We absolutely love Rainard school!! What an incredibly supportive environment with small class sizes and unique attention paid to each student. Truly a tailored education and a place where kids are recognized for their unique talents. read more

I checked into Rainard when looking at the private schools in the area and was really impressed. The staff was informative and helpful in every aspect and they seem to have a lot to offer. Before being placed in the school, the child must go through a battery of tests - the most important is the I.Q. test on which the student must score 135 or above. If you make it through the screening, you must then apply for consideration to be accepted to the school and pay your $75 fee. If there's a spot, you'd better not second guess your commitment to Rainard because there is a non-refundable reservation fee of $800. At the time we checked into the program, there was no high school. We were concerned about what happens to a child coming up in this sheltered environment then going into a larger public or private school for the last few years of basic education. Now they have implemented a high school and those problems are solved for those attending. The small campus is sweet and certainly an alternative style of teaching but of all of the campuses we investigated, this was among the priciest. We'd heard bad things about it from people that had placed their children here then opted to put them back in public school or another nearby private institution. In the end, we decided the risk was too great for us - it was a very difficult decision but since we got so much bad word of mouth, we backed out of the admissions process. But, if you're looking for some out of the ordinary summer programs, Rainard is among the best on the West Side. Their Summer Incitement Series offers a variety of non-traditional learning experiences that are great for any child. A good sampler if you're looking to get your feet wet in this special school for gifted students. read more

Rainard School - Elementary Schools Near Me - Houston, Texas

Both of our children go to Rainard and they absolutely love it. The new pre-K teacher is wonderful, and the whole school is relaxed and caters well to the academically gifted. Our older child thrives in the smaller classes where he can receive more individualized attention. The school is very accepting and preaches tolerance and friendship. For smart students that struggle in the traditional, testing-fixated, survival-of-the-loudest public schools, this little gem is worth a visit. read more

My child was a student at Rainard for five years. Every year the administration has changed due to the board electing to not renew their contract. So every year a different administrator and a different approach to running the school. There is high turnover rate of teachers for the same reason (non renewal of contracts.) This year, the Chairman of the Board, who has no previous experience in administration, is the administrator -- can you say "dictatorship?' With that move, all checks and balances for parents and students was removed, so we decided to remove our child from the school. Not only would I not recommend this school for gifted children, I would not recommend it for ANY child! read more

We are extremely pleased with Rainard. Our daughter just graduated and is more than ready to start college in the fall. She loved her experience at Rainard. Our son is in middle school and has a fantastic group of teachers. Not only is he challenged finally but his teachers gracefully handle any anxiety issues he has. We are very grateful to the Rainard community. Not only was our daughter able to graduate a year early but our son is now happy at school. The small class sizes are ideal and the community is very supportive. I'm torn between wanting to tell everyone about this school and wanting to keep it a secret. read more

Best decision I've ever made for my son Landon. He is gifted and was bored at his former school and causing trouble. Now at Rainard he is properly challenged. He is excited to go to school and has lots of friends. I really love the new director. Under her leadership, the school had added more elements that help enrich the student's experience . Love it here! read more

My kids move at their own pace at Rainard and are not slowed to the lowest common denominator or forced to keep up with the class. I want my kids to be excited about learning. I want them to connect what they learn to real life situations so what they learn has meaning greater than rote memorization of facts for a test soon to be forgotten. At Rainard they are inspired by their classmates and teachers. My kids come home bursting with ideas and plans because of some cool thing they learned that day. My child in the intermediate class regularly communicates via email with his teachers after hours. Questions and funny thoughts are greeted with prompt replies - and sometimes reminders to go to sleep! The intermediate teachers are generous with their time and offer many opportunities to continue to learn and be inspired outside of school hours. They organized a visit to the GEMS (Girls Exploring Math and Science) event on a recent Saturday. There's math club and a 3D printing group. There's also a game theory and design group that my son loves! My elementary student comes home every day with stories of the exciting things her class learned. The elementary teachers take a personal interest in helping her grow and progress and have worked to make sure progress in math isn't hampered by challenges with reading. The teachers at Rainard have the freedom and support they need to get to know my children as individuals. They are always available for a quick chat with parents before and after school and are very responsive to email communication as well. Parents receive weekly progress reports as well as assignment and lesson updates. The after school options have been great. They have chess club, theater group, hip hop dance, art club, science club, and quite a few other offerings that my kids haven't tried yet. read more

