Rio Del Mar School

This is our 3rd year at this school, and we absolutely love it. Our teachers are amazing, all giving 110% to their students, going above and beyond to help them excel. The principal is very involved, well-liked and respected by students, staff and parents. This school is a hidden gem!

The campus is new and beautiful, and the administrative staff is courteous and professional. However, this school's enrollment consists of mostly Spanish speaking families. I'm surprised to see how many parents do not speak English, and are not trying to teach their children English. Parent information and homework packets were given to us in Spanish with the English translation on the back. Although I agree that most Americans should know both English and Spanish, this is America where English is the primary language. This is obviously affecting the students' academic performance, as test scores show to be below CA state average. We are moving out of this beautiful Riverpark neighborhood for the sake of avoiding this awful school (and district).

The Principal is a wonderful caring, hand-on principal.. always on the front line talking to parents & students.. as well as my child's teacher Mr. Messecar . Both gave 110% and always helped my child to the best of their ability. The office staff was very sweet! With that being said the NEG is that there is a very strong cultural focus on Latinos only as far as menu of meals and cultural background are concerned and sometimes my child being picked on because she is not Hispanic and there were several situations where she needed help and there was no English speaking staff member around to help her at lunchtime. She always had to get another student to translate for her. That is unacceptable. EVERY member of staff should speak English! No exceptions!

Rio Del Mar is a school on the rise! Great principal, great teacher, good community spirit. Our new school has awesome smart boards in the classroom bringing technology to the fingertips of our kids. THey have a great library, computer learning, and great parent involvement.