Santa Rita Elementary School

This school has a leadership problem. Visiting for lunch or volunteering, it is embarrassing the way to staff and teachers talk to the students. Very condescending and demeaning. Seems like a group of militant power-hungry nobodies who went in to education to control and boss those they have authority over. The communication from staff and teachers is always unorganized and last-minute. Emails have a bunch of third party links and it’s a literal scavenger hunt to get the information you need. Gifted and Talented teachers do not communicate with the parents whatsoever. The principal is awful….in her demeanor, attitude, and involvement. Instead she’s delegated her staff as henchmen to micromanage every single movement of the students and parents. Praying Texas passes school choice so we are not mandated to attend much longer for our child’s education.

As a parent, I couldn't be more pleased with our experience at Rancho Sienna Elementary School. From the very first day, it's been clear that this school truly cares about the success and well-being of each student. What stands out most to me is how they balance both testing and student engagement in a way that helps my child not just succeed academically, but really enjoy learning.

We moved to Larkspur in 2020, during Covid. Both my daughter, 4th grade, and son 2nd grade, attended virtual learning. The experience with virtual learning was a positive one. Once in person learning resumed, my son (entering 3rd grade) struggled with social anxiety and depression from an increased use of devices. There was no initiative to help him, or other kids, who might have been struggling as well. Instead, they matched us up with a 504 coordinator, which may have caused even more exclusion and a belief that he was “different” and in his words, “weak”. There was a safety incident on the swings, where he broke his thumb and wasn’t even taken to the nurse. He came home with a broken, swollen thumb. When speaking with the AS, I was told that his teacher asked him if he was okay and he said “yes”. He was 10 years old!! We were also called to the school one time because he was struggling in math and had suicidal ideation. The counselor sent us a bunch of links and that was about it. They once had dismissal in a thunderstorm and he was standing, soaking wet on the corner when I arrived for him. His last year, I came in to his classroom and found that he had incomplete projects and his handwriting hadn’t improved. When I reached out, they gave me the run around and suggested Kumon. I don’t want another kid to have this elementary experience. Please try for open enrollment at another school.

The school doesn't know how to support more advanced students. Over the past two years, almost all of the Asian families have moved to Harmony or BASIS because the level of education here is disappointing. Teachers often hold advanced students back by telling them not to answer questions, not to answer first, or otherwise stay quiet instead of engaging them with material that matches their abilities.Parents who are mindful of screen time should also be aware that there is a lot of it here. Even Physical Education relies on the notoriously low-quality videos from Coach Corey Martin's YouTube channel, so children end up staring at a screen even during the time they should be getting real physical activity.With all that said, your child deserves better than this.

Overall experience with this school was great.

We love Tierra Rosa. Everyone there is wonderful.