Living Rock Academy

Both of our kids currently attend Rahe as will our 3rd next year. We love the rural small town feel of this school and all the teachers we’ve had have been tremendous. We’ve been told teachers actively try to get placed at Rahe and it shows with the quality of teachers they’ve been lucky to have had. Not only is it close and a quick easy bus ride away but our kids have shown tremendous improvement year over year on their testing. Couldn’t be happier with what it has done for their development!

As a former teacher, I am flabbergasted at the way this school operates. Johnson Ranch is very overpopulated, and the school is run like a corporation. There is no community feel, just a small group of women who are socially connected to principal and they receive priority through all things involved with the school. The principal has little to no oversight of what is actually taking place, but at least she is proud of her new rolling desk. The principals don’t know the names of their own students, transportation is a nightmare, and the only focus is to keep pushing the kids through the system. Children are given a number at the beginning of each year so they can be identified by the administrators when they need it. It was heartbreaking to see this in the public, as those students identify themselves with this number while writing their name at a local orthodontist office on their artwork. There are regular “catch up” hours and days, forcing teachers to spend extra time on those who should be held back. Students really advance in their scores past 2nd grade, they simply all stay within one blob of “meets criteria” so the administrators all get their bonus. From a safety aspect, there are portable classrooms that have regular cockroach issues, an access fence that was torn down for the entire 2024 Spring without supervision, and little to no supervision of students. Attempting to get involved and help is a massive challenge, as the PTA holds meetings at 9 AM on a work day. This keeps community involvement to a minimum, and allows the machine to keep rolling. I would consider a school outside of Johnson Ranch Elementary if other options are available.

So I offer a different perspective because I was once staffed there. I stayed for only 2 short months and then quit. The director at this location is horrendous. Constantly yelling and demeaning the children. She doesn't even try to hide it. Her interaction with the parents sucks as well. Please always follow your gut with your children, this is NOT a safe daycare.

I am writing this review with mixed emotions. On the one hand the teachers, especially the SPED teachers, are wonderful. They are there for the students, day in and day out going above and beyond. On the other hand, our family's experience with principal De La Garza left much to be desired. The focus was skewed towards test performance and when my SPED child was having processing issues, the care was not about the child holistically but rather test scores and how that would impact the school. It saddens me to know that with such a great community, including the community of teachers, such a bad experience could be had because of one person in control. In fact, we always felt like a number to her, in our interactions she was not very personable nor seemed to care about what was best for the child. She even tried to have our child switch schools and we later found out she pressured other families to do the same.Again, it saddens me to write this on what otherwise is a very good school.

We are entering our 11th year at GDA, and we are so incredibly thankful for this school. All of the administrators and teachers, from pre-k up, are there because they want to be. They love the kids and it shows! There is a culture of wisdom, service, and discipleship that flows from top to bottom. My kids are called higher because of their classmates and teachers. Each of my 4 kids loves being there, and my husband and I have made wonderful friends through the community as well. Because of the hybrid program and vigorous classical Christian curriculum, it's definitely a school for families who are looking for a specific type of education. Due to being a small school with limited resources, it's not a great fit for some learning disabilities or challenges, but we have found that the teachers are very much willing to work with kids and parents to help them as best they can. If you want a school that will challenge your kids, teach them to think critically and to love Jesus and people, this is the place for you!