7007 North Glenwood Avenue may look ordinary from the outside, but don’t be fooled. It’s a special place. This Rogers Park storefront is the original location of Redwood Literacy. It began as the home of our summer programming. Later, it welcomed the first class of Redwood Day School students. And it continues to thrive as our in-person location for year-round, after-school reading intervention. This one-room schoolhouse of sorts has seen professional development days for teachers, parties for students, and countless hours of literacy instruction for students from all across Chicago. In this blog post, we share mural art made b a Redwood Literacy student, and end with information regarding summer programming and registration.

Two Redwood Literacy Originals

So, who better to add some artistic love to the Rogers Park space but a Redwood Original? Auset Gordon is a beloved member of the Redwood community and an incredible artist. She began her time at Redwood as a member of the original Redwood Day class. She graduated from Redwood Day and is currently thriving in high school. Redwood continues to support Auset through virtual, SPELL-Links™ intervention sessions. We are so proud of the incredible work Auset has done to grow in her reading, confidence, and self-advocacy skills.

The Artistic Process

In addition to being an amazing student, Auset is a wonderful artist. She spent many hours throughout two weekends bringing not just one, but two custom murals to life. She used multiple mediums - paint, paint pens, 3D flowers - to bring her art to life. Redwood Rogers Park is now the proud owner of a tree mural in the front sitting area of our space and a whole forest of beauty on the bathroom walls. Check out Auset’s art on Instagram @insomnis_art

Redwood Literacy: Programming Rooted in Rogers Park

If your child needs literacy intervention in the Rogers Park neighborhood, we would love to help.  As a first step in enrollment, we encourage you fill the New Explorer form. if you don't know if you need services, we also offer Dyslexia Screeners and Comprehensive Reading Assessments, which you can book online through the hyperlinks!

For summer programming, we will be offering Summer Morning Intensives: a 6-week program for students looking to make meaningful academic progress over the summer months. You can register here. In the meantime, come visit 7007 and see our murals for yourself! Grab a decodable reader, relax in a comfy orange chair, and take in the beauty.

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