“There’s no such thing as neutral education. Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom.”

- Paulo Freire

Learning Site

Our learning site, Community Roots brings to life so many of the ideals that people know should exist within a truly equitable public school setting but have never seen in practice. It is a school where all stakeholders are engaged in purposeful and intentional work designed to create an integrated and equitable community.

About Community Roots

Community Roots is a rigorous learning community where education is embedded in meaningful real-world contexts and children are deliberately taught to see the connections between school and the world. Community Roots students will meet or exceed the Common Core standards and be prepared to excel in the 21st century by becoming independent thinkers and working productively within a diverse group of learners. At Community Roots, students learn to combine curiosity with appropriate application, which leads to deep understanding and the confidence to become who they want to be.

Watch this video showcasing the school's philosophy in action:

Forest School Experience

Knowing that entry into school is a foundational one not well served in a virtual setting, Community Roots welcomed its first class of over 50 Kindergarteners to its inaugural Forest School in September 2020. After a year of educating its littlest ones in the throes of Mother Nature’s many faces [including heavy rain, sleet and snow], the importance and necessity of making outdoor learning a fixture of the school’s scholastic model became undeniable.

This video explains its creation, early findings and how the school’s outdoor education model brings a new strength, both timely and crucial, to its mission around environmental justice powerfully complementing its social justice curriculum.

Snapshot of Community Roots

In 2018-2019, 98% of families say school staff works hard to build trusting relationships with families like them.

In 2018-2019, 100% of CRCS teachers say that they trust each other (versus 83% citywide).

In 2018-2019, 97% of the school’s former eighth graders earned enough high school credit in ninth grade to be on track for graduation.

In 2018-2019, 89% of CRCS students say that CRCS offers a wide enough variety of programs, classes, and activities to keep them interested in school (versus 76% citywide).