Rancho Solano: Incredible teachers. Caring staff. Great kids and families. Between foreign exchange students, and our own children, we have sent all of our "kids" to 5 different high schools in Scottsdale. Public, charter, and private. Several have been great, but Rancho Solano high school has been OUTSTANDING! By far the best decision we have ever made for our children's education. The teachers are engaging, highly educated, and compassionate. They make class fun, and encourage CRITICAL THINKING! And let's be honest in a world where everyone sees what their favorite influencer or political party says first, raising a child who is supported for their independent, critical thinking skills is a breath of fresh air. Lots of families of the students are in medical. Yet the kids are 50/50 when it comes to the educational track they are pursuing. 1/2 are STEM, and the other 1/2 are focused on more creative fields. Rancho Solano is incredibly supportive for both tracks. Our son who always thought he was more science minded, thrived in creative writing. He is even considering that as his minor in college. In regards to college, a friend told me this: You either pay for high school, or you pay for college. And thankfully there are currently state tax savings programs that contribute to your child's private school tuition - so there are no excuses. You CAN send your child to an excelling school like Rancho. Our investment in our son's private school education payed 2x more in college scholarships that he was offered! (He was offered 6 figures in college scholarships!) Our other kids didn't receive anywhere near the same number of college scholarships after attending other high schools - which made paying for their college much harder for us (and them). Rancho even has a staff member whose job is to help your child get into the best colleges for them! We fully believe Rancho Solano saved our son's life - and gave him a reason to excel. He's perusing an educational track above and beyond what we expected of him (and we expected a lot). He says some of the best friends he made at Rancho are the teachers. He felt like his voice mattered. And he THRIVED there. You will hear me support ALL of our state's teachers because they are all doing the best that they can with the resources they have. And I will also tell you that the teachers at Rancho Solano are BEYOND! They reignited my son's love of learning after school burnout from other schools. And the administration took time to meet with me, listened to my concerns, and they TOOK ACTION to make things better. That never would have happened in a large school. Incredibly grateful for Rancho Solano and everyone there. read more

Joined a family member on a tour. School was very snotty and not welcoming. Entire campus has a "cold" feel. The upside is the campus is modern and has a new look, downside is the staff and students both give off a Snobbsdale vibe. Didn't feel comfortable. Feels cold, lacks soul. read more

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I enrolled in Rancho Solano for my junior year, and let's just say; it wasn't exactly a caring and friendly environment. I went to Rancho thinking I would get one of the best educations ever, many reviews (i'm assuming are either payed reviews or the extremely rich parents who's kids lied to them about enjoying it) seemed amazing. However, when I arrived I found all the kids my age to be the most stuck up, snobby, rich kids I had ever met. So extremely out of touch, dimwitted, racist, and tone deaf. I was sitting in study hall when I overheard a group of people gossiping about a senior the previous year who cheated on some very hard/important finals and got caught. The parents allegedly paid the principal an additional 25k (which is the same amount as tuition) to stay quiet about it and let him pass. However, that could easily be untrue and just a rumor (wouldn't be surprised with the amount of liars enrolled). I was in Integrated 2 math class. The absolute worst math teacher EVER had. I was more of a quiet kid, I wanted to keep to myself and not talk to any of the out of touch students there. She would often call me out during break asking why I wasn't with my friends, knowing I had pretty much none (by choice). She was more focused on being a "tough"/"strict"/"intimidating" teacher than a good teacher. I learnt more about her unnecessary classroom rules than about what I needed to pass the class. On the midterm final, I spent 2 weeks studying everything we had learnt throughout the year. We weren't made aware until the week of that we weren't allowed calculators on the test, although we had practiced with calculators the whole year. The final felt like a whole new class, for a moment I thought I was at the wrong final exam when I saw what was on it. The housekeeping of this school is very poorly looked after. It's disgusting, specifically the bathrooms. I can only speak for the girls bathroom, there was always toilets that hadn't been bothered to be flushed. The janitors do not do a good job to clean it up, there would be the same unflushed mess in the same toilets for a week straight. More importantly maybe the adults should teach these kids how to flush a toilet as their maids have been doing it all their lives. I will be calling out another teacher who I thankfully did not have but I did witness doing some strange things to a sophomore girl. We were doing presentations in class and this teacher came in to watch a group of girls who obviously he gets along with and has for a class. I always think it's a little strange whenever teachers and students have oddly close or even flirty relationships with one another. I didn't think too much of it until out of nowhere one of the girls screams bursting out of laughter. This 35+ man was tickling a 15 year old girls waist. Absolutely disgusting and predatory behavior. I won't be saying names but all I know is that he teaches science classes. They always emphasized how strict their rules were about dress code. About how skirts should be 4 inches from the middle of the knee, most girls were walking around with their underwear visible and nobody batted an eye. This place does not deserve to be ranked #2 in Arizona's private schools. Disgusting, sloppy, shady, and overall a complete joke. read more

We have been at this school since PK3, great education, small class sizes and kids are really thriving. Would highly recommend!

