Rio Vista Elementary School

I absolutely loved my child’s teacher for the time my child was at this school, she taught my child with so much love and care it warmed my heart. The PRINCIPAL Tammy Fernandez on the other hand was ATROCIOUS! My child was having difficulties in school I can admit to that, but unlike my child’s teacher who was helping me find solutions for my child’s difficulties the principal took it upon herself to notify me that my child will no longer be accepted to school next year as to her we live to far and it takes to long to get to my child school when they call me about my child. We live 10 minutes away from the school. She has no social awareness and absolutely no sympathy for a child who might have ADHD/ Autism. I will absolutely NOT recommend putting your child in this school. Unless you want to get a call from the principal every other day.

Let me first start with the positive, the TEACHERS at this school are excellent! Each and every one of them truly cares about their students' academic success but also their social and emotional development. I cannot praise them enough. That being said, the PRINCIPAL (Ms. Tammy Fernandez) should be removed and there are zero to no actions when it comes to DISCIPLINE (this is all of LAUSD though - my child was told that his bullying wasn't as "serious" as some of the other issues at the school so it would not be addressed). The principal doesn't seem to care about the students, parents, or staff. She talks down to kids and parents and favors 2-3 parents (it's very obvious) letting them and their kids get away with anything. Sadly, the PTA went downhill last year and isn't very inclusive. I hope the new PTA board members can bring it to what it once was. With a new principal, this school could go back to being what it once was...a hidden gem. But until then, I'd look elsewhere.

This school has teaches but the principal has a lot to learn in social skills and how to treat parents and students she accuses children of things they didn’t do , they treat the parents with no respect, they accuse students of doing bad thing with out much proof and take sides based on who they like they also threaten to call the police and have him put in jail and he is a 9 year old boy just because a girl with no proof accused him of pulling her hair and the girl was never brought in the office with my son to discuss the accusations against him and when the girl was asked she wasn’t sure who did it but the principal continued to accuse and threaten my son in front of me and also treated me like I was uneducated person and then told my son to go home, this is no way to handle any situation and she is so unprofessional and should not hold the title of principal or even a teacher. I would not recommend this school to anyone until the principle is removed from this school and if this principal continues to act in this manner will escalate this to the next level.

This school is a hidden gem. The teachers are all amazing; three of them were awarded Teacher of the Year. My son who has graduated from Rio loves to go back to see his teachers. They care...they all care so much about their students and their growth. Principal Fernandez is terrific too. She really cares about the school, the students, and really gels with the PTA. She has commissioned a beautiful mural on the side of the school and a marquee (that I can't wait to see) in addition to so many other great things. She's not only beautifying our school, but creating an amazing environment to learn in. Above all, the community really makes this school. The PTA is very involved. The parent volunteers care about all the kids, not just their own, and the Parent Rep is extremely helpful. This school is small, accepting and celebrating all individuals, races, and religions. I love this school so much for the amazing educational and emotional growth and experiences both my child had/have here.

The principal definitely does not understand children and doesn’t seem to have been educated in child development. The PTA is great and really do so much for the school, the school is smaller than others in the area and diverse, there are SOME teachers that actually care, but but the principal and many teachers at Rio Vista seem to really not like their jobs and take out their frustrations on the kids. Even if you walk in to the office for 5 minutes, you’ll witness the way children are spoken to and treated at this school. The after school program is run by teens, which makes that part a nightmare as well. Don’t waste your time here. Not a good environment for children.