Marina del Rey, CA
Redwood Village Children's Center

Director's Comments

Question to director: Do you have any additional thoughts on what parents should consider when looking at your school? Is there any advice that you would like to provide to prospective parents?


Thank you for considering Redwood as your child's school environment. Our school has served families in the Marina and surrounding areas for more than 20 years. During that time, we have seen the beauty and value of our play-based learning philosophy. Our children really do learn to play and play to learn!

Our graduatesleave Redwood with a sense of competence, self-assuredness, and a love of learning. We are proud of the children who have graduated from the scenic Redwood play yard and have integrated wonderfully into private, parochial and public schools including Short Avenue, El Marino, WNS, St. Mark's, Manhattan Academy, Ocean Charter, and Crossroads.

Our recent focus on providing our families with an even more organized, responsive and thriving environment is a tremendous responsibility and privilege. The hiring of two new teachers and promoting a new Director has contributed greatly to continued professional growth. Redwood's community became more welcoming after we implemented monthly family play dates, weekly email announcements and timely newsletter distribution. By building a strong parent and teacher connection through parent education evenings, parent and teacher conferences, and volunteerr opportunities for parents, we are creating a strong foundation for our children's success in school. Our ultimate goals are to foster the innate curiousity of children and to allow them the playful adventures that are meaningful and educational to them.

Best wishes for an exciting and thoughtful preschool search.

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
The teachers are incredibly loving. From the first day, my 2-1/2 year old son felt comfortable (and he had never been to day care). He has been at Redwoods only 3 month now and he is already showing so much more confidence, verbal skills have drastically improved, talks about his teachers all the time, looks forward to going to school.

Parent #2
this school has so much to offer. The kids have a great time all day. There are so many different activities to choose from and the teacher and staff are all very loving and nurturing.
The things they do to be creative and to make the school a great learning environment for the kids is amazing.

Parent #3
great school. my child loved it and so did we. All the teachers were caring for the children and responsive to their needs.

Parent #4
The teachers are wonderful and loving. They handle conflicts and separation very calmly and smoothly. The children love them and respond to them well. My child has a blast at school and usually doesn't want to leave when I arrive.

Parent #5
The program here gives a child every opprotunity to learn about the world and life around them. They are gently nurtured to bring out the best in themselves and others, to show respect and expect the same in return.

Parent #6
We could not be happier with the attention, the care, the creativity, the discipline, and the energy of all the teachers at Redwood Village Children's Center. We love the play based environment, and you cannot beat the grounds either, which include a garden where the children help grow fruits and vegetables that they then make into seasonal delicious treats to eat. There are after school programs offered like yoga, music, drama & gymnastics as well as activities/workshops/lectures for the parents throughout the year. There is a great sense of community and care for one another. Families often share their cultures through activities with the children and come together when a family is in need. The director is always available and also spends a lot of time interacting with the children - in fact, she is the type to drop everything if a child is in need, which she is so quick to read on a face. Our boy has totally blossomed at RVCC, and he just loves being there - that means the world to us!

Parent #7
Two of my children have attended RVCC and I couldn't be more pleased with the school. The teachers are imaginative, loving, and nurturing as well devoted to the children they teach. The school has a wonderful director, and it shows in how the teachers all work well together to create a magical preschool setting for the kids.

Parent #8
Both my sons have attended Redwood Village Children's Center, and I have been very happy with it. The teachers are warm and loving, and I have learned a lot from them about positive discipline and conflict resolution. They create a loving, fun environment, that is very child-focused. The director was a teacher at RVCC for many years, and remains very involved in the daily activities of the children. My younger son was having trouble with naptime potty training when he first started at the school. The teachers worked very patiently to find ways to help him, without making him feel self-conscious about it.

Parent #9
My oldest daughter has just started kindergarten after two years at this preschool. She is way ahead of other children in her class in terms of ability to listen and understand in all aspects of school and learning. Her literacy and numeracy skills are developing noticeably quickly, and she is enjoying the opportunity to learn new things. I directly attribute this to her experiences at RVCC

Parent #10
Great teachers.Very caring and nurturing teachers. Third director in five years.

Parent #11
The school has undergone several changes in directors over the past few years and change is always difficult. That said, I think the children have not felt any of the change - the philosophy has remained consistent. The parents have had a harder time with change than the children. The children have remained happy throughout.

Parent #12
Now that the new director is there, it's a great school again. She's amazing and the prevailing mood is one of happiness and activity.

Parent #13
Strengths: This is a school where children can develop their sense of self & confidence. There is a focus on learning through play & opportunities to learn through various avenues, including sensory exploration are abundant. I do wish that music was more of an emphasis. Typical to many schools in the L.A. area, the families come from many surrounding neighborhoods, which I bleieve makes it more difficult to connect w/other parents.

Parent #14
We came to this schoiol based on the strong recommendation of an experienced educator who runs a college-level program training staff and adminsitrators for schools like this. We've found a high degree of caring and a a very thorough grounding in the psychologicla principles that underlay rational deliberate, not overly competitive or zealous child devlopment. Those who are seeking something grander or more regimented, like some of the parents who responded elswhere in this survey, are advised to seek out the more bueraucratic (and no doubt pricier) alternatives.

Parent #15
Love the teachers and the school in general.

Parent #16
Overall the school had great energy and program that I really liked and still like. Individually every one tries their best but a joined school community to address the issues of both the parents and children would be great.

Parent #17
The teachers are phenomenal, but the Director could be much better.

Parent #18
I think the school is not as organized as it could possibly be. However, I feel confident that the care of the child is of highest priority and the children are cared for in a warm and nurturing manner.

Parent #19
I think the school needs to do more to provide parenting education so that everyone is on the same path. I also think it is too bad more isn't done to create a parent community.

Montessori? Waldorf? Play-based?

What school type is right for your child? Is one model better than another? What does the research say?

View an example from the Savvy Source guide to learn more.

Trace around your child's foot, with shoe on, on a piece of white construction paper or card stock. Have child cut out the shoe print and add a spooky face. Glue it to a popsicle stick and you have a ghost stick puppet!

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