West Valley City, Utah · Est. 2015

A school where belonging is the first lesson.

Roots is a tuition-free public charter high school with five acres of working farm and 256 students.

One philosophy anchors everything we do. We call it 243. It means We Love You.

Grades: 9–12
Founded: 2015, West Valley City
Tuition: Free. Always.

Photograph Nº 01
Students feel they matter at Roots as they nurture animals on our farm.

For Current Families

Our Mission

Love first. Belong Always.

We built Roots for students that other schools gave up on. Five acres of farm. Belonging is the foundation. Everything stands on it.

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Why It Matters

When a student feels they belong, everything else becomes possible.

Brighter futures.

Up to 66% lower odds of mental health, violence, and substance abuse problems in adulthood, for teens who felt connection in school.

Steiner et al., 2019. Pediatrics. n = 14,800.

Better behavior.

Teens who feel they matter to the adults around them show lower depression, anxiety, and misconduct.

Marshall, 2001. Journal of Adolescence.

Stronger outcomes.

Strong teacher-student relationships nearly double the impact of a typical school intervention on learning.

Hattie, Visible Learning. 800+ meta-analyses.

