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Our Vision Statement
At a time when global climate change threatens communities, especially those of those regions in poverty, schools should motivate and empower students to create a society that values life for all people on all continents. The UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development calls for a complete rethinking of education to give our youth the tools they need to create necessary social change that will preserve life on our planet and mitigate poverty and devastation. New Roots School will integrate the best theories and practices of sustainability education with core academic competencies to help young people become part of movements to create just, democratic communities, thriving green economies, and revitalized ecosystems.
New Roots School will prepare a diverse student body to meet the challenges of citizenship, work, and life-long learning in the international community of the 21st century. Excelling in both traditional and innovative curriculum areas, our students will learn actively, think critically and broadly, and solve problems creatively as they develop the knowledge and skills to redesign our communities for social, economic, and ecological sustainability within a global context.
 On the "campus" of our urban center, natural lands, neighborhoods, and farms in and around Ithaca, New York, we will apply what we learn in the classroom to understanding the complex relationships between the social and ecological systems that sustain us. Students will examine the ways that immediate, visible systems participate in the greater, often unseen, system of life on the planet.
Drawing inspiration from the work of Wangari Maathai, we will foster visionary thinking, a sense of purpose, and an awareness of belonging to the entire human race. We will enable students to develop innovative solutions to critical real-life problems through democratic decision-making, leadership and teamwork skills. We will support all students as they define and realize their goals and aspirations and as they recognize their role as leaders who can join with others around the globe to improve the lives of their families and communities — both those well-known and those worldwide.
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