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sharing

It starts in kindergarten:  a book, a crayon, a kind word.
It grows as students do, through stories, service, and adults who lead by example.
It strengthens all of us and shapes all we do at Redwood Day School.

At Redwood Day, you’ll hear a lot about sharing through fundraising for three simple reasons:

Because tuition covers the basics.  Almost.

Independent school is costly, but tuition covers only a portion of most schools’ operating budgets.  At Redwood Day, the annual gap between tuition and true per-student cost is about $1,600.  Consistent gifts from current RDS families, Trustees, grandparents, faculty, and friends make up the difference so that class size remains small, teaching is rich and inspired, and a sense of community is reflected in all we do.

Because diversity matters.

Redwood Day is an intentionally diverse school: culturally, ethnically, economically, and in the many kinds of families who join our community.  Keeping tuition within a reasonable range of our peer schools is key to this commitment.  Sustaining a thriving Annual Fund is a far better choice than increasing tuition, which would put an RDS education out of reach of all but a few.  And fundraising supports our extraordinary commitment to financial aid, ensuring in turn that a broad spectrum of children can benefit from the unique RDS experience.

Because participation matters even more.

We recognize that all our RDS families are different.  Some can give more, some can give less, all can give something.  Our most important goal is always 100% participation, regardless of size of gifts.  Sharing through fundraising strengthens us as a community and tells the world that we believe in the power of an RDS education.