A History of Redlands Adventist Academy
by James Walters, June 2024 & August 2025
1903-1959
As early as 1891 Seventh-day Adventists were living in Redlands. In the mid-1800s they began meeting in the Baptist Church holding tent evangelistic meetings and soon worshipped in their own small church on East State St. In 1903 they decided to build a new church and convert the old building into a school house, moving it to a site they purchased for $300 on Herald Street. The new church was dedicated in May 1904.
Ida Hibben came from Illinois to teach that first year. Twelve boys and fourteen girls were soon enrolled. Emma Marcus taught in 1904-1905 with thirty-two students, making Redland’s enrollment the largest of the 15 Adventist schools in Southern California.
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In 1908, the school united with the Loma Linda school with thirty-three students, but in 1909 Redlands school reopened and continued for ten years as a one-teacher school, employing Clara May Fleck in 1916.
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A growing student population by 1918 brought sisters Alma and Vesta Fink to teach nine grades. Plans were made to enlarge the school building to make room for accommodating ten grades. At some point the school reopened at a new location on Division St, not far from Sylvan Park.
Disaster struck in March 1923 when a disgruntled student set a fire which destroyed the school. The Southeastern Conference came to the rescue with a tent used for evangelistic meetings to finish out the school year. In the meantime, construction soon began on a new building. By October the Conference could report “The new building is roomy and would accommodate nearly double its present membership. We hope some day to see the rooms filled. They are not yet equipped for woodwork, but have the room for it. They also have a sewing machine.” 1
The Redlands congregation also built a new church that year, at the corner of Citrus and Olive avenues. The old church on East State Street was sold to a developer who subdivided it into two apartments, still occupied in 2024.
Over the next fifteen years the school employed one, two or three teachers as enrollment rose and fell. It closed briefly between 1938-1940, then reopened with improvements to the building. “The teacher will be Mrs. Carrie Brown, who taught last year in San Diego county. With the exception of the third grade, there are students registered for all grades from first to eighth.” 2
Redlands Church joined the constituency of Loma Linda Academy in 1943, closing the Redlands school. By 1952, forty-one Redlands students were attending Loma Linda. The church developed the Division Street property into a Welfare Center. In 1957, Pastor Mote of the Redlands Church led a movement to reopen the school, leasing the former Dutch Reformed Church building on Clay Street and enrolling about twenty students. The next year Redlands Seventh-day Adventist Spanish Church, on Ohio Street, opened a school for grades 1-6. Ernest Mattison was hired as teaching principal. Graduation ceremonies were held at the Division Street building in 1958 and at the church in 1959.
But change was in the air. Construction on the 10 Freeway would soon begin in Redlands. The Church needed to find a larger area in which to build a new school.
1957-2025
In 1957, the state began purchasing right-of-way for routing the I-10 Freeway through Redlands. After receiving permission from the Redlands Planning Commission in October 1958, 10 acres of orange groves on Tennessee Street were purchased from Herbert Mills, with funding coming from the Redlands SDA Church, the Redlands Spanish SDA Church and the California Division of Highways. Plans were made to open a new school for first through eighth grade as well as a new church welfare center. In early April, bids were received, and orange trees began to be cleared from the site. Construction began in June.
Redlands Seventh-day Adventist Elementary School opened on Friday, September 11, 1959, delayed from September 8 to allow installation of the sprinkler system and begin work on establishing a lawn. 94 students were enrolled. Ernest Mattison was principal and teacher of grades 7-8, with Faye Haupt teaching grades 1-2, Marylin Biggs teaching 3-4, and Myrna Stephenson teaching 5-6.
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By May 1962, a developer had purchased from the church a 1.2-acre site at the northeast corner of Tennessee St. and Orange Ave. with plans to build the apartments that still occupy that land.
Ninth grade was then added in the 1962-1963 school year as Redlands made its first exploration into having a high school on campus.
In 1964, planning for an auditorium/multipurpose building began and the school and church began rasing money for this project. Two of the parents who led out in this venture (pictured below) were Arthwell Hayton and Ellis Rich. Their sons, who both attended RJA, would later become leaders at Redlands (at that point the RAA we know and love). Geoffrey Hayton served as principal from 2006-2009 and is currently our School Board Chairman, and Larry Rich served as principal from 2019-2022, taking us through COVID-19 lockdown.
Tenth grade was added in the 1963-1964 school year, and 1965 saw the construction of a second classroom block (now referred to as Building 200). By April 1968, RJA finally had its own auditorium/gym that was completed and ready for use.
In the mid-1970s, the orange trees on the north side of campus were removed to make room for a playground, with students and their families doing or sponsoring the work. This was followed by construction of what was then the Junior High building that started in May 1981 and was finished by that September. This is now Building 600 and houses a large portion of our high school classes.
1965 saw the construction of a second classroom building.
By April 1968 the auditorium/gym was completed and ready for use.
Redlands Junior Academy c. 1990. Two trailers, visible in the center background, were installed
around 1988 to provide more classroom space. The elementary playground equipment is to the
right at the back of campus.
Science Complex mid-build c. 2002
Only a few years later, in 1988, the school had expanded to the point where they needed more space, and so they added two trailers to provide more classroom space. This growth continued and by the early 2000s it was determined that more permanent classroom space was needed as the school expanded from a junior academy to a full-fledged academy, finally adding grades 11 and 12. Groundbreaking of the Science Complex took place on March 3, 2002, just in time for RAA's very first graduating senior class in 2003. A new sign was also added facing Tennessee Street in a green area in front of the gym which disappeared during the 2007 parking lot project. These additions were quickly followed by the second phase of the expansion project in 2005 when the Junior High Wing was constructed.
Sign added to the front of the school with the new name “Redlands Adventist Academy.” c. 2003
Junior High Wing was constructed in 2005.
Parking lots and driveways along Tennessee St. were constructed during the summer of 2007.
New construction completed in 2019 included a new elementary playground, office and a high
school lunch area next to Building 600.
Principals of RJA/RAA
Ernest H. Mattison 1957 – 1964
Stuart Teegarden 1964 – 1969
Everett E. Perry 1969 – 1971
Robert Rice 1971 – 1976
Jahnn (Jack) Reise 1976 – 1977
Robert L. Chinnock 1977 – 1980
Ted Vye 1980 – 1985
Lincoln “Roo” Mckenzie 1985 – 1991
Dan Nicola 1991 – 1995
Lynn Sleeth 1995 – 2000
Ron Breingan 2000 – 2001
Dustin Saxton 2001 – 2006
Geoffrey Hayton 2006 – 2009
Linda Wooley 2009 – 2017
Iveth Valenzuela 2017 – 2019
Larry Rich 2019 – 2022
Donald Krpalek 2022 – 2023
William Arnold 2023 – 2026
Maria Stratton 2026-