Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School

Posted: January 26, 2026

There are far better schools than this. The principal is a joke and does not know how to manage staff. If you have any situations where you have to contact the principal, you'd do best to get it in an email. They will try to mistreat the child should you have complaints and if they do something wrong, they will blame the child and take steps in making sure the child appears to be the problem. They do not appear to know how to handle children with special needs. Suggestions for conflict that may arise with this school or with school within this district- get everything in an email, record all conversations, go to the principal but follow up with the district, having an advocate through any and all complaints would be ideal. The staff here will smile in your face, but they are not friendly and do not care for the overall wellbeing of the child. Protect your child and your peace of mind.

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: December 11, 2025

Beware of staff here. Teachers are bullies and principal, Mrs. Zuniga, is complicit in all of it. Unfortunately their toxic work dynamic affects the wellbeing of the children.

Posted: December 11, 2025

Posted: December 11, 2025

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Posted: December 11, 2025

Posted: April 15, 2025

As a parent, I’ve been extremely disappointed with Rancho Santa Fe Elementary. There seems to be very little focus on academics, disciplinary measures, and overall student safety.

Leadership/staff often presents themselves in a way that doesn’t reflect professionalism or seriousness—wearing oversized clown glasses, tutus and colorful wigs.

I’ve had serious incidents involving my 5th grade daughter where I raised concerns beforehand about potential bullying, safety concerns, and bathroom fights.

Despite reaching out ahead of time the school failed to prevent these incidents and failed to notify me promptly.

Another incident involving my 2nd grade daughter was similarly mishandled, with the school downplaying the severity and failing to report what truly happened when it happened.

The lack of structure and the school's focus on tutus, wigs, pep rallies, spirit week and snowcones overcomes their focus on education, professionalism and safety.

I expected a safe, academically driven environment for my daughters, and instead I’ve been met with disappointment, a lack of accountability and below grade level performance.

Posted: April 15, 2025

Posted: April 15, 2025

Posted: April 15, 2025

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Posted: April 15, 2025

Posted: January 24, 2025

This Elementary School is just fantastic. The staff and the locals make school fun and engaging for everyone. Much better than a charter school.

Posted: January 24, 2025

Posted: January 24, 2025

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Posted: January 24, 2025

Posted: September 8, 2024

Posted: September 8, 2024

Posted: September 8, 2024

Posted: September 8, 2024

Posted: September 8, 2024

Posted: September 8, 2024

I have 2 children currently enrolled into this school my oldest has been there since kindergarten now in 2nd grade! Don’t have any complaints! I’ve loved all the teachers my kids have had. Always been super supportive & attentive!

Posted: September 8, 2024

Posted: September 8, 2024

Posted: January 24, 2020

Called and receptionist was not friendly, rather short. Could not answer questions, kept directing me to website. Website, still did not answer question.

Posted: August 7, 2018

Posted: August 7, 2018

Posted: August 7, 2018

Posted: August 7, 2018

Posted: August 7, 2018

Posted: August 7, 2018

Posted: August 7, 2018

Really amazing experiences at this school and great teachers.

Posted: October 23, 2017

Posted: October 23, 2017

Posted: October 23, 2017

Posted: October 23, 2017

Posted: October 23, 2017

Posted: October 23, 2017

Posted: October 23, 2017

Great and wonderful staff and amazing helpful teachers

Posted: April 22, 2016

This school used to be so good. It's been a steady decline with the new principal Laura Combs in charge. There has been high staff turnover, lower test scores, less parent involvement, and a disappointing shift in the environment in the 2 years under this new principal. If there is a student conflict, Mrs. Combs seems to think it's okay to interview both the bully and the victim in the same room at the same time without notifying parents. This practice violates children's sense of safety and promotes bullying as well as removing any hope of actually uncovering the truth and providing a productive solution. The poor teachers have had to endure the overbearing and underwhelming newbie principal's tendency to consider only her own thoughts and opinions in decision making. Outside the classroom, aides are poorly trained and tend to yell, threaten loss of recess to entire grades, and resort to belittling and bullying students in a futile attempt to gain silence and respect from children who do not feel love respect from these individuals. This school did have a high great schools rating for many years. The drop in test scores reflects the principal's interest in setting the bar low last year for the purpose of showing a gain the future AzMerit test. I would no longer recommend this school to parents.

Posted: April 22, 2016

Posted: April 22, 2016

Posted: April 22, 2016

Posted: October 1, 2014

Rancho Santa Fe is a great school. My son has attended here since kindergarten and he is now in 3rd grade. Recently our daughter began kindergarten as well. We have had the pleasure of having them in Mrs. Smith, Mrs.Engram, Mrs. Cargill, and Mrs. DeBord and I would not change a thing. They have had tough times throughout the years but we as a team has gotten through it. That is the best thing about Rancho is that everyone works as a team and they make sure no kid lacks anything. We have had one teacher that may not been the best for our son but we were still able to get over the hump. I notice another parent was upset about the changes that have occurred in the 2014 - 2015 school year but it is a safety precaution that I am willing to take for my children. At times I miss walking my kindergartener to class but I would rather know that she is safe on campus more than anything. I would recommend Rancho to anyone that is in the area. I am a very Proud Bronco Parent!

