At Roots, every student experiences a simple promise: “We love you.” We call it our 243 culture, a reminder that love comes before correction, and belonging comes before achievement.

Many of our students come to us carrying heavy stories. Some have been told they’ll never graduate, or amount to anything. Others have learned to expect rejection instead of acceptance. But the moment they step into Roots, they discover something different: a school that sees them whole, believes in their worth, and refuses to give up on them.

In our classrooms and on our farm, students find dignity and purpose. They learn math, science, and English in ways that connect to real life. They experience responsibility through 4-H, pride in growing food and flowers, and hope in planning their next steps toward college or career. Slowly but surely, they begin to believe what Roots has been saying all along: you matter, you belong, and you are capable of more than you know.

And the results are real.

Last year, Roots graduated more than 50 students who had once been at risk of not graduating at all. Roots grew over 5,000 pounds of food that went directly to our students’ families. Our students raised and sold animals, with the meat donated to the local refugee community. Most importantly, students and their families discovered new hope for their futures.

Roots isn’t just a school. It’s a community of second chances, a place where love changes the story, and a model of what education can be when it starts with connection.

When you give, you’re not only funding meals, transportation, and programs, you’re investing in moments of transformation, where a student who once felt invisible hears, maybe for the first time: “We love you. You belong here.”

2025 Roots Harvest Gala