Rainbow Elementary School

This is our 4th year in Rainbow Elementary. We do love the school including most of the teachers. Mrs Simmons is an increble teacher and made the school year fun. Last years teacher Mrs. Jordan on the other side was one of the most horrable teachers of all. Otherwise we love both of the speech therapists, and the special math classes they offer.
—Submitted by a parent

GREAT school! The staff encourages parental envolvement and see's it as working as a team to help each child achieve their best! We feel very fortunate and blessed our children were able to attend RES.
—Submitted by a parent

They work very well with my daughter. There is always someone avalible to speak with if you need to. They care very much for every child in the school. My daughter is in kindergarten and she loves school. She loves going everyday. When she is sick she will cry because she want to go to school. I think that says a lot about a school and her teacher. My daughter has the best teacher, Mrs.Simmons. I hope every teacher she has will be at least as half as good as Mrs.Simmons is. She has set the bar very high for all of my daughters teachers to come.
—Submitted by a parent

My kindergartner runs very morning to get ready for school. He loves it, and we love it. Just the right mix of academic achievement and 'fun'. Teachers are committed and caring. It has been a great experience.
—Submitted by a parent

I am disgusted with all the testing in first grade. This is taking up learning time. Who does the teaching - the parents who have to work.
—Submitted by a parent

Wonderful school! the principal is fantastic! she has only been is this possition for one full year, and has already corrected some of the issues that were prevalent under the previous leader. The teachers are top notch, and the overall atmosphere/environment is exciting! we are so thrilled to have our children in this school. Very high standards!
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the last comment regarding exercise books. The teachers at Rainbow are very up to date on the best teaching practices (research based) and adapt to meet the needs of all students in the class. I have definitely have not experienced the no homework situation. The only suggestion I have is the homework could be differentiated a little more to make it more meaningful to all students. My son is entering seventh now, but I would definitely recommend Rainbow for its high academic standards, stellar faculty, and wonderful administrators.
—Submitted by a parent

I would like to address the parent who commented that students 'never finish their exercise books.' As a teacher in lower elementary, I often do not have time to have my students do seat work with the workbooks because we are too busy using manipulatives, doing hands-on lessons, and actively learning. Research shows that children s learning develops from concrete learning (counting actual marbles) to pictorial (seeing a picture of three marbles plus three marbles) to abstract (3+3) and we teach using that progression. Most workbooks just jump to the abstract. The bottom line is that parent should be happy that his child wasn t stuck at a desk all day finishing a workbook.
—Submitted by a teacher

The students can definitely do and learn more, but they hardly get any homeworks from K-4. It's understandable for younger students from K-2, but even 4th graders don't have a lot homework. I don't feel the teachers are teaching what they should. My kids never finished their exercise books. Sometimes, they were only half way done after the whole year.
—Submitted by a parent

We moved here from another school district in Alabama and were very pleased to find that our children were challenged here at Rainbow. I do feel that the administration does not seem to take their job seriously. Putting the administration aside, my children could not have been blessed with better teachers at this school. They all are so caring and seem to really love their job as well as their students! Since the overall experience with a school is with the teachers I would have to say that Rainbow is a wonderful place to be!
—Submitted by a parent

We have been very pleased with the education that our daughter is receiving. She had Mrs. Simmons for kindergarten and Ms. Joseph for 1st grade and has excelled in both classrooms. A child's learning experience is not only the responsibility of the teachers, but of the parents as well. If a school has no parental support, the children won't do as well. This school has strong administrative leadership and parental involvement. I'm a bit surprised at the grumbling in a couple of the other posts. We came from a school where the principal hides in his office all day, if he shows up at all.
—Submitted by a parent

I know several teachers at Rainbow that love/live to teach. Its the luck of the draw to which teacher you get in a certain grade. Some teachers get burned out and some do it solely for the wages. If your lucky in the Kindergarten class, Ms. Simmons class is the place for a great start for any child.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the last statement but would like to add that the teachers my daughters had were great but the leadership was horrible.
—Submitted by a parent

Rainbow is a great school with excellent, hard-working teachers who truly love the children and strive to help them all achieve success. The level of parental involvement in the school is high, and is well-received, and even encouraged, by teachers and administration. Student learning and growth is obviously a top priority at Rainbow and I feel blessed that my children have been able to go to school in such a positive environment.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a rapidly growing school with relatively new, well maintained facilities. The whole Madison district is growing rapidly and there can be more 'churn' as additional classes are added to keep the student/teacher ratio down. High quality education is one of the attractions of the Madison area, and test scores at Rainbow reflect the strong academic focus. (Well above national averages.) Home prices are higher in this area as you would expect in a strong district.
—Submitted by David Swinney, a parent

It is overall a very 'sad' school. The administration staff needs to show more care for their employees and parents. I was thankful to be able to withdraw my son from that school and put him into another school where is he excelling tremendously. I would give this school a D- for their creditability.
—Submitted by a parent