Legacy Traditional Schools recently earned the No. 1 spot for the top 10 charter schools in Arizona, according to the 2021 edition of business opinion poll. Other schools making this year鈥檚 list include charter schools with a long history in Arizona like BASIS, Great Hearts and Benjamin Franklin.

尝别驳补肠测鈥檚 back-to-basics approach, which includes student uniforms, clearly resonates with parents. The non-profit鈥檚 A-rated schools continue to expand statewide. Today, there are more than 20 schools serving about 23,000 students.  

It is one example of how far charters have come since their start in Arizona in 1994, providing a range of programs and niches where almost any student can find the right spot, said Jake Logan, president and CEO of the . 

鈥淚 think charters have done a really nice job of continuing to diversify so students can find the right fit. You have students that have interest in arts. You have students that are high academic achievers. You have schools across the board that are student centered,鈥� Logan said.  

Other schools with names many Arizonans are familiar with like BASIS, Great Hearts and Benjamin Franklin also made the top 10 list in the 2021 Ranking Arizona poll. 

The annual ranking is considered the state鈥檚 biggest and most comprehensive business opinion poll. More than 1 million participants vote to give their recommendations on simple questions about topics based on the quality of products, services and with whom they would recommend doing business.

Here鈥檚 the list of Top 10 Charters in the 2021 Arizona Ranking poll:

1. Legacy Traditional Schools  A-rated charter public schools emphasize turning students into 鈥渓ifelong learners and engaged citizens鈥� with a well-rounded curriculum that emphasizes all areas of academic study. The schools incorporate arts, physical education, athletics and extracurricular activities in their programming. The student body reflects all income levels. In Arizona, Legacy has campuses throughout the Phoenix metro region, Tucson, Casa Grande and the city of Maricopa. The company also operates in Nevada. 

2. Sequoia Schools One of the first charter schools in Arizona, Charter School in Mesa operates three schools on one campus: Sequoia Elementary, Sequoia Secondary and Sequoia School for the Deaf. Sequoia promises to “do whatever it takes” to help pupils succeed including tutoring programs in keeping with its philosophy that “Every Child is Known.” Sequoia is a highly diverse campus with a significant number of students on free and reduced lunches. Sequoia Schools also operate 13 other schools across Arizona.

3. Academies of Math and Science (AMS) Another long standing charter school that started in 2000 with 30 students, now operates nine campuses across Phoenix metro and Tucson. Many are in underserved areas. The schools advertise a well-rounded curriculum emphasizing STEM while incorporating foreign language, music, and art. Geared to 鈥渉ighly motivated students,鈥� the schools are college-focused. Among its offerings are advanced and accelerated instruction and free after-school tutoring in all subjects. 

4. Great Hearts Academies

5. Benjamin Franklin Charter School

6. Arizona School for the Arts

7. BASIS Charter Schools

8. American Leadership Academy

9. Leman Academy of Excellence, Marana Campus

10. Primavera Online High School and Middle School

To read more about these and other charter schools in Arizona, visit: .

About charter schools in Arizona 

Arizona was one of the first states to start open enrollment and charter schools in 1994. Today, more than 213,000 Arizona students are enrolled in charter schools, making up nearly 20 percent of the state鈥檚 public school enrollment, according to the Arizona Charter Schools Association. Arizona鈥檚 573 public charter schools make up approximately 28 percent of the state鈥檚 total schools.

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Arizonans for Great Schools and a Strong Economy showing voter support for the ballot initiative to double the income tax rate (known as Invest in Ed) drops significantly when told about the level of the tax increase.

The survey asked respondents if they would support signing a petition for a 3 percent income tax increase versus a 76 percent tax increase on individuals earning more than $250,000 annually. According to the poll, 59 percent of respondents indicated they would sign a petition for a 3 percent increase, but that number falls to 29 percent when the tax is described as a 76 percent increase.

The initiative seeks to increase the income tax rate from 4.54 percent to 8 percent for individuals who have a taxable income between $250,000 and $500,00 and for families who generate between $500,000 and $1 million. For individuals and families that make more than $500,000 and $1 million, respectively, the tax rate would soar to 9 percent. This jump results in tax rate increases of聽76.21 percent and 98.24 percent respectively.

Because most small businesses in Arizona file as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or some other structure known as a pass through, they do not pay corporate taxes and instead pay the standard individual income tax rate, so the proposal impacts them as well.

鈥淲hen Arizona voters get the real story, support for a major increase in the individual income tax completely falls apart,鈥� Arizonans for Great Schools and a Strong Economy Chairman Jaime Molera said.

The description of the tax increase is the subject of a lawsuit filed last month.

According to the filing, the initiative description fails to disclose the repeal of an existing law that annually adjusts each income tax bracket for inflation and states that the description of the income tax increase on the petition is misleading. The petition description alleges that income taxes will increase by 3.46 percent and by 4.46 percent — a reference to the percentage point increase, not the overall tax increase percentage.

鈥淚 am confident that the judicial system will find the proponents鈥� work sloppy and misleading and will remove the initiative from the ballot,鈥� Molera said. 鈥淏ut, if for some reason we must continue this campaign through the fall, this poll confirms that public opinion is on our side and that a near doubling of the income tax rate will be rejected by voters.鈥�

OH Predictive Insights conducted the live caller survey of 400 registered Arizona voters August 2^nd -3^rd, with a +/- 4.9 percent margin of error.

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