10/10 school. I have been going here for about 8 years and it has been the best time ever, the teachers, front desk ladies, and principals are amazing. read more

Came here during COVID and have had a very good experience. Everyone (staff and student body) is so nice. They care about the students and seek solutions when issues arise. Also they are focused on academics but also very understanding of extracurricular pursuits. read more

i attended this school for 6 years, it was the worst 6 years of my life. staff and teachers constantly found ways to make me feel lesser. the real cherry on top was the principal changing my final grades because he felt i "didn't deserve" an A in a class. if you want your children to feel safe and protected in a school, do not spend your money here. there are so many horrible things i could say about my time at rancho, i just hope they close before they get the chance to hurt other young people the way they were happy to hurt me. read more

This school is just Fabulous! My kids are both at the middle/Upper school and absolutely love it! Erica Goethe is always there for the kids and happy. The teachers are INCREDIBLE! words don't explain them. Everyone there to the custodians always have a smile on. 100% recommend this school! read more

The Ventura Prep Academy is focused on middle and upper school (6 - 12). It is still an awesome school with a great faculty. Unfortunately they have closed a few other campuses to retain focus. I sm very pleased with IB program and athletic options at the school. read more

Rancho Solano Preparatory School - Rancho vs Williams. Fabulous gymnasium. - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - Scottsdale, Arizona

We love being a part of the Rancho family. Both of our children (middle and high school) are doing great academically, socially and enjoy multiple sports and clubs. We highly recommend RSPS if you are looking for a private vs. public education! read more

I attended Rancho from August 2007 too my graduation in May 2017. This school not only prepared me for college and life after school, but introduced to me to a wide variety of different cultures and experiences. I participated in all available sports as well as the IB program my junior and senior year, I was given many opportunities I would not have had if I had gone to any other school including school trips around Arizona, Washington D.C. , Catalina Island, Peru and to Florida for the Meritas games (an athletic trip to Florida where my teammates and I were given opportunities to compete against other schools athletes owned by Meritas). RSPS is not only a school, it's not just somewhere to leave your kids in hope of them coming home at the end of the day a little smarter and a little more mature, Rancho is a family. By the time I graduated I had not been at Rancho the longest and definitely not the shortest, I had watched many friends move on too other schools, and watched many of them come back, new students arrived, some stayed for a little while and some stayed as long as they could, but every student who walked through those glass doors became a part of the Rancho family, every student came in and found a place, a spot at lunch, a favorite teacher, a least favorite subject, a complaint about uniform dress codes, a spot in the student section bleachers, a best friend, a crush, a place to rest easy and feel safe, and most importantly a home. Rancho has an amazing array of staff from the current high school Principal Mr. Brown to the sweet ladies at the front desk, every teacher cares, every teacher is looking out for you, even if you don't always realize it, the staff at Rancho wants the best for their students, wants them to find success, wants them to push their limits and be the best version of themself. If you are looking for a safe place for your children, somewhere where they will feel secure, a second home, a second family, Rancho is the place. The opportunities you will be given are incredible, the people you meet will challenge you and accept you and the experiences you have will be forever a part of you. I love you RSPS! read more

After 9 years at this school, we are not returning. The curriculum has been destroyed. Upper administration does not care about the families nor children at all. They have let go of all their top teachers for budget cuts due to the bankruptcy. They publicly announce if you do not like whatever their constant changes are then there is the door. They hire a teacher with a history of being drunk at recess during the middle of the day ....only for the elementary students (my children's classmates) to find her incapacitated at lunch rolling around on the floor. The administration then refuses to address the matter with the parents. This IS NOT the school it was 10 years ago. Only the remaining portion of the name still exists. It is also now owned by a Chinese group who promotes bringing Chinese educational propaganda to the United States when you convert their website from Mandarin to English. They focus on recruiting children from China at steep fees and disregard the local students. Kids from here are testing poorly into private high schools overall as international way to keep kids at their Highschool. They only ones getting accepted are those receiving outside tutoring and preparation. It's heartbreaking as Rancho was once highly respected and a positive tight knit community. Most of that community has fled. Notice how it says "Middle and Highschool in the description?" The receiver stated they may have to close the elementary school due to the bankruptcy two years ago. Budget cuts continue, as well as laying off of more top quality teachers. Stay away....far away!! N read more

I would be very careful when dealing with Rancho and more importantly Meritas. My 2 children have been at Rancho for 7+ years. Meritas has decided to close the West Side campus to focus resources on East Side Schools. While I do not like the decision I understand and accept the fact it is Meritas's decision. The reason I gave such a low rating was the timing and preparation for the way the closure is being communicated. It became very clear the higher level organization really does not care about the impact the families and children that have been attending their schools. We have been extremely satisfied with the education and development of our children, but i would never do business again with this organization due to lack of preparation and complete unprofessionalism by the leadership. Be careful with this organization because they may surprise you with decisions that have a major impact on your entire family. read more

We have been at Rancho for 5 years now. I currently have 2 children there, one in middle school and one in high school. We attended other private schools previously and I have researched every school in the valley and Rancho is hands-down the best school! The teachers are fabulous. It is a very strong school academically, but focused on critical thinking and not just memorizing things you will forget the next day. The teachers truly care about the students and help them all succeed and the classes are small enough so they can. It is a positive culture that doesn't support some of the typical issues that occur in Middle and High School. Their College Counselor is amazing and the IB program much better than curriculum offered at other schools. It has a great mix of activities and sports and while competitive, every can play and participate in multiple sports/activities at the high school level. We have had an incredibly positive experience there with 2 very different kids who are both excelling. read more