Learning through Change at Red Oak Community School

This post comes from ROCS mom, Cassie Lewis. Cassie is a fabulous person as well as a fantastic photographer. She'll be at school this coming week to take photos of the kids for school picture day. You can see more of her work at LewisLens Photography. Look forward to more ROCS photo essays here in the months to come.

"Last year, I was in the First UU indoor and outdoor classroom with the homeschool program every day. I had an enrolled child who needed my presence at school. I learned the ins and outs of the school days as we all formed strong community bonds.

This year, my child wants to be dropped off at school. She has blossomed immensely with her time at ROCS. I feel safe leaving her in the hands of what we have built so far, a place that honors children and families, and will always have her social and emotional growth in mind.

Since I don’t have as many opportunities to catch school-day photos this year, I did a drop-off excursion to the play area in this late summer weather.

I am reminded that the only constant is change, and I am inspired by how ROCS has rolled and grown with this change. I am reminded of our humble beginnings. ROCS started in 2015 with a few parents talking about their unhappiness with school options in Central Ohio. When we joined together and made developmentally appropriate practice our cornerstone, we began to build our foundation. We solidified that foundation in the first school year with our talented educators and the families that gave it a chance. Now, in our second school year, we bring our children to a beautiful 15-acre urban farm. We still await our permanent facilities, but I can feel those community bonds at work. We work towards them through our partnership with Sunbury Urban Farm and welcome newcomers to help us grow. [Editor's note: Check out how you can help make these dreams a reality through Project Grow!] 

In those early times, we imagined an acorn and called it “potential.”
Now watch us continue to unfold our branches and leaves."

[Click through the slide show below for a glimpse at ROCS kids in our natural play area, as seen through Cassie's lens.]