JUNE 2026 22 After years of declining enrollment, Echo Canyon School closed its doors at the end of the 2025-26 school year, marking the second time the campus at 62nd Street and Camelback has gone quiet. In December 2025, the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board voted to close the school after enrollment fell below 300 students, a significant drop from the bustling K-8 it once was. The story of the campus stretches back to 1958, when SUSD opened Kaibab Elementary during the post-war boom that shaped much of Arcadia. The district’s one-mile school grid was designed so children could walk from the growing neighborhoods around Camelback Mountain. Kaibab (1958), Tavan (1955), Kachina (1955), Ingleside (1956), and Hopi (1960) formed the original cluster of SUSD elementary schools serving the area as Arcadia filled in. Kachina, located at 44th Street and Campbell, closed in 1979 as enrollment dipped across south Scottsdale. Part of its former campus later became Kachina Park, a neighborhood favorite that still hints at the school footprint that once sat there. Kaibab met a similar fate in 1980, closing alongside several other campuses. The district attempted to sell the property but found no takers, ultimately leasing it to groups including the YMCA, Greasepaint, and an artist’s school. A surge in enrollment in the early 1990s brought the campus back to life. Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center — then just 85 students squeezed into four classrooms at the Tavan annex — outgrew its britches and moved into the Kaibab campus in 1991. Within a decade, the school grew to roughly 600 K-8 students. The campus was rebuilt in 2011 and renamed Echo Canyon in 2017, adopting a new identity centered on gardens, outdoor learning, and hands-on “Exploration Friday” programs that families came to love. With enrollment now at historic lows, students and staff will shift to other SUSD campuses next year, and the district plans to relocate the early childhood program to Tavan. The property will remain in district hands as officials explore future leasing or community-use options. End of an era: Echo Canyon school closes its doors Kaibab Elementary was active from 1958-1980. The Chef in the Garden program was a staple at Echo Canyon, teaching its students how to plant seeds, the importance of soil and how to sustain a thriving garden. Echo Canyon started as the Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center, rebranding in 2017. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KRISTEN GUERIN

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