that are located inside the cities of Scottsdale and Phoenix as well as the Town of Paradise Valley. Paradise Valley Unified School District schools are all located within the boundaries of either Phoenix or Scottsdale. In addition, the Cave Creek Unified District’s eight schools are located inside Cave Creek, Phoenix or Scottsdale.

By visiting the City of Phoenix Youth and Education Programs Office website, you will find information on school locations, district boundaries and attendance boundaries, as well as frequently requested maps. To help you out, a complete listing of the public, private, and charter schools in Phoenix is available at Phoenix Maps Online. This feature also includes a mapping application and links to the individual school Web sites. To obtain detailed information about school districts or their educational programs, please visit the particular school district's website or contact the school directly.

One important note is that even if your home, condo or townhome is outside a district’s boundaries, per Arizona state law, you still have the opportunity to enroll your child in your public school of choice through the Open Enrollment process. Open Enrollment packets are usually available at any local school site or on the district’s website and there is a specified enrollment period, generally in the fall preceding the following school year. There are a limited number of schools that do not accept Open Enrollment students because those schools, or perhaps specific programs requested, are at full capacity. Please call the school or school district in which you are interested to check Open Enrollment availability.