Redwood Day is an independent, diverse K-8 school   |   510.534.0800

2023-24 School Updates

Important School Updates for 2023-24

Below are important school updates for this year. We recommend you bookmark this page to reference throughout the first few weeks of school. The topics are in a collapsable menu for easy review.

We highly encourage you to take the time to read through each topic.

Go Cougars!

General Updates

Please click on the header for each section to reveal or hide the contents.
 

List of 8 items.

  • New Faculty/Staff Members

    In our June Comings and Goings letter, we let you know of a few searches we were still completing at the time. In addition to the community members introduced in the letter, we are excited to welcome the following new faculty/staff:

    • Jamie Knowles will be joining our team as our new 7th Grade English/History teacher in August (Cami Jones is moving to teach 7th/8th Grade History). Jamie comes to us after serving as a Digital Instructional Technologist at Northeastern University. Prior to this role, Jamie taught English at Edna Brewer Middle School in OUSD for eight years and at the Avenues World School in Sao Paulo for two years. 
    • Shana Barnett will join us this school year as our Technology Integration Specialist. Shana comes to Redwood Day from Head Royce School, where she taught English and History. Prior to this position, Shana taught at Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland, Windward School in Los Angeles, Madeira School in McLean, Virginia, and High Tech Middle School in San Diego. 
    • Lu Villa will join us in August as our new K-5 Mandarin Teacher. Lu comes to us after seven years of operating her own homeschool. Prior to this, Lu taught Mandarin at Shu Ren International School in Berkeley and was an Elementary and Middle School Head Teacher at Beijing No. 9 School in Beijing, China. 
    • Amandria Banks joined us earlier this month as our new Assistant to the Middle School Director. Amandria comes to us from Aim High and Bay Area Community Resources, where she served as a Site Director and After School Program coordinator. 
    • Jane Shamaeva will be joining our team as our new School Counselor. Jane comes to us with experience in a variety of counseling roles at the McAuley Counseling Enriched Educational Program at St. Mary’s Hospital, Contra Costa Health Services, the Edgewood Center for Children and Families, and the Wright Institute Clinical Services. Prior to transitioning to counseling work, Jane taught English at various independent schools, including The Bay School, Maybeck High School, Marin Academy, and Head Royce School.
    • Gemma Marshall (Redwood Day alumna) will join our team as one of our Kindergarten Associate Teachers. Gemma just graduated from Chapman University and most recently worked in the Redwood Day Summer Camp.
    • Finally, I’m happy to let you know that Jose Reyes, 5th Grade Associate Teacher during the 2022-23 school year, will not be leaving Redwood Day! Jose will be returning this school year as an In-House Substitute/X-Care Activity Leader.

  • In-Service Days

    In response to feedback we received from parents/guardians about our in-service days (when school is not in session for professional development), we are piloting a new model this year. In the past, we’ve had three full in-service days over the course of the academic year, usually without offering X-Care/X-Plus on these days. This year, we will eliminate the full in-service days and spread them out with one early release day on the first Wednesday of each month from October through May. During these early release days, X-Care/X-Plus will be offered. This change will allow our teachers to engage in deep, meaningful professional development and will also eliminate childcare concerns for families with our after-school program in session during these days. 

  • Campus Security Update

    This year at Redwood Day we will implement a new visitor management system designed to improve safety for all on campus. Using the SchoolPass system will allow us to positively know who is on campus at any time and to ensure that only those authorized to be on campus will be admitted. As we begin rollout, you can expect to receive an email from Redwood Day via SchoolPass inviting you to create a pre-screened account which will speed you through any time you need to visit campus.

    Additionally, we will begin the rollout of PikMyKid as a dismissal and traffic management solution. With the PikMyKid app, we can prepare for your arrival at school before you arrive so that the amount of time waiting at the curb is significantly reduced. You can expect to receive an invitation email from Redwood Day via PikMyKid with the instructions for creating your account and using the app. As we move further into implementation, we will provide a more detailed overview of how arrival and dismissal will flow.

  • X-Care/X-Plus Registration Information

    Our registration for X-Care & X-Plus is available to our community as of today, August 15. Feel free to follow the link HERE to view our registration page.

    Currently, our unlimited and 1st-trimester registration options are available.