Our daughter has attended Rainard High School for over a year and is happy to go to school every day. She is no longer bored in class or frustrated by feelings of not being popular. She is accepted for who she is, loves her friends (which is everybody), and is doing great academically. It is wonderful to be at a school where your class has only a few people in it, your teachers know you and care about you, and there is no pressure to dress or act in a way that's not you. We couldn't recommend a school that provides a better education or quality of life. There are no big team sports, of course, but for the more academically oriented, that's not a problem. There is exercise daily, and great attention is paid to quality of life experiences. We love this school! read more

When I wake up my child in the morning to go to school, he shouts "yay!". The preschoolers there aren't just learning the days of the week, they are learning about the days of the week, including etymology and origin. My son told me that Thursday was originally called "Thor's Day" after the Norse god, Thor. Then they made their own little hammers out of clay. The kids have plenty of time to play outside, explore, learn, and create. The small class sizes means they also get a lot of attention. We love Rainard and we love that our son not only loves school, but loves to learn. read more

This administration did not respond quickly or effectively when we reported numerous instances of physical and psychological bullying and repeated threats and intimidation. Do not trust that they will change. We tried to work with them repeatedly and got nowhere. In addition, the Art teacher rips up student work "to teach responsibility" if they haven't written their name on it, she is extremely strict and rigid in her classroom and her methods (administration knows and does nothing); Spanish teacher is condescending and mean; instead of taken to a central Lost and Found, jackets and student work are left outside in the rain "to teach responsibility". Mixed recess may be great in theory, but teachers only take responsibility for their own children, so kids from other classrooms aren't corrected. In addition, the teachers often side with their own pupils so it becomes a my child against your child issue between the teachers. There is a lot of conflict and unresolved issues. - Parent of elementary and intermediate students read more

We withdrew our child from this school because she was bullied and neither the teachers nor administrator showed any signs of willingness to stop the bullying; instead, they accused my child of lying about being bullied. The Chairman of the Board of Directors - who has NO experience in school administration, let alone administration of a school for gifted children - appallingly took over the position of head of School, and is completely ineffective. There have always been issues with teaching and administration at the school, but the school appeared to be trying to solve those issues the fact that my child was able to work at whatever grade level she could excel to was a huge factor in our 'sticking it out' until the school worked through it's issues with the Board and Administration. Well, that never happened. When our daughter was bullied we had to remove her from the school for the sake of her well being. Since removing my child from the school she has been homeschooled and is working a full grade level over that which the Rainard teachers had her, which has us wishing that we had taken her out of the school sooner. If there was a rating of less than one star on Yelp, I would give it. Do not place your gifted child at this school. read more

Not at all like our shadow days. New admin is worse than the old. They are inexperienced, reactionary & ineffective. Cruelty, intimidation & physical violence were excused as GT characteristics or attributed to special diagnoses. Children of those with influence or special diagnoses are protected from consequences while others suffer intimidation, taunts, threats & even physical abuse. Children, including ours, make mistakes, but we believe in addressing those situations to ensure it doesn't happen again. After a baffling half year struggle with nonresponsive/ineffective admin who could/would not ensure our children were safe and treated fairly, we threw in the towel & now couldn't be happier! So this review is not about being invited back-we left to ensure our children are safe with administrators who listen and take appropriate action. There are enough choices that are so much better-I advise you to keep looking. There are 5 teachers in lower grades - 2 are new and struggling with classroom dynamics (experience with Rainard was limited to teaching as specialists). High school may be better than our experience in the lower grades, but I wouldn't risk it just to get "a bargain". read more