Rampello Downtown Partnership K-8 Magnet School, Tampa | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I taught on the Middle school side for a short time. Legally, I cannot speak much about the school- so as a parent who cares about kids- I can share some warning signs. Pay attention to: do teachers turn over at an alarming rate, and is the explanation always something like “they had health issues” or “they’re leaving the profession of teaching”. This is unlikely. More likely: teachers are arriving here, discovering things that are toxic for a work environment and leaving to work at other schools with supportive administrations. Ask your kids about: how many fights happen in one day, what are the consequences given to kids when they fight? What are the worst kids like? Are they all in classes together or separately? Ask your kids- how often do you see the principal, is your principal kind and supportive to kids and teachers? Do they walk the hallways when it’s time to change classes? Or do you have to walk the halls alone, scared to get beat up? Ask your kids if they notice that teachers complain a lot about the school, the administration, the job. Ask your kids if people talk about how the school has changed. Be a parent that believes your Middle Schooler when they are scared. Believe them over the messaging you get from the people who run the school. Of course they’re not saying bad things about it. But the teachers leaving in mass numbers should speak for itself. There are countless things I could tell you about how this middle school is run, but it’s up to you as a parent to see the red flags and move your child elsewhere. Trinity school for children nearby is amazing.

Our family is finishing up our fifth year at Rampello. I have children currently finishing 4th and 1st grade and both have had an excellent experience. We have been so happy with the teachers our children have had as well as the experiences they’ve been able to have outside of the classroom. The school does a great job of incorporating all the nearby educational opportunities in downtown Tampa to supplement in-class learning. We’ve LOVED our older child being able to be part of the music ensembles available and look forward to our younger student doing so as well in the future. We’ve been so happy that staff has remained pretty consistent in this current educational environment. The staff and PTSA tries very hard to foster a sense of community in a school where students come from all over the county by offering several opportunities for families to be on campus together and to meet and get to know other school families. While no school is perfect, we have found the administration to be very open to feedback and discussion when issues have been brought to their attention and overall I feel like the staff at Rampello strives to give each child a great learning experience. Our children have thrived there and we are so grateful for the teachers and staff who work so hard each day to create a loving environment for them.

This school is terrible, the principal acted like he didn’t understand kids point of views when they got in trouble and he would always take what the teachers said without giving the students side a thought. The teachers expressed how they felt about the principal in a negative way all the time. Some of the teachers would seek for you to get in trouble and purposely do it. They always say the kids are disrespectful and defiant but never talk about how the teachers treat students there and how they provoke students to act that way. Students voices were never heard. My 3 years (6-8) weren’t great at all and I’m happy to say I graduated from there and I will never come back.