Roots Academy

This isn’t the first time our child centered approach to learning has been validated by the data - both scientific and anecdotal - and it won’t be the last.

The kids need to come first.

Until they do, this will just be another tragic “oops” in a long line of experiments that we should have thought a little more intentionally about before putting every single egg in the same basket.

It’s impossible to spend time this time of year and not feel the palpable joy + excitement.

While we are off campus every single week, end of year adventures are something extra special giving learners of every age the opportunity to spread their wings a little wider, celebrate their growth and learning, and immerse themselves in the relationships they’ve nurtured.

Campfire songs and s’mores are just as important Ranger led hikes and coastal expeditions.

So proud of our 1st and 2nd grade Learners this week, and all year. Never loose that curiosity, kindness, or zest for absolutely everything life has to offer.

Is it weird for a school to post a Mothers Day message? Perhaps.

But, when you’re a school that was quite literally built on the back of a Mothers love for her kids (and all kids) and a parents sense of adventure + refusal to accept the way things have always been done it seems pretty pertinent.

At this point in our journey, we’re far enough away from our start that folks may not know that was started as an answer to what I observed to be missing from my daughters main stream kindergarten experience coupled with the rapid shift towards tech and isolation during the pandemic.

Roots began as a love letter to her. And if I’m being honest? To my younger self as well.

I couldn’t accept a world where her access to the things we loved and valued as a family - like adventure, the outdoors, caring for our neighbors, and getting our hands dirty was so limited.

When my son came along, that nagging pull to look for something different and knowing that there had to be a better way, became a universal two by four to the head. A shout to honor the kids I was given, and the kid I still was at heart.

6 years later, and I’m in awe of what we’ve built together. First, my little family, and over the years our teachers and school families. But, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t years in the beginning when I was cleaning on the weekend, mowing the lawn, covering classrooms, tackling payroll and planning that were powered solely by that fierce tenacity that arrives when you become responsible for another.

I don’t know where the next 6 years will take us, the world is wild, my kids are getting bigger, but I do know will continue to grow and hold childhood for so many more families. You can feel the cords of care from each family that chooses this way of learning and being. The tenacity behind each of their decisions to choose a different way of learning, and the way all of these cords of care and intention build on the each other.

Roots is a school with a foundation built on love.

It’s why it always feels like a hug from someone you love when you walk through the front door.

Because it is. 💚

Outdoor adventures, journals, learning about how fats, acids, and salts work together through guacamole making, and dandelion crowns.

When you leave the room for curiosity in the day, you get more than just academics - you get context.

You understand why math matters….

We need fractions to cook!

You discover how to solve problems and collaborate…

Because you’ve had the opportunity to work through them during play.

You actually had something to write about…

Because your day has been full of things that’s grab your attention.

You feel connected to your teacher…

Because you built trust and relationship while you picked flowers and braided dandelion crowns together.

Stop choosing the well worn path simply because it’s been walked before. is different, and so are the kiddos who spend their days here.

Grounded in place. Surrounded by care. Fueled by passion.

Your child deserves to spend their days this way.

It’s REALLY good to be a Kindergartener !

At Roots, we view our Jr / Sr Kindergarten program as an incubator. A place and program designed with the developmental needs of early childhood in mind.

This week, adventure took a front seat as we took our crew a little further afield than usual, and spent the day .

We spotted pollinators, salamander eggs, explored the children’s garden, went on a trek to find some trolls, and attended programming with garden staff.

The most magical part though? Being out in the world together as a school family. Kids, teachers, and parents alike were able to drop in and immerse themselves in the magic of being 5… a season chock full of noticing + wondering.

We wouldn’t rush that for the world.

It feels timely to share a few 📸 from last weeks Spring Concert + Exhibition of learning. All of this magic and community wouldn’t be possible without the pioneering spirit of our staff, the faith and enthusiasm of our parents, and brilliance of our students.

It can be so easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the “to do’s” as the school year begins to wind down, there’s so many things to attend because there’s SO MANY THINGS to celebrate 🎉

This annual moment, this ritual of coming together in song and acknowledgement of all of the growing we’ve co-created across the year in each of these children’s lives is one of my favorite 🤩

Here’s to the Teachers (and the parents and students) that make it all possible.

What a dream it is to do school this way 🌊 💜 ☀️ 🌲

📸 |

As we kick off teacher appreciation week, we thought we would spend the next few days celebrating the amazing team of educators here - most of whom largely prefer to stay behind the camera and out of the spotlight.

Today, we’re shining the spotlight on our Alpine teaching team - Hannah and Lindsay.

Hannah:

A brilliant creative and passionate human, we are collectively blessed through your many gifts and your ability to share them with students and staff. As an Educator, you’re intuitive, insightful, and engaged with your class in a way that inspires vulnerability and allows even the most hesitant learner to take brave risks. You make learning FUN. Your classroom has been a place of deep healing for more than one friend - student and colleague alike - over the years.

Lindsay:

An incredibly kind, genuine, and gentle leader. You stepped into a new role for Roots this year, and continue to bravely make it your own. Drawing from years and years of experience, you are helping us create the middle school experience that we all wish we had - full of adventure, heart, thought, deep learning, and compassion for self and others. You’ve led us on adventures in the surf, through the forests, on the snow, and in the classroom this year - rooted in your enthusiasm to guide and support learners through new experiences and your own amazing beginner mindset we are all simultaneously more fearless and more rooted because of your presence.

To you both:

Thank you for showing up, with an open heart, every single day.

Roots is a better place because you’re there.

Are you a past or current Alpine Family? Leave a note and let those two amazing educators know they’re loved. 🥰

🍎✏️📚

A students bill of rights, written by and lived through daily practice by our 4th through 6th grade Learners.

, gratitude + reciprocity is at the core of everything we do.

It’s the foundation of our relationships, and thus our learning and growth as a community.

When you view school a community or ecosystem you begin to see how ignoring the elements of care, compassion, and interdependency in pursuit of individual identity and “do it on your own” culture begins to create pockets of isolation and loneliness.

It turns moments that could be meaningful opportunities for questions and shared discovery into experiences full of shame and anxiety.

We were never meant to do this - parenting, learning, living, and growing - alone.

Forever proud of being a place that honors each child’s right to exist and grow as individuals and a place that asks its members to do the work of meaningful participation through service, thought, and community care.