Rayne Catholic Elementary School

My children have attended Rayne Catholic since 09' and we have been very happy. The staff is helpfull the curriculum is challenging and the parents are supportive. I would recommend this school.
—Submitted by a parent

I ended up taking my child out of RCE. The principal is inept and vindictive if you go to him with any concerns. (My child was not a problem but I didn have issues with the teacher). Not all of the teachers are accredited (the science and math teacher had just graduated college with a degree in communication!) So we switched schools. She was actually behind academically at the new school! you do not get what you pay for at RCE although I will say the majority of the teachers are very nice. I used to love this school but it has just gone downhill. It is very sad.
—Submitted by a parent

This school kills individuality. The students are forced into a sheep like existence, same clothes, shoes, coats, haircuts, and the faculty would prefer that the children all acted alike, bland. Creativity is not encouraged. If a child does not fit the norm, s/he will be bullied into shape by the faculty. It is not the place for children or parents who think outside the box.
—Submitted by a parent

I would not recommend this school to anyone! I wrote a review last week and it was taken off. I don't know why, I didn't mention anyone's name or use inappropriate language. At least 3 of the other reviews were worse than mine.
—Submitted by a parent

I have personally attended Rayne Catholic from kindergarden to the eighth grade and later went on to a public high school. Academically, Rayne Catholic far surpasses the high school that I went on to, causing me to fully beleive that the academics are far advanced than its public school competition. I've had a few problems with bullying when in the younger grades, and as some of the reviews stated, they do nothing about the discipline. They found it easier to brush off the one being bullied then to disclipline the one doing the bullying. The principle has no authority, his wife runs everything and quite frankly she is a b***h! The priests are great and the family environment is great, but most of the kids have taken after their parents and have been very social based in thinking that because they go to private schools their parents have money, so they are better than everyone else. There should be more focus on disclipline and morals than the parents, teachers, and principles social and popularity levels.

My child has been coming to RCE for 9 years, counting pre kindergarten and kindergarten. This school has really made most of its improvements during the past 3 years. I would definetely recommend this school to every one
—Submitted by a parent

My child loves RCE! Ever since she came to RCE, she said she was hapily welcomed and has met many nice people. RCE has a great faculty. Also, my child said to me,' friends, teachers, and most importantly Rayne Catholic Elementary.'
—Submitted by a parent

In response to the comment posted on Sept. 26. I believe the faculty is steadily working on improving the bullying issues. They have recently helped my child on a situation. Thanks to the faculty for all you do. It is difficult job to educate and mold all 420 children at RCE. We appreciate all of the efforts and christian values that are being promoted. Thanks again!
—Submitted by a parent

In response to the comment posted 03/08/08, I am speaking from experience. In the school year of 2007-2008 we were privileged enough to get a great principal, a wonderful individual. He is one of the fairest and kind hearted people I know. The school is controlled by the principal, priest, diocese, and school board. My children have attend RCE, and changes have been made in the first year of him being principal. The changes that have been made are only for the benefit of our children. Just to name a few they are taught morals, manners, and respect for others. This catholic school I would highly recommend at this point because of the principal, he doesn't let any of his faculty dictate what to do, he will sit and listen and do what is right for our children. His decision will not be swayed by anyone, including his wife.
—Submitted by a parent

Okay, I will only speak from my experience. I have to say I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone. Don't make the same mistake I did. The Principal is trying to change the whole school around. The Principal's wife is a teacher there and thinks she rules the school because she just gets away with anything. She has more privlidges than anyone else on the faculty. SO not fair. Its all about the money and image there. There are even cliques among the faculty. Myself and other parents (the majority of the class) have had so much trouble with the teachers and nobody seems to do anything about it. One teacher imparticular would spend most of her classtime text messaging on her cell phone. I could go on and on and I know there are parents that disagree with me and maybe have had a better experience...good for you then.
—Submitted by a parent

Rayne Catholic has come a long way in the last few years. I've had two kids go through RCE and one presently there. The kids that have gone through RCE have done well academically at whatever high school they have attended. Comparatively speaking RCE has very few discipline problems when compared to other local elementary schools. The teacher turnover at RCE is comparable to other private schools and is directly related to salary issues not leadership issues. RCE has more certified teachers by percentage than any other private elementary school in the area and is striving towards 100%.
—Submitted by a parent

Some parents complain way too much about what goes on at school. My child has broken the rules at Rayne Catholic and he was suspended. Don't blame the Principal. He does discipline students. It is so easy to sit back and judge the teachers, principal, and Pastor. You try to do what they do on a daily basis and see how you would handle the job. The staff at RCE work hard and it seems to be impossible to make some people happy. I am very pleased with the overall atmoshere and academics of the school. Things have gotten much better in the last 5 years. It would be nice to focus on the positives of the school because there are so many good things that go on every day.
—Submitted by a parent

This school does indeed have a real big problem with the bullying. Instead of correcting the children that are actually causing the problems, it's easier to discipline the kids that are defending themselves. The teacher turn over is very high, one must ask themselves if this has a lot to do with the lack of leadership from the principle. When a child is disciplined or sent to the office, most of the time, the parents are not contacted and left in the dark about what happened. Trying to get straight answers from anyone, is almost impossible. It's almost embarrasing, that the principle was nominated as priciple of the year!
—Submitted by a parent

I would not recommend this school to anyone! Academically, it's acceptable, but there is a huge lack of discipline, and there are too many cliques.
—Submitted by a parent

I would not recommend this school to anyone. Educationally, it is a good school, but there is a huge problem with discipline. There are also a lot of cliques. For a Catholic school, it doesn't have a very Christian atmosphere.
—Submitted by a parent

Rayne Catholic has come a long way in the last 5 years. My children have learned so much. The school has grown in its Catholicity which is most important to me. The amount of technology has increased drastically. All new computers in the lab help with classroom projects. The number of certified teachers has grown. Parental involvement is through the roof. Our annual auction made $46,000 this year (an $11,000 increase from just last year.) The curriculum is always being updated. All of the state requirements are covered. We also have a very successful athletic program. Tuition is a great bargain compared to schools just 10 minutes away in Lafayette. We have a wonderful, safe, family feel at RCE. I know that no school can make everybody happy, but I know that the satisfied families definitely outnumber the unhappy ones. I would recommend our little school to anyone.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has trouble keeping good treachers! you never know what teacher your child will be having the next school year. They also do not offer much help to students with learning problems.
—Submitted by a parent