Cocoanut Ave
Sarasota, FL 34236

Wonderful diverse school with multiple programs. The IB Diploma Program is particularly strong, with high-achieving students who take very challenging course loads. Expectations are high and kids are well prepared for college, many of whom go onto top-tier universities. Facilities are well maintained and administrators are approachable and want the best for the RHS community. Really impressed with many of the teachers and a high percentage have advanced degrees.

Has one community based event a year but no real effort to collaborate with community, families or each other. Principal cares more about scores than student engagement, or well being. He’s only focused on his own bottom line but couldn’t even name more than a handful of students or be aware / involved. Teachers seem to work really hard but the extra burden increases the turnover rate at this school. Causing coworkers to constantly be strangers and that environment is evident in lack of collaboration in the community and even be harmful as students move to higher grades.

A horrible experience today with the front desk at the school where I have picked up a child for the past five weeks and was told I could not today because my name was not on the list. I work for a foster care program. All that is fine because I understand that my name wasn’t on the list and it should have been but then the woman at the front desk, Gigi Mercado, got severe attitude with me. She heard me saying something to the little tiny baby I had in my arms, and then she got snarky and wouldn’t stop arguing with me. I told her it was her job to de-escalate the situation by not arguing back with me and she couldn’t do that. She was very difficult and not kind whatsoever! When I called the school to ask what her name was, they didn’t want to give it to me. She sounded like she just wanted to argue instead of helping out a parent.