The Redwoods are a cohort of students and teachers who work together to meet the needs of all students. Everyone participates together in special events such as field trips, camping, class plays, the triennial Art Fashion Show, Design Convention, Entrepreneur Fair and more. We have multiple math and language arts teachers. Students mix together in different configurations throughout the day, week and year so that they learn in cross-age groups as well as same-age groups. We have a two-year loop of curriculum during which we study the ancient world, California history and United States history, as well as FOSS Electricity and Magnetism, Environments, Oceans, Properties of Water, Mixtures and Solutions, Earth and Sun and Stream Ecology. We use Lucy Calkins Writers' Workshop curriculum for writing and a rich mix of trade books and classroom magazines for reading. We utilize Investigations Math and College Preparatory Mathematics, both of which use a constructivist approach to learning. We encourage each student to foster their own growth mindset where students believe that they can learn through dedication and hard work- brains and talent are just the starting point. They might not be able to do something.....YET.