Posted: September 10, 2014

Rancho has been an excellent school thanks to the principal that was just promoted to assistant superintendent. The new principal leaves MUCH to be desired. The whole feel of the school is changing and becoming more militarized. Kids have a super short lunch, large class sizes and parents are no longer permitted to walk their children into school in the morning-parents are required to dump their kids at the gate now. Everything I loved about this school is going down the drain this year. There are some teaching gems here, but it's a mixed bag and you never know what you'll get. Hopefully it's just growing pains and they improve, but I'm not optimistic. I'm not sure if it's fair for my 3 children to be guinea pigs while they work out the kinks.

Posted: June 26, 2014

My child's experience at Rancho Santa Fe has been wonderful. He is now moving on to middle school and ready for this transition due to the excellent teachers he has had throughout the years. His teachers were Mrs. Engram, Mrs. Tassin, Mrs. Leslie, Mrs. Monday and Mrs. Matson. Each and every one of his teachers truly cared about his success both socially and academically. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Posted: October 13, 2013

We are thrilled with this school and the neighborhood. At first we were a little hesitant to put our kids here due to some of the ratings, but we have seen nothing but phenomenal performance from the teachers and our kids. Our children couldn't be happier here and it's amazing to see how much they're doing and learning. I would recommend this school to anyone moving to this area.

Posted: May 27, 2012

Two of my children attended RSF, and we can not say enough great things about our two-year experience. The teachers and administrative staff are talented, dedicated, and concerned about the well being of their students. Their communication is excellent, and parents are always well informed of events both inside and outside of the classroom. Mrs. Walker is a principal like no other. Her presence is constant, and she cares immensely about her school. The teachers I had direct contact with were Mrs. Tassin, Mrs. Cargill, Ms. Muir, Ms. Engish, Mr. Gallant, and Coach Owen, and we will forever be grateful to them. However, hearing other parents at the school praising their childrens' teachers I know that the teaching staff at RSF is exceptional. Also, we were fortunate to have a morning violin program before school, and Ms. Rainey was an added blessing to an already amazing staff! The icing on the cake was an organized and kind front office! Thank you Rancho Santa Fe, you will always be fondly remembered!!!

Posted: May 24, 2012

If you value your child's education, do not send your child here! The teachers are nice, but the curriculum is substandard. I pulled my son out to attend an online school because of this, but kept my younger daughter in the school. Huge mistake. The teacher said her sloppy work was fine and did not have her work on this until towards the end of the school year (my daughter is in second grade). The standards of work overall is low. The school lost money turned in for a yearbook, and I was unaware until my daughter came home on the last day of school without a yearbook. Now, I am told there was no way to order a yearbook. If you want your child to have a good education and excel in life, do not send your child here.

Posted: June 5, 2011

I have been very impressed with Rancho Santa Fe, my daughter was in Kindergarten this past year. We had Mrs. Smith and I cannot say enough wonderful things about her. She really cares about the children and made my daughter feel loved and nurtured. My daughter really grew while in Mrs.Smith's class. She left Kindergarten with confidence and an eagerness to learn. She cannot wait till next year and either can I. The principal Mrs. Walker is very concerned about her school's safety and the success of her students. I would highly recommend Rancho Santa Fe.

Posted: May 28, 2011

I have been extremely satisfied with this school. My daughter is now a 4th grader and attended RSF since kindergarten. Communication with the teachers is excellent, safety is a priority, and there are ample programs before, during, and after school to help struggling learners as well as gifted students. Highly recommend.

Posted: May 27, 2011

I have been very happy with this school. My daughter had previously been in Kindergarten in another state, but due to her birthday, had to be placed in Kindergarten again. We were told that after some tests, she would be able to move to First grade. She had Mrs. Smith as a kinder teacher and I was very impressed at how she handled my bright student. After the testing, we met with the principal and a plan was put into place to move her from kinder to first. it was a very smooth transition, with great communication between teachers to help with the transition. Mrs. Walker, the principal, has been wonderful and my daughter's first grade teacher, Mrs. Cargill, was awesome! I couldn't have asked for a better school for my daughter. Keep up the good work!

Posted: March 11, 2011

My son went to kindergarten at R.S.F. and he loved it. His teacher Mrs. Klingbyll is amazing, she makes the learning fun and interesting. Every week I would get a letter home explaining everything that they would go over that week and the homework was at appropriate level of difficulty. I cannot really say anything about the other teachers but I would highly recommend Mrs. Klingbyll.

Posted: July 11, 2010

Not at all satisfied with this school's Teachers, Principal or Super Intendant. They do not help parents out with getting the help our children need if they have any type of problems. They would rather sit and wait till it's too late for the child. I will never have good ratings for this school!!!

Posted: April 4, 2010

Posted: September 28, 2009