Randolph Elementary School

1400 Southwest Randolph Avenue

School District

Topeka Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:12
Type

public

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by principal on October 04, 2024

Randolph is a community school. So many activities they plan bring the community together. The teachers ans staff create a great experience for students and families!
Submitted by other on November 16, 2023

Our family has been at Randolph for 38 years. All four of my children and now all five of my grandchildren have attended there. My husband also attended Randolph from1968-1975. We LOVE this school!!! The neighborhood around it has remained an in demand location for people to move to because of Randolph. It has maintained an active parent support group for many, many years. They work very hard to help keep Randolph great. One of the most impressive things I remember them doing is when schools didn’t have a computer lab for the students to work and learn computer skills, our parent organization raised the money to put the first computer lab in our school well before any other school in our district had one. We’ve purchased playground equipment, classroom supplies and teacher needs. We’ve funded educational field trips and basically any need we see. Our teachers are top notch and always have been. Many of them over the years have spent their entire teaching career there. I have been impressed with every teacher my children and grandchildren have had. They have been blessed with some of the best teachers ever!!! We are the oldest active elementary school in Topeka and our alumni come in droves to share their memories when we have had anniversary celebrations in the past. Our most recent one was our 90th and we are approaching 100!!! Alumni drop in constantly to have a look at the place they got their educational start and they love to share their memories with our current students. The Randolph community has always felt like its own small town as the neighbors come to the school for many events throughout the year even once their children have graduated out of elementary school. It is a special place for sure and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2023

Randolph is an exceptional school! My kids have blossomed both academically and socially at this school. I also love that it’s a neighborhood school and my kids play with the school friends on weekends and after school.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2023

I appreciate how teachers are connected to the families and engage on all levels to meet students needs!Admins are open to neighborhood-related programming and projects to better student outcomes!
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2023

Kid are doing real well on the classes and I appreciate everything that the faculty has done for our kids thanks.
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2023

We had thought of sending our child to private school but many of our friends convinced us that Randolph is much better than we'd think. We chose to send our child there to try it out and we've been throughly impressed. The education and support our child ( and us!) has received well exceeded what we had expected from public school. There are plenty of options for before and after school activities as well. The teachers, parents, and neighborhood are all thoroughly invested in the school and each other. The school itself is from the 60's and has a number of traditions that everyone helps with: carnivals, socials events, game nights and such. I can't count the number of multi-generational families that attend events with and share stories that I've spoken with. It's just been such an inviting atmosphere, while it's our child's last year there, I know that we'll still be a part of the Randolph family. In short, the teachers and facilities are far greater than I expected. I feel like our choice to send them there really made us all a part of a community.
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2023

This is a great community school. The teachers are welcoming and my student has enjoyed going to school because she feels safe.
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2022

I have nothing but good things to say about the staff, the students, the leadership, and the community. We love Randolph!
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2019

Overall my experience at this school has been great. Any issue I have had was dealt with accordingly and in a timely manner.
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2019

I have been involved with this school for the past 3years. I am proud to be a part of Randolph's traditions, and hope this school can continue for decades to come.
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2019

Well Indead. Dr. Aaron Gray is attentive to parent needs, and the Randolph family is accommodating, friendly, and always tries to act in the best interests for the children. I enjoy being able to send my children here. I also enjoy the academic levels this school meets compared to other Elementary Schools (Its in the lead.)
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2018

My child has been here 2 years now and we are having an awesome experience. The teachers are great and most parents are very involved. Reading some of the reviews here I can only say, that each person has their own experience based on their child.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2017

Randolph has a great community of parents, yes. It is surrounded by a charming, welcoming neighborhood and this makes it easy to look past some of its more worrisome characteristics. From kindergarten to fifth, my children have had inconsistent experiences with teachers, and developed anxieties related to the prison-like atmosphere another parent noted. I’ve seen whole class punishment for the misbehavior of one child (recess docking for one child speaking in the hall, leading to ostracization), one teacher who yelled until she was hoarse (thankfully no longer employed there), and kids in my neighborhood who are otherwise sweet and deferential stigmatized as troublemakers for typical kid behavior: talking, fidgeting, being too boisterous (boys are especially singled out). Huge pressure is placed upon the kids during testing, presumably because funding is on the line, and that’s a sad state of affairs, but improving the overall curriculum could solve the issue of underperformance on tests. I don’t mean to harp so negatively - my children have made lasting friendships and “lucked out” several times over with dedicated, hardworking, compassionate teachers who go above and beyond to influence their students’ well being. The front office staff are particularly friendly and invested. The parent community is in itself a redeeming factor. But less emphasis is placed on learning and far more on maintaining control of a quite large student body so that parents tend to commiserate with each other or act as watchdogs for each other’s children rather than binding together to help enact positive leaps in their children’s shared education. The current principal will be moving on and I have high hopes that the oppressive atmosphere will soon grow sunny with engaged students who are encouraged to express their individuality and high morale educators who feel supported by their administrators, but alas, it is too late for my children to benefit. Randolph has much potential and I will root for its improvement for the sake of the wonderfully ambitious Central Topeka kids who learn there in the future.
Submitted by parent on November 06, 2017

This school is run like a prison. Students who arrive early walk in circles on the playground. Students are assigned a number in their alphabetical order in class and move through the halls in order and sit at the lunch tables in order. Emphasis is on behavioral control, attendance, and test scores. Since the new principal started, turnover is high, sometimes in the middle or beginning of the school year. I have seen some truly alarming behavior from staff toward students when they aren't aware there are parents in the building. Complaints about this behavior is ignored by the administration.
Submitted by parent on July 26, 2017

One of the best schools in 501! The staff have been caring and very supportive of my son. I'm truly sad that this will be our last year.
Submitted by other on January 31, 2017

Overall, great teachers and experiences for our family. Our kids are doing great academically and socially. Also, it is probably the coolest looking Elementary School in the State of Kansas (Architecturally). This is an example of a great neighborhood school.
Submitted by other on January 31, 2017

This is definitely a community school. The parents care about kids besides their own, and come together if there is ever a family in need.
Submitted by other on January 17, 2017

Great school! Great community! Involved parents! Awesome kids!
Submitted by parent on August 30, 2011

both of our children went to randolph, kindergarten through fifth-grade. thank you teachers for providing a solid educational foundation for our kids. also a great community - fall festival, ice cream social, arts night, math night, halloween parade, etc. couldn't have asked for a better elementary school experience.
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2011

Both of my daughters attended Randolph elementary and we loved it there! Great teachers, great environment. I recommend Randolph to anyone!