Rancho Solano Private Schools - Gilbert Campus

Rancho is the very best school. Small class sizes, educated and caring teachers and beautiful facilities are what make Rancho Solano a wonderful school for my children. My sons class has 12 students and my daughters class has 17 students with an aide. My daughter is reading and writing and she isn't even in kindergarten yet. My son knows all of his letters, can write his name, knows all is shapes and knows some spanish that he has learned from Rancho. The other students are polite and considerate and come from loving and involved families. Everyone knows each other by name and if you contact the teacher you get an immediate response. I feel safe knowing my children are in the hands of teachers and staff that will protect them and care for them as if they were their own. This is an environment where my children can flourish and become the responsible, kind, educated, considerate young adults that I expect them to be. It is expensive but you get what you pay for.
—Submitted by a parent

My rambunctious 3 year old has turned into the most loving, well mannered and happy 4 year old from attending Rancho Solano. He goes to school every day excited to see his friends and his loving and caring teacher, Mrs. Mowbray. I was nervous about him attending school because he is a very active boy, but this year at Rancho has transformed him into a student ready and willing to learn. He comes home telling me about his art, spanish and P.E. classes. He shows me his writing and can recognize all of his letters that are necessary to learn to read. I absolutely love Rancho Solano. I have looked at other schools curriculum, class sizes and quality of teachers and families and have found that Rancho exceeds my expectations in all of these areas.
—Submitted by a parent

I recently enrolled my daughter into the preschool program at Rancho Solano. I really enjoyed how the staff took the time to answer all of my questions. I feel that the school cares about my child and wanted to make sure this was the right fit for her. I can already see the positive impact Rancho Solano is making in my daughter s life! Her teacher is absolutely incredible. I am excited about staying with Rancho Solano all the way through high school.
—Submitted by a parent

Our children have attended Rancho for several years, and we're very happy with the school. The student population is diverse, parents are actively involved, and the teachers and administrators are highly qualified and responsive. Rancho provides programs that other schools sadly lack, including Spanish for all grades and a violin-based music program beginning in 1st grade. The accelerated curriculum provides a welcome challenge for students, and the success and politeness exhibited by older Rancho students form an undeniable indicator that a Rancho education truly works.
—Submitted by a parent

Rancho is an excellent school that provides an accelerated curriculm to students, as well as having an emphasis on developing their charactor that will assist in them in the future. Many private and public schools fail to teach students to problem solve and how to be critical thinkers. Rancho's teaching methods incorporate problem solving and critically thinking into their teaching methodology. The school also provides Science, Music, Art, Foreign Language and Physical Education programs.The school provides a family environment. Highly recommend the school to a parent that wants to make an investment in their child's future.
—Submitted by a parent

We are so happy with our decision to send our daughter to this school. The teachers are highly educated, our pre k teacher has a double masters. The one on one attention is really key at this school. Yes, tuition is high even for a private school but this is a reflection on both the academics, school activities, etc. This is the top school for the east valley.
—Submitted by a parent

I want to take my previous 5 star posting back. I'm not sure what is happening to Rancho, but this year the school seems to be lowering the academic standards (there are Charter Schools teaching the exact same material and more), the 'Rancho Five' is not being upheld or at least being applied consistantly, they had a huge turnover in staff and are not allowing for individual child growth. For the price parents are paying to attend this school, it is disappointing they offer no better education than that of a FREE charter school. We will be joining the rest of the parents that have looked elsewhere to find a top notch education that actually teaches values and helps children to learn there ARE actual consequences to bad/inappropriate behavior.
—Submitted by a parent

Great for Pre-K - disappointing for the other grades. This school is great for average to slightly above average kids, but if your children already know the material for that grade level expect them to be bored as they do not allow children to grow past what the lessons for that year is. We were really disappointed in how the teachers dealt with the children. A teacher would let 1 child now honey don't do that again when that child called a student a name, hit another child or destroyed another childs personal property, but another child would call the other child a name back and be sent directly to the prinicipals office.... not the kind of ethicak values we wanted instilled inour children. It seems like there is a movement among the parents of pulling their kids out at the middle of the school year and looking else where. This is something we are looking at as well for our children, as we've heard of another parent pulling their child out of the school as well.
—Submitted by a parent

Look elsewhere - This school administration continues to ignore unacceptable behavior and academics to benefit additional tuition and attendance. Even children of staff personnel (non-paying) do not exhibit the behavior and academics that meet the Rancho 5 Principles or mission statement of the school. For many years, we have witnessed, preferential treatment where administrative talks to students with subpar academic performance or unacceptable behavior. These talks are disciplined and don t become punitive. Many good, high performing academic children have left Rancho Gilbert due to disappointment of the school administration. The school CPT4 results are extremely low compared to other children in the same grade (public). This is a reflection the kids may be learning some material a grade ahead, but they are not retaining the material and is not meeting the standardized tests which is required for later years (SAT).
—Submitted by a parent