  • Enrichment Class Offerings

    We are excited to offer a wide range of enrichment opportunities in our X-Care and X-Plus programs for students on campus in the fall. Feel free to review our offerings on our website link HERE.

    Registration will open on Monday, August 21.

  • K-3 Mini Conference Registration Information

    Lower School families should sign up to meet with only their student’s classroom teacher. 

     
    1. Go to the signup genius Website: 

      2023-2024 K-3 Fall Mini-Conference Link

    2. Use the top navigation bar to select your child’s class.




    3. Select an available conference appointment slot, click Sign Up & Save & Continue.



    4. Fill in the required fields to complete the registration and click Sign Up Now. You may meet the Teacher/Advisor in person or via Zoom.



    5. Check your email for an appointment confirmation from your Teacher/Advisor.

      You will be able to add your sign-up to your calendar. You will also receive a reminder email two days before the conference appointment.
    6. Need to change your appointment?

    - Click Edit My Sign Up in your email confirmation.
    - You can edit the registration information or delete your sign-up. 
    - Start over to create a new appointment. 

    If you have any questions, please email the Assistant to Lower School Director at vgurrola@rdschool.org.


  • COVID Protocols

    Below is a summary of Redwood Day’s COVID guidelines for this academic year. COVID continues to be a dynamic and fluid health issue. Redwood Day designed these policies to minimize transmission of Covid at school and reserves the right to update these policies anytime throughout the school year. The school will do its best to communicate policy and protocol changes in a timely manner so families, faculty, and staff can prepare accordingly.

    First Day of School

    Redwood Day will not collect students’ Covid test results on August 28th; however, it is highly recommended that parents test their children before coming to school. 

    Face Coverings

    Masks are optional outdoors and indoors. Redwood Day will provide a mask to students and staff who need to bring one to school and desire to use one.
     
    Redwood Day may require masks for students and staff during high COVID community transmission. 

    Parent/Guardian Access to Campus

    All parents and guardians may access campus to volunteer, attend school events, drop students off in the morning, and pick them up after school. Parents and guardians should plan to stay home if they are sick. 

    When a Child has Symptoms of COVID and/or Tests Positive for COVID

    When a child has symptoms of COVID, parents/guardians need to notify Jill Nesbitt as they would for any other illness (jnesbitt@rdschool.org). Parents/guardians should plan to keep the child home until symptoms resolve.
     
    Parents/Guardians are asked to test children with COVID symptoms with Rapid Antigen tests.
     
    When a child tests positive using a rapid antigen test, 
    parents/guardians must notify Marina Ezoe: mezoe@rdschool.org.

    Marina will communicate with parents regarding requirements before students can return to school.
     
    Students who test positive for COVID, regardless of vaccination status, will need to isolate for five days. Day 0 is the day of symptom onset or the positive test result date. Isolation ends after day five if symptoms are improving and fever-free for 24 hours (without using fever-reducing medication). No test will be required. 
     
    Regardless of when isolation ends, through day 10, students must wear a high-quality (such as KN-95) mask indoors.
     
    With two sequential negative tests 48 hours apart, students may remove their mask sooner than day 10. Parents must email the picture of the two negative tests taken on days 6 and 7 to Marina Ezoe (mezoe@rdschool.org).
     
    Redwood Day will provide timely communication to the families of exposed students regarding school exposure to COVID.

    For a comprehensive list of all COVID policies and practices at Redwood Day, please consult the Community Handbook, Appendix E. Please be aware that the School reserves the right to change these policies and practices at any time. 



    The School has sole discretion to modify Covid-19 policies and practices at any time, including to conform to changed or new legal requirements or guidance from federal, state, or local agencies or public health officials.

  • 60th Anniversary Speaker Series

    This year we are celebrating 60 years of Redwood Day! To honor this milestone in the School’s history, we will host a special 60th Anniversary Speaker Series and celebrate the School at our annual Auction Party on April 20, 2024! Please reserve the following dates in your calendar to celebrate and learn with us:
     
    October 11, 2023 | 6:00 p.m. | Julie Lythcott-Haims “Parenting and Supporting Multiracial Students” (in-person)

    November 8, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. | Sarah Ward “Executive Function: Cutting Edge Strategies to Foster Independence” (virtual)

    February 7, 2024 | 5:30 p.m. | Dr. Dina Brulles “Neurodiversity and the Gifted Learner” (virtual)

    March 21, 2024 | 5:30 p.m. | Yalda T. Uhls “Parenting in the Digital Age” (in-person)

    April 17, 2024 | 5:30 p.m. | Ali Harvey “Health and Wellness: Promoting Sleep Health for Youth” (in-person)

Program Updates

List of 6 items.

