Rancho Solano Preparatory School

My children have been attending Rancho for 6 years now. I feel they are getting a top tier education. Rancho is great at creating a well rounded student with academics, community service, fine arts and athletics. There will be highs & lows anywhere you go. I feel by far that this is where my kids should be. They are around students & teachers who care about their education & their future.
--Submitted by a parent

I am extremely disappointed in the administration of this school. I feel that the students have been let down over and over again. Promises made, never kept. The staff turnover is very concerning to me as well as my child. This school is more about appearance than what is truly happening on their campus with their students. If you are looking for a solid education go somewhere else because Rancho Prep is truly about themselves and NOT about the students. The bait and switch referred to in a prior post is completely true. Unfortunately, we as parents, believed the promises that were made and our kids are now paying the price for it. Meritas will most definitely be the demise of Rancho Solano, a school that in the past has had a solid reputation, but now is all about the almighty dollar. So unfortunate.
--Submitted by a parent

This "Prep" school has very high teacher turnover. This school, for whatever reasons, does not seem to be able to retain good teachers and guidance counselors.In my opinion they do not prepare students very well for AP tests in Calculus, Biology, US HIstory, and Physics. I do not know if the preparation is any better in the other subjects. In my opinion the school has a lot of great students but the school is very poorly run. The school's motivation appears to be the almighty dollar.
--Submitted by a parent

They pulled a bait and switch on me. Advertised the school as a big new campus and was stuck at a middle school campus freshman year. After I left it took over one month to receive my transcripts for 9-11 grade. I had to threaten to take legal action just to get my transcripts. The campus is small, few kids. There is also a very high teacher and student turnover rate. I had 3-4 history teachers my junior year. There is no gymnasium despite them saying they would have one freshman year.
--Submitted by a student

I have gone to Rancho for only four months, and I already feel as if I've found my second family. Many of these mediocre reviews are from parents, but take it from me-- a student-- that you could not get a more hands on education anywhere else! Class sizes are small and you are free to express your opinion whenever you please. I came from another charter school, but I have also been to another private school, and public school. So I've seen it all. Yes, some teachers are difficult to learn from, but they are far from unqualified. Every teacher here proves to the best of the best, because Rancho refuses to settle for less. Every kid here proves to be friendly and intelligent, because Rancho refuses to settle for less. Rancho is a family and a community because Rancho REFUSES to settle for less.
--Submitted by a student

This is my childs 2nd year at this school and it is not getting any better. Too many teacher changes. Kids do not listen to teachers and teachers are not willing to discipline kids.
--Submitted by a parent

My children have attended Rancho for years. They have attended 2 locations but have spent a great deal of time on all the campuses. I love Rancho but feel the Hillcrest campus is problematic. They do not offer nearly as much activities there and I think management and staff are the least qualified at this location. Its a real downer and disappointment there but I really enjoy all the other campuses.
--Submitted by a parent

I have kids at the elem. school in Peoria. Our experience over the years has been good and bad. Some teachers were very good, but most left after a year or two. Other teachers were not good at all. By this, I mean they were not well qualified or experienced (e.g a Spanish teacher with no math background teaching middle school math). Seems to take a long to remedy poor teaching situations, at the expense of student learning and self-esteem. Also note, as a private school, teachers need not be certified or even hold a teaching/college degree. Small class sizes, but high tuition which goes up each year. My advice, weigh what you will get for the extra money you will pay as compared to other schools.
--Submitted by a parent

Rancho Solano is a awesome school. It has helped me expand my knowledge. As a student at rancho for the last 11 years i decided to go to their high-school. At rancho i was in MVAL which is there sports league, i was in community service, and the President of student council. As i debated between highs-school i decided that Rancho would be best for me. It is a international school after it joined Meritas. I would recommend this school to any parent that would like to be well rounded and succeed in their education.
--Submitted by a student

My daughter attended preschool last year, and had a wonderful experience.She learned how to write her name and count to 100!! However, I do feel that children are expected to be adultlike. The teacher made comments about my daughters behavior, which I felt were normal. I do think they need to provide some extracurricular activities as part of the tuition and not extra. The tuition was expensive, and it just went up. For the amount of money I pay, I feel my child should get more out of her school experience.Finally, I would like to see more art, and nature based experiences for the children. I am giving it another year to get a better feel for it since last year was our first. If there is another tuition increase, I seriously feel we may look elsewhere.
--Submitted by a parent