Why an admissions director built a guide to every other school
I run enrollment at a small school in Sedona. Most weeks a family calls with a child who needs a school and questions that have nothing to do with us. So I wrote the answers down, for every option.
I run enrollment at a small boarding and day high school in Sedona. Most weeks the phone brings a family moving to Arizona with a child who needs a school and a list of questions that have nothing to do with my school. Can a sixth-grader start on Monday without a birth certificate in hand? Is a charter school really free? What does an ESA pay for? Which vaccines does Arizona want, and what if the records are still in another state?
I can answer most of those, because I work with Arizona schools every day. What I could not do was point to one place that answered them all plainly, with the law behind each answer. So, on my own time, I built it.
What is here
- Start here: the seven steps, the documents, proof of residency, immunizations, records and transcripts, mid-year moves, and what to do if you need a school this week.
- Your options: district schools and open enrollment, charter schools, private schools, online schools, homeschool and microschools, and every boarding school in the state.
- Paying for school: Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, tax-credit scholarships, and how to ask a private school for aid.
- By grade, by region, special situations such as IEPs, English learners, families between permanent homes, and relatives raising a child.
- How to evaluate a school from far away, including what Arizona's letter grades and the ranking sites do and do not tell you.
Every figure carries a date and a link to its source. Where I could not verify something, the page says so and tells you where to check.
The obvious question
Yes, I work for a private school, and it is listed here. It appears in the boarding schools table in alphabetical order with the other three schools that board high schoolers in Arizona, in the same format, with the same facts. It gets no other mention and no pitch. The school does not publish, fund or review this site; the domain, the hosting and the hours are mine. The about page explains where I work and how I keep this fair, and the editorial policy explains how every page is sourced. If I got something wrong, tell me and I will fix it on the page.
Sources and where to verify
Frequently asked questions
Who writes this site?
Michael Janzen, as a personal project, with AI tools for drafting and his own check of every fact against its source before publication. See the editorial policy.
Is any of this about getting students for your school?
The school I work for appears where any comparable school would, in the same format. The site exists because most of the questions I answer are not about it.
Can a school listed here correct its entry?
Yes. Use the contact page, name the page and the fact, and point to where it is published on the school's own site. Verified updates go in with a dated note. See the editorial policy for the rules.
Where do I start?
Start here if you are enrolling soon, or compare your options if you are still deciding.
Last reviewed October 11, 2026.