  • Curriculum and Program Review

    In the spirit of continuous program improvement, we implemented some new practices in our curriculum review process with outcomes that reflect the Redwood Day mission and values, that are founded on best practices and current research in education, and that respond to student achievement data and parent/guardian and alumni perception data. Last year, facilitated by the Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Laurie Ransom, faculty teams reviewed the Middle School Math program and the K-8 English Language Arts Program. This school year, we will begin implementing outcomes of these reviews and will review the World Languages (Spanish and Mandarin) and Lower School Math programs. 
     
    K-8 English Language Arts (ELA) Curriculum Review Outcomes:

    The following are highlights of outcomes and recommendations of the K-8 English Language Arts program review process:

    • Development of a suite of assessments K-8 to systematically track and monitor progress in foundational reading skills and reading comprehension
    • Adoption of SIPPS (Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words) reading foundations (K-2) and intervention program (K-5):
      • SIPPS is a research-based, systematic decoding program that helps readers quickly develop the accuracy and automaticity needed for fluent, independent reading 
    • Identification of ELA program materials to pilot this school year for adoption in the 2024-24 school year to help ensure consistent, quality approaches to teaching and assessing reading and writing are applied across classrooms and grade levels
    • Increased collaboration on instructional responses to student assessment data and measure impacts of those responses to support the continued growth of all learners in English Language Arts
    • Effective support for the needs of diverse learners in ELA through a multi-tiered support system that includes identified practices and tools for support within the classroom.
    • Foster a culture of reading and writing across disciplines schoolwide.


    Middle School Math Curriculum Review Outcomes:

    The following are highlights of outcomes and recommendations of the Middle School Math program review process:

    • Revision of the Grade 6-8 scope and sequence
    • Continue to create opportunities for students to learn from mistakes, view errors as opportunities to learn, and reassess to promote productive struggle and develop confidence in mathematics
    • Provide accelerated or more advanced options for math in the curriculum 
    • The adoption of new program materials: Big Ideas: Modeling Real Life 2022 that supports a revised scope and sequence, the Middle School math vision and aims, and aligns with the Middle School Grading for Equity and the Optimal Learning Zone practices (to be implemented beginning August 2023)

      Key features of Big Ideas: Modeling Real Life:

      • Based on the work of internationally renowned researchers and educational research
      • Encourages a growth mindset for learning mathematics 
      • Learning progresses from surface to deeper levels, then transfers to real-life situations
      • Provides a balance between conceptual understanding (discovering why), procedural fluency (learning how), and application (knowing when to apply)
      • Embeds Standards for Mathematical Practice to promote mathematical thinking
      • Provides multiple pathways and supports for learning
      • Incorporates research-based, high-impact strategies for teaching and learning

  • MAP Growth Pilot (External Academic Achievement Assessment)

    This school year, in grades 3-8, Redwood Day will pilot MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Growth. This computer-adaptive external assessment is used to monitor academic achievement and growth in the areas of Reading, Mathematics, and Language. This assessment will be administered in September and May to help inform instruction in September and track students' growth in reading, math, and language across the school year. 

    As a result of this pilot, we will not administer the ERB tests in January. At the end of the school year, we will gather feedback from students, teachers, and parents regarding their impressions of the MAP Growth assessment to help inform the long-term implementation of MAP Growth. Detailed information about MAP Growth will be shared soon, along with a parent/guardian information session that follows the September administration of MAP Growth. In the meantime, the following Family Guide to MAP Growth provides an overview of MAP Growth along with links to further exploration of this assessment.

  • For 1st and 4th Grade Families: Associate ? Lead Teacher Program

    As part of our Strategic Plan, Creating Opportunity, our Associate → Lead Teacher Program is designed to retain highly qualified early-career educators while continuing to invest in their professional growth so they can join the team of highly qualified Lead Teachers at our school. 
     
