Parent Reviews

As a veteran teacher of more than 20 years, I couldn’t be happier with True Roots for my child. My son started with True Roots when he was 3 years old and has loved it. He loves the fun places they go, the friends he makes, the teachers, and the adventures they have every day. I love that he is learning to be kind and loving with other kids and with nature, that he spends his days outside no matter the weather (no such thing as bad weather - only bad clothes!), that he is developing his physical strength, his social emotional being, and curiosity and love for adventure. I feel that he is well cared for every day, and as an added bonus he is good and tired at the end of the day. He is developing the strength, kindness, and grit that will serve him so well throughout his life, and getting plenty of outside time in really beautiful places - just what everyone needs. Susanne M.

Teachers Danny and Angela are phenomenal, intuitive and completely on the mark in their innovative outdoor teaching program: True Roots. More than ever do we all need a shift in mindset and harness the out-of-the-box concept to help our children thrive during unprecedented times of pandemic forced mental stress, and physical confinement. Working and living in the bay area while defined in large by Tech, doesn't mean we can't step away, and go back to our roots, literally!  We were searching to find exactly that as my husband and I decided to move to the mountains from SF about 10 years ago. We wanted our children to be born in a community of caring individuals that would thrive on peer bonding; to learn with each other, and from each other, closer to nature.  When schools shutdown we knew we had to find a solution that would harness these core values and at the same time meet the needs of our willful, physically gifted, abundantly energetic (too much to sit still at a desk all day) and extremely curious & exploration driven son. So when Angela said she was about to start her new program I registered without any doubt. Almost 3 months in: We are thrilled. We found a structure in Roots to help balance our lives again. Academic levels have been skyrocketing; teachers and everyone around marvel seeing his excitement and eagerness to learn. It's been a true blessing seeing our child negotiate his feelings more mindfully, making choices that are considering the group, and sharing his delightful experiences with confidence and fulfillment. ~ Parent of a First Grader

Our son Fionn joined True Roots Nature (TRN) in Jan 2020 and he has loved it since day 1. While he is remote learning (2nd Grade) at Loma and spends most of his mornings on Zoom/Seesaw, joining the TRN PM program gives him a great outlet for socializing with other children, spending time outdoors and continuing his learning experience outside, in nature. Teacher Angela and Daniel are great educators and I feel lucky Fionn was able to join their school during the pandemic. Fionn also loved the holiday camp during ski week, and he is very much looking forward to repeating the camp experience. I do really hope the school will expand to a 5-day week after-school program next year, and of course a summer camp...we would LOVE that! ~ Sara P.

Our 1st grade daughter started with True Roots in the afternoon program as a way to get outside and have fun after distance learning all day. After two weeks, we decided to pull her from her public school and enroll her with True Roots MWF as a homeschool option. Although her public school is slated to return to the classroom in a hybrid model, we did not want her to be isolated behind plexiglass and not able to play freely with her friends - and we know that any educational learning will be sidelined by the challenges of hybrid learning and the negative impact on social-emotional well being. Teacher Angela and Teacher Danny are not only excellent with the children, but their curriculum is personalized for each child/age group, fun and engaging, using nature as the classroom. Kids are not supposed to be learning from a computer screen or made to stay indoors with their creativity stifled. We are very thankful for True Roots for offering a safe, wonderful educational experience for our daughter. She loves her new school, is excited to learn, and has shown greater progress in reading and writing than when she was distance learning. ~ Jenn R.