To our dearest donors,

We would like to share with you this report detailing the amazing things God is doing and the impact Redwood is having in the lives of our students and their families.

We are very grateful for the integral ways your generosity has helped advance our mission.  our gifts enable us to forge ahead as we remain focused on the vision. There is an increasing need in our world to have families sustained in their calling, supported in community, and strong in the Lord.  Our hope is to see the Kingdom of God further manifest in our homes with the help of RCA’s support.  Your gift has made significant difference, and we are deeply grateful for your investment.

With your support we have worked hard to clarify our mission and to establish our purpose.  We have spent the last 3 years and about $325,000 (this includes our operational budgets and about 75,000 in giving) to complete our first crucial step: We know who we are.  We know who we serve. We know our teaching method and the programming we provide. We have a physical space and have implemented sustainable practices and policies.
There are several areas of Redwood to report that help show Our Growing Impact:

Our Results:       

• We grew our full-time students by 72 percent.
• We grew our seeds program by 55 percent.
• We finalized our Seeds program curriculum (Kindergarten) that was specifically created and customized for Redwood’s youngest learners.  
• We successfully moved into a new permanent schoolhouse by partnering with St. Mark’s Catholic Parish.  Our new facility offers more space to grow, a gym for rainy days, a kitchen, and a modern security system.  
• We hosted three Enrichment Days offered to the public where we were blessed to serve a total of 53 families (over 180 people).    

Our Team:        
In order to grow and strengthen our team, we added three full-time Mentors, as well as an Administrative Assistant to help support our Operations team.  We have also instituted a formal evaluation process so our staff members can continue to grow and be kept accountable.

Our new initiatives  

• We will continue to grow Redwood through open enrollment.  We currently offer two programs (one day/week and two days/week) with our goal to eliminate the 1-day program and transition all enrollment to our 2-day program.
• We desire to continue to improve our Enrichment Day program to support the homeschool community (outside of our enrolled families) in the St. Louis and surrounding areas.  The purpose of these days is to share the love of learning with other homeschoolers.  (A little bit of marketing doesn’t hurt, either!)
• Starting this spring, RCA is looking to form a Garden Committee to partner with Seeds STL to create and maintain an outdoor garden space for our students.  
• Our one-one-one personalized coaching relationship with Zach Clark Consulting is ongoing.  With this coaching, we have been working hard to lay the groundwork needed to create sustainable and healthy giving practices.  We have also created a development plan for the future.  You can check out our plan here.  Our next step - and highest priority - is entitled “Strengthening People.”  Redwood is only as healthy as the people who serve it. Not investing in our team is the biggest unforced error Redwood could commit. Therefore, we are seeking to raise $200,000 outside of our operating budget in order to do the following:
  —Increase salaries & hours of current staff.  
  —Support the Board through proper training and orientation
  —Create a training program for Mentors (our teachers) in the Charlotte Mason method
  —Offer free on-site childcare for staff
  —Create the following positions: Director of Enrichment Day programming, Director of Family Life, Director of Spiritual Formation, and Director of Admissions.
  —Create Parent Retreat & Training programs

Our impact:

Let me share a story about one of our families - the Farmers.  Lindsay and Patrick Farmer currently have two of their children at Redwood. Patrick’s job moved them to the Edwardsville, IL area from Indianapolis in 2020, right before COVID-19 arrived. The Farmers are members at Heights Community Church in Collinsville, IL. When they are not at Redwood, they enjoy slow evenings together as a family, traveling to visit extended family, and enjoying time outside whenever possible.  

The Farmers choose to homeschool because they desire a slower pace with their children. They also aim to establish a strong emotional/spiritual foundation for their kids - of being fully known and loved - before sending them out into the world on their own. The Farmers have been homeschooling for 5 years, ever since their oldest started school.

Lindsay and Patrick wanted to continue a Classical Charlotte Mason education with their children, but Lindsay started to feel increasingly stretched thin trying to do all of the schooling on her own without having family nearby to lend support. There are few options for this hybrid form of education where they live in Illinois, so finding Redwood within 30 minutes from them is what brought them to RCA.  
When asked, “How do you see Redwood serving your home?” this is what Lindsay said: 

"We can confidently know our children are being treated and educated with similar intent as they would be at home because of the philosophy of the school and passion of the educators. I also do not feel the guilt or questioning of whether I’m doing enough for my children's education because all the subjects I was struggling to adequately present are covered at Redwood. The school has given us like-minded families to be in community with and support each other while homeschooling.”  

We are so honored to serve the Farmer family and are delighted to see God using RCA to support the Farmers’ home, their family goals, and serve their students!

In Closing: 
Our hope is in God, knowing that He will continue to bless and provide for us as we move ahead. Any challenges we face will be viewed primarily as opportunities. Thank you again for your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial support, all of which enable us to support our staff to empower families and impact students.  For Christ & His Kingdom…