Welcome

List of 1 items.

• Choosing K-8

  By John Loeser, Head of School
  
  

  At Redwood Day, we specialize in the K-8 experience. The elementary and middle school years are the most critical in developing the foundation that children need to be successful in high school, college, and life.  Throughout these nine years, children transform academically, socially, and emotionally. It is a privilege to be a part of this.
  
  

  Here, your child will be known as a learner and as an individual.  We are a community in which every adult on campus gets to know every child.  These incredible developmental years are a time to be seen for who you are and also for who you may become. As children are working hard to figure out who they are, and how they fit into this complex world, they sometimes need reminders of their individuality and also the perfectly-timed nudge to try something new.  The student-teacher relationships built at Redwood Day are meaningful, deep, and long-lasting.
  
  

  Though the benefits of being profoundly “known” in school are clear, there are many more concrete reasons why families choose a K-8 school.
  

  • Students can remain children without the pressure to “grow up” quite as quickly as in a K-12.
  • From kindergarten onward, the curricular approach of a K-8 appreciates the unique cognitive and developmental abilities of each age group while also benefiting from the collaboration of faculty, creating a cohesive, challenging, and engaging curriculum.
  • Middle school students in a K-8 are not sandwiched in the middle—instead, upper elementary and middle school students are the leaders of a K-8 program.  At a time when, developmentally, it can be easier to follow than to lead, explicit leadership opportunities help middle school students develop communication, performance, and leadership skills.
  • Together on the same campus, our middle and lower school students develop authentic, meaningful relationships.  Through our buddy, service learning, and community building programs, students step outside of their immediate grade levels.
  • In a K-8, facilities and schedules are not determined by high school needs, meaning that lower and middle school student needs take the forefront in scheduling time and space.
  • At the same time, our K-8 program is large enough to provide an exceptional specialist program, excellent facilities, and to attract and retain extraordinary faculty.
  • Lastly, your child will work with you to find the perfect-match high school program for the person he or she is, not as a four-year-old, but as a self-aware eighth-grade student, ready to take on this important next step! Redwood Day fully supports and guides families through the high school process.

  Our faculty and staff choose the K-8 experience because they want the benefits of collaborating with teachers that find great professional joy in creating a nurturing and developmentally attuned program.  Kindergarten through eighth grade teachers develop curriculum side-by-side, integrate lessons across the grades, and work together as a team throughout a child’s experience at our school.  In the larger K-12 setting or the singular 6-8 setting, teachers experience greater difficulty in observing the continuous thread of a child’s academic, social or emotional growth because the tight, cohesive team nature of a K-8 setting is more difficult to achieve.
  
  

  At Redwood Day, we spend years with your family. We support children academically and individually so that they grow into their best selves who go off to their top-choice high schools. Once in high school and college, alumni come back to visit and share with us the impact that this K-8 had on their lives. It doesn’t get any better than that.