Red Oaks School Moving To Expanded, Modernized Middle School

Press release from The Red Oaks School:

May 8, 2021

The Red Oaks School, a Morristown based private independent day school educating Early Childhood, Elementary, and Middle School students, has announced plans to expand and modernize its middle school, moving into a larger building just a half-mile away from its current location. The new middle school will provide a cutting-edge learning environment so that its physical space aligns with its dynamic curriculum and programs.

The new space, an 18,000 sq. ft. 1950s-era school building at 238 Speedwell Avenue in Morris Plains is the former site of St. Virgil’s School. The building will be fully renovated and updated by Red Oaks. Improvements to the location will include more bright and roomy classrooms to meet growing enrollment, a dedicated STEM-based science lab room, an onsite gymnasium, and a spacious library and cafeteria. In addition, the building will include spaces dedicated specifically to the creative arts such as a theater with a performance stage and a large art studio. The move will now ensure that Red Oaks students are learning in a physical environment on par with the exceptional curriculum and resources for which the school is well known.

“People ask us, ‘Why are you moving now?’” explains Marilyn E. Stewart, Head of School, referencing the uncertain pandemic economic climate. “And my answer is that in the past year, we’ve seen an increase in interest in our school,” continues Stewart. “We knew we were going to need more space. And, as always, we were looking at how to best position Red Oaks for future growth. As larger schools and school districts struggled with how to properly and safely educate students during the COVID-19 pandemic, losing valuable learning time in the process, concerned parents turned to private schools like The Red Oaks School. With its intimate class sizes, smaller school population, and ability to offer in-person instruction during the pandemic, Red Oaks became a popular alternative for parents in the greater Morristown area who wanted to ensure their children kept growing academically, socially, and emotionally.”

“We take pride that we’ve offered an in-person, full-time schedule since September, as well as a full-time, synchronous remote schedule for those who needed to stay at home due to health concerns,” shares Stewart. We have our incredible faculty and families to thank for this: teachers and administrators who are wholeheartedly committed to teaching and to our students; families who complied with our safety protocols and understood that we were all in this together and only by working as a team could we keep the school open; and our students, so happy to be in school, who embraced safety protocols like wearing masks and maintaining 6’ social distancing.”

The new middle school is expected to welcome students in late fall or early winter, 2021. Red Oaks, itself, was established in 1965. Its main campus, housing Early Childhood through Upper Elementary students, is located at 21 Cutler Street, Morristown.

“We look forward to welcoming our current and prospective middle school families to our new home,” concludes Ms. Stewart in anticipation of the new location. “Personally, I can’t wait to see all the smiling, eager faces in the halls and observe all the active, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning that will take place. This is a new chapter for us, all of us. And it’s very exciting.”

This press release was produced by The Red Oaks School. The views expressed here are the author's own.