My son has just started the PK3 program at Rancho Solano and we couldn't be happier. The staff has been nothing but amazing, so far every teacher and staff member we come into contact with all know my son by first name. Every morning I drop him off he is soooo excited to go to school and when I pick him up he is very happy and that says a lot for a 3 year old! Yes, the price is expensive but it is a private school, you're paying for the small classroom sizes and personal attention your child gets due to that. The school is very big on teaching children to be polite and have respect for each other and thats very important in our household. We are very glad we picked this school over the others.
—Submitted by a parent

This is our daughter's 2nd yr @RSPS Gilbert. She had such an AMAZING year as a Mini-Mustang. She came home happy every day with stories to tell. By the end of the school year, we could really see a BIG change in the way she communicated & expressed herself. 10 days after school was out, she was asking to go back. School has been in session for 2 weeks now and she still has the same attitude, loves getting up in the morning and looks forward to going to school. We have been very fortunate to be blessed with such wonderful teachers & she LOVES them. We have never had any problems with the administration so far & truly enjoy getting weekly emails from the Principle, VP & teachers keeping us informed. I have noticed negative comments from parents who have PROBLEM children. Looking forward to many more years there!
—Submitted by a parent

Only a few of the teachers are certified to teach. Several have no academic training let alone a degree in education. This is particularly true in the Pre-K grades. If you choose to send your children to Rancho research each teacher they even falcify Bio's. For what we had to pay in tuition Rancho should at least provide basic necessities. They regularly ask for donations of everything.
—Submitted by a parent

We have had two children in Rancho Gilbert for three years. The academics and campus are great. The teachers have been excellent and we really liked the former prinicipal. This is a great school for children who are perfect. Unfortunately, no one in administration or faculty has the knowledge, experience or desire to deal with any special needs. We are strongly considering not returning next year.
—Submitted by a parent

Awesome school!!! I graduated last year from 8th grade at the Gilbert Campus and decided to go to Xavier College Preparatory and I feel like Rancho has definitely prepared for my high school, college, university, and life!
—Submitted by a student

I had my children here for 5 years and have seen this campus slowly get worse. They have many unqualified teachers and administraion. I belive they used to have great academics but slowly have been 'dumming' it down. I was going back and forth on returning next year but after I found out of all the changes again with the administration and loosing some great teachers and staff. I have chossen to take my kids to another wonderful school. I would highly reccomend that if you have the time to look at this school more carefuly and you will see that many things are very wrong.
—Submitted by a parent

This was my daughter s first year and I cannot say enough good things about her experience at this school. Her pre-k4 teacher was amazing and my daughter learned so much! Her teacher is a warm and caring person who not only taught her reading and math but a love for science, art, etc. and she did many interesting and fun projects throughout the year. She is also skilled at teaching handwriting and really helped my daughter with this. She truly cares about her students and my daughter loved going to school every day. The only negative I think is that the school is expensive but my husband and I believe is was worth the money for a fantastic pre-school experience. My daughter is well prepared for kindergarten and also important to us is that she wants to learn more and loves school!
—Submitted by a parent

My dissapointment is second only to my shock at the cost of this establishment!
—Submitted by a parent

My two children have attended Rancho Solano for two years now. My husband and I have been nothing but thrilled with their progress and success. We have had excellent teachers. My son's teacher is now one of the administrators and she is wonderful! We chose Rancho Solano because we had heard great things about the school and we knew right away this is where we wanted our children to graduate from. Our third child turns three next year and we are looking forward to her beginning her journey at Rancho Solano as well!
—Submitted by a parent

I believe that Rancho Solano has solid academics. If you wish for your child to be learning at a grade level above, this school meets that criteria. However, if you are looking for a school that meets more than just an academic criteria, look more carefully at all aspects of this school. In particular, the administrative staff and faculty are subpar in my opinion. Thus if you are looking for an elitest school that endorses the belief that only some children can and should be advanced than this is the school for you. Otherwise I strongly recommend looking elsewhere for a better rounded school.
—Submitted by a parent

My two children will be attending this school for their 2nd year. They love the school and it is very sound academically. We loved their 1st and 4th grade teachers, Mrs. Childers and Mrs. Crichton. They are excellent teachers. My children will be attending in the Fall. They also offer afterschool programs that the students can benefit from.
—Submitted by a parent