u/Lucyleelilah

Looking for some insight into Desert Mountain High School and Chaparral High School for a transfer student coming from Paris. Would love to hear perspectives on cultures, academics, potential friendliness towards an international French student moving to AZ, sports, etc.

For background, our 14-year-old daughter has been attending a very rigorous private school in Paris and is proficient in English. She’s excited about having a “typical American high school experience,” but we also want to make sure she’ll be in a supportive and well-balanced environment.

She’s social, kind, polite, and bright- still a bit innocent in the best way (hasn’t grown up too fast), and genuinely just a great kid who’s excited to integrate and make friends.

We’re particularly interested in Desert Mountain because of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, especially for the potential to keep doors open for both U.S. and French/EU universities. That said, I’ve seen that Chaparral is often ranked slightly higher, so I’d love to hear any perspective on the differences in school culture, academics, and overall environment between the two. We’re located near both, so logistics aren’t a concern.

Also- does anyone know if students need to test into the IB program at Desert Mountain before enrolling, or how that process typically works? I’ll be going to tour both schools as well.

Open to any additional school recommendations as well, but focusing on Desert Mountain due to IB.

Separately, I’d love thoughts on Arizona International School for our 12-year-old son. His English is still developing, and he’s found the intensity of his current Paris school a bit challenging. He’s incredibly kind, social, funny, very talented in sports, and would benefit from a more supportive transition academically while continuing to build confidence in English.

For context, I’m not looking for negative experiences- just thoughtful insight into school cultures and what might be the best fit based on their personalities and backgrounds.

Thanks so much in advance.

Saw the recent post from a new grad asking about entry-level salaries and thought it’d be interesting to hear from people at the senior level and up for 2026.

I’ll start:

14 years of experience across major markets, including AD100 residential and hospitality firms. Currently a Design Director at a high-end residential firm in the Southwest, been here about 5 years.

Comp: $120k + ~2% bonus on closed projects.

Day-to-day looks like:

-Managing 7–10 projects at once (2,500–15,000+ SF)

-Running a team of 6 designers (design assistant through senior)

-Handling creative direction, technical development like CD etc., ops, hiring (firing), team management, biz dev pipeline, time billing and client invoicing, and a lot of client management

-Especially jumping in when clients push back on fees or timelines

Perks:

-Some WFH / flexibility, which is nice.

-A ton of autonomy from owners - can barely ever get them to even answer me when I seek their guidance.

That said… I’m honestly starting to feel pretty underpaid for the hours and level of responsibility. Also hard to ever fully unplug- PTO usually still means being on calls/texts.

-But very good job security (as far as I know :). Have been courted by a large global firm lately and continuing discussions too.

Curious how this stacks up for others at a similar level.

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for school recommendations for two children who will be relocating to Scottsdale next September after being born and raised in Paris.

We have a 14-year-old (entering high school) and a 12-year-old (middle school). While the older child is nearly fluent in English, the younger one is still building proficiency, so I’m hoping to find schools that can support that transition.

I’m familiar with ISA, which could be a great fit for the 12-year-old, but since it doesn’t extend through high school, I’m still searching for a strong option for the 14-year-old. We will be located in Gainey Ranch.

I’d especially love to hear from any French or international families who may be in this group and have gone through a similar experience, but I’m open to all recommendations. Also trying to understand if there’s a way for the 14 yo to still take the DNB (Diplôme National du Brevet) from Arizona or another major city close by like LA?

Thank you so much et merci! 😊