Like all great institutions, Redwood Day School began with an inspired idea. In 1962 Mrs. Edward Wallis of Piedmont was looking for an alternative to the local public schools. After attending a lecture given by the prominent educator, Mae Carden, Mrs. Wallis decided to create an independent school based on the Carden curriculum. A year later, in 1963, the Mae Carden Center School officially opened its doors at 360 42nd Street in Oakland (the future site of Park Day School). The Mae Carden Center School of 1963 eventually would become the Redwood Day School of today.
The 1963 student body was comprised of 12 students, a far cry from today’s enrollment of nearly 370 children. For its first 31 years RDS leased various facilities – first in Oakland, then in Alameda. The school changed names as well as location: The Mae Carden Center School became St. Paul’s Carden School in 1965, then Carden Redwood School in 1975. The 1989 school year began with a new name – Redwood Day School – with a new, non-Carden curriculum, full accreditation by the California Association of Independent Schools, and membership in the National Association of Independent Schools. One final step remained in creating today’s Redwood Day School – finding a permanent home. And so in 1994 the school purchased the Jewish Community Center in Oakland.
In 2008, Redwood Day announced its plan to expand the current program to include grades 9-12. The RDS Upper School will offer a college and life preparatory education that focuses on intellectual rigor, values, individual achievement and creativity. We envision a secondary school program that grows out of the tried and true tenets of the current K–8 curriculum.
From 1963 until the present day, Redwood Day School has kept its purpose of providing a challenging and excellent education at the forefront of all decisions.
