We have some very exciting news: This summer we’ll be launching a new in-person learning center in Lincoln Park! This location will be opening in June – beginning with a summer literacy intensive, then transitioning into year-round services for kids with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. This location will have double the teaching space as our original Rogers Park location, and it’s wonderfully embedded in the community, walking distance to a bunch of schools and local businesses. 

The summer pop-up location is 2865 N Clark Street, and the permanent Lincoln Park location, opening next school year, is 2324 N Clark Street.

We’re thrilled to be expanding upon our original business model. It all began in Rogers Park – we opened that location in 2018, and it’s still going strong. It weathered a pandemic! It’s where the first ten families believed in us and enabled us to launch Redwood Day School, and it’s where, after years of private practice, Andre and I had clients follow us. Those original families gave us crucial support during those early years transitioning into a storefront location. 

We’re deeply grateful to the Rogers Park community – we’ve had so many beautiful moments in that space, and we’re eager to broaden our impact in Chicago as we expand the magic of the in-person learning model to Lincoln Park. We love creating little Redwood worlds where kids and parents feel seen and heard, feel like they belong to a community of folks navigating a similar journey. We want these in-person learning centers to be hubs that build community, meet people where they are, and support diverse educational journeys. We’re also really passionate about collaborating with local businesses and organizations – we’re always looking for win-win partnerships. (Hello, Lincoln Park neighborhood! If you’re a business in the neighborhood and you’re passionate about literacy, we want to get to know you.) And we’re looking forward to nurturing a relationship with the Lincoln Park Chicago Public Library branch. We’ve really enjoyed partnering with them on the launch of their “Jump into Reading” initiative. 

The Lincoln Park location is already full for summer programming! This is something to celebrate – it means we’ll be reaching a bunch of new students right off the bat, and it projects the success of this new spot. After the summer literacy intensive, we’ll be offering year-round services for kids with dyslexia and dysgraphia. Both the Lincoln Park and Rogers Park locations are going to be labs for our Writing Our World™ curriculum – we’ll be using our cutting edge curriculum based on the latest research as well as supplement with curricula like the Wilson Reading System® and Spell Links™ to make sure students are getting everything they need at both locations.

Families are as thrilled about this new location as we are – they’ve been requesting a Lincoln Park location for years. One mom recounted what a hassle it’s been to get all the way up to Rogers Park, but there’s been nothing in her community that comes close to giving her child what he needs. Now, rather than driving 30 minutes, she’s going to be able to walk from his school straight to Redwood. She was so excited about it she literally jumped with joy! Another parent said Redwood services have been life changing for her family, but she just wasn’t able to keep driving the hour to Rogers Park. We’re serious about making our services as accessible as possible, so it’s a joy to be able to meet this need in the community. 

This new location will also be offering assessments and dyslexia screeners –  if you don’t know where to start, you can begin by coming in and getting those assessments. And did you know we have a referral program? If you refer someone to Redwood, you’ll get a month of free services. (Or, if your family is no longer getting services, we’ll send you a Visa gift card.) 

This is the growth our Rogers Park location is seeing, and we can’t wait to replicate these results for more students around the city: 

• 100% of Rogers Park students showed raw score and composite growth on DIBELS
• 97% of Rogers Park students outpaced their peers in reading growth

We’re also excited to witness the socioemotional growth that takes place when kids are learning in the context of a community like this. At the Rogers Park location, we routinely see kids hurrying into the classroom, eager to connect with their friends. We have birthday celebrations, pajama parties, and quite a bit of Pokémon card sharing. When students have been away on vacation, they jump into each other’s arms upon returning. Nurturing friendships is always important, but in this space, something extra vital is going on – these young people are finally around other kids who understand them, who share their strengths and weaknesses. Neurodivergent students are used to feeling different in classroom settings, and that’s a lonely feeling. In Redwood spaces, that loneliness is replaced by the joys of learning alongside one’s true peers. 

We’re building the team right now, hiring the first teachers, and looking for an awesome site manager for this location. If you’re reading this and you’d like to be a part of cultivating this new location (or know someone who would) please get in touch with us. You can give us a call at 773-309-4524 or email us at sammi@redwoodliteracy.com.

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