Raintree School, St. Louis | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

We truly love Raintree! The campus is tucked in eleven acres of woodland in Town & Country and natural sunlight beams through every corner of the school. Our son started in the nursery when he was about 2.5 years old. Until that point, he had been at home the entire COVID pandemic (turned 1 a month before everything shut down in March, 2020). So he was definitely shy, quiet, and had very little social interaction outside of family and the nanny prior to starting. I hate to be cliche about it, but he has blossomed at Raintree. He is much less inhibited. He has kids in his class he calls ‘friends’ that we get together for play dates outside of school hours (he is 3 remember, so to me that feels like something). He loves his teachers. His empathy and care for other kids in class is evident. In other words, his social-emotional development has been impressive.

It goes without saying, we love how much the school values nature and being outdoors. Rain, shine or snow, the kids spend most days outside exploring the forest or playscape. And by the way, the food the kids are exposed to is impressive. Chef Katie always sends out the menu for the week ahead (I wish I could eat lunch with them!). Our son was skewing towards a picky eater and Raintree has opened him up to trying new foods that he never would have tried with us. We have constant communication with the teachers and administrators via email, in person at drop-off & pickup, parent/teacher conferences and the mobile app. The teachers are very responsive to messages and send pics of the kids doing fun stuff throughout the week. As we transition back to a normalized school year, we are looking forward to engaging in more of the community building activities the school supports throughout the year.

In addition, we really value how much Raintree is evidence-based. The school utilizes programs and teaching methods that are backed by science and research. If the school doesn’t feel like they have expertise in an area, they reach out and connect with experts in various fields. For instance, Raintree worked with a local epidemiologist throughout the COVID pandemic to help guide their protocols. The school also recently partnered with a child mental health specialist to help kids who were having some big emotions.

Overall, we really love Raintree and are so happy our son gets to spend his days learning alongside nature and making friends on this amazing campus.

We love this school! My daughter went to Raintree when she was 3-5. When the time came for my son to go to school, we decided to try other schools, but the experience of the “Forest School” is sooo hard to beat. I kept coming back to Raintree in my mind. We went for a re-visit (as it’s been a few years since my daughter left Raintree to go to kindergarten) and after our meet and greet with the teachers it was game over! We absolutely LOVE his teachers, their approach, their willingness to always work together through anything and everything is just amazing! We have a spunky, energetic, young man on our hands…we have some good days and bad, but every day we hear “we’re in this together” from his teachers. The staff is always fantastic and welcoming. Everyone knows us and our kids by name and I feel like everyone genuinely cares about their well being. We adore this school, especially now that we have something else to compare it to!

Raintree School is everything we wanted for our son. We’re starting our second year for our now three year old, and I couldn’t imagine taking him anywhere else. From the communication with admin staff, how amazing his teachers are, and the community that Raintree builds for not only their students but for the families who attend – Raintree School is something truly special. They nurture a love and respect for nature, empathy, kindness and a curiosity that is so amazing to watch grow in your own child. We’re immensely glad that we found Raintree School!