    The program includes three levels in the professional journey: Associate Teacher, Team Teacher, and Lead Teacher. Associate Teachers are professionals learning the craft of teaching, often participating in a Master’s Degree and Teacher Credentialing Program such as the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute (BATTI). Team Teachers have completed the Associate Teacher program at Redwood Day, and while early in their teaching career, they are now ready to partner with Lead Teachers and share teaching responsibilities across disciplines. When ready, Team Teachers have the opportunity to grow into Lead Teachers as the final step in our program. 
     
    This year, as announced in our Comings and Goings letter in June 2023, we are thrilled to announce that Nick Wuebben has been promoted to a Lead Teacher position in the 4th Grade Team, and Marisa Graham has been promoted to a Team Teacher position in the 1st Grade. 
     
    For 4th Grade families, Nick Wuebben, Amelia Rowland, and Erika Lagrisola will be sharing the lead teaching responsibilities. Students will still be assigned to one of two 4th-grade classes (4A or 4B). Each of our three Lead Teachers will be responsible for a cohort of students (⅓ of the class) within these two sections (main contact for parents/guardians for progress reports, conferences, and academic/social/emotional check-ins) and the Lead Teachers will share teaching responsibilities across both sections. Additionally, Amelia will be focusing some of her hours each week to a new 3-5 Coordinator role, providing her with an opportunity to be involved in more administrative decisions for the Lower School program.4th Grade families will receive a separate communication explaining this innovative teaching structure. We’re so excited to support our 4th-grade students this year with three Lead Teachers!
     
    For 1st Grade families, Marisa Graham will join Selma Quemada-Valenzuela’s class as a 1st Grade Team Teacher. Marisa has completed our Associate Teacher program and has been promoted to the Team Teacher role. Additionally, Selma will be focusing some of her hours each week on a new K-2 Coordinator role, providing her with an opportunity to be involved in more administrative decisions for the Lower School program. Together, Marisa and Selma will be partnering to ensure all 1B students have an exceptional learning experience throughout the year.

  • For Kindergarten Families: Flexible Start

    Welcome to Kindergarten!

    We are excited to begin the school year with our newest members of Redwood Day! We want to share with you how we will begin our first days with your kindergartener. As you know, the kindergarten teachers met incoming students on video and not in person. For the past few years, we’ve begun the year with flexible Kindergarten groupings. With the support of our Learning Services team, the Kindergarten Team is eager to get to know, assess and observe your children in person during the first weeks of school. This process will enable us to give thoughtful insight and a deeper understanding into who our students are and how they've grown since seeing their videos.
     
    For the first few weeks, kindergarten students will be assigned to a Core Teacher and Associate Teacher that you will see reflected in Blackbaud (our student database). During this time, the Kindergarten Team will get to know each new student and be able to create thoughtful, permanent groups. KA and KB students will have the opportunity to spend four days in each classroom. On September 1st, the students initially placed in KA will transition to KB for four days, and KB students will transition to KA. This will give the students an opportunity to meet all four kindergarten teachers and get to know the classroom spaces. Communication to families will be sent on Thursday, September 7 to let you know your child’s stable class assignment. Students will begin in their permanent class on Friday, September 8th. Please know that our Kindergarten Team partners very closely with each other and that our curriculum and lessons are similar each day. Additionally, our kindergarten students get to know the entire Kindergarten Team very well from the start. For any students transitioning to a new stable group on September 8th, this transition will be very thoughtfully planned and implemented with the social and emotional well-being of all students, front and center. 
     
    During Mini Conferences on Thursday, August 24, and Friday, August 25, families will meet half of the Kindergarten Team (one Core Teacher & one Associate Teacher) either in person or on Zoom. Afterward, the Kindergarten Team will meet to share their notes with one another to ensure that all information from each mini-conference is shared with the entire teaching team.
     
    We would like to offer kindergarten parents/guardians an opportunity to see where their children will be learning and growing during the school year. Each morning between 8:00 - 8:25 a.m., you will have the opportunity to accompany your child to the play yard. We will say goodbye to our parents/guardians at 8:25 a.m. and begin our school day. The Kindergarten teaching team joins the play yard at 8:15 each morning. Most families transition to curb drop-off after a week or so or when your child is comfortable. 
     
    We are looking forward to starting the new school year strong and meaningful! Please be on the lookout for a detailed welcome letter from the Kindergarten Team the week before school begins. 
     
    Please contact either of us with any questions. 
     
    Johanna Aeschliman, Lower School Director, jaeschliman@rdschool.org 
    Donnie Smith, Director of Admissions, dsmith@rdschool.org

  • For 7th Grade Families: Math/Science and English/History

    As Redwood Day has grown over the past few years, so has our Middle School program and course offerings. To right-size course loads for our fantastic Middle School faculty (to contribute positively to their health and well-being), to offer cutting-edge programming such as our 8th-grade Advanced Topics courses, and to honor and recognize the unique challenges that 7th graders face in the “middle” of Middle School, we will be expanding our 7th-grade curriculum and program this upcoming year with a new combined Math-Science teaching role (last school year we introduced a combined English-History teaching role). We look forward to welcoming Deirdre McCullagh-Ford as our new 7th Grade Math-Science teacher and Jamie Knowles as our new 7th Grade English History teacher (Cami Jones will teach 7th/8th Grade History). Bios for both Deirdre and Jamie can be found in this letter or the Comings and Goings letter published in June 2023.
     
    7th Grade Math and Science classes will be assigned to Shefali Nanavati (Math), Deirdre McCullagh-Ford (Math and Science), and Simon Alejandrino (Science). 7th Grade English and History classes will be assigned to Cami Jones (History), Jamie Knowles (English and History), and Sarah Masanek (English).

  • Sustaining a Positive School Climate for Students

    At the end of the 2022-23 school year, we anonymously surveyed all 6th-8th graders to better understand their perspectives about school culture and to center their voices. This year, we plan to administer a similar, developmentally appropriate survey for our 4th and 5th graders. After reviewing the data from this survey, below are some of the ways in which we plan to provide more adult support to address our students’ needs and sustain a positive school climate.

    • In the Middle School, we’ve increased our Dean of Students role to full-time. Alex Pollard and Sean Kanady will be moving into these roles and will be present daily to support students. We are greatly appreciative of the work that Jim Rendle did in this role for the past few years and are excited about him focusing solely on High School admissions moving forward. Additionally, this means that Denise Breland, Director of Student Life/Dean of Students, can devote more time toward supporting Lower School students. 
    • We will implement a reporting system for students to share information with trusted adults about incidents that are not in line with our community values and expectations (students can choose to remain anonymous if they prefer). Students who are directly impacted and/or witness behavior not aligned with our School values can use this reporting system as one avenue to communicate in addition to speaking directly with Johanna Aechliman, Denise Breland, Sean Kanady, John Loeser, Karina Momary, Alex Pollard, advisors, teachers, or any other trusted adult on campus.
    • We will be implementing a voluntary “Snackchat” check-in multiple times throughout the school year with various administrators, including Johanna Aechliman, Denise Breland, Sean Kanady, John Loeser, Karina Momary, and Alex Pollard, to provide space for Middle School and Lower School students to share their observations about school culture and talk through ideas of how we can all work together to uphold our School values and support one another. We will focus our energies on middle and upper elementary grades and may extend to younger grades later in the school year. 
    • We will increase student support at the beginning of the school year with time in the Middle School grades focused on the School’s values and expectations for values-aligned behavior. As we have seen Middle School students (and upper elementary students) repeat things they’ve seen on Social Media and inappropriately joke with each other or tease one another in ways that are not in alignment with our School values, we want to be sure to support students from the beginning of the school year with clear expectations and dialogue about being a positive community member in our School. In consultation with 4th and 5th-grade teachers, we may also extend these workshops to these grade levels. 

    For parents and guardians, we are working with the Diversity in Action (DIA) Committee and the White Anti-Racist Group (WARG) to provide additional workshops and training this school year. In the first few weeks of the school year, we will also be sharing more information with parents/guardians about our discipline philosophy, what restorative practices look like at Redwood Day and ways that parents/guardians can support this important work as we help our students navigate, sometimes difficult, social and emotional challenges. Please keep an eye out for this communication in the coming weeks.
3245 Sheffield Ave
Oakland, CA 94602
510.534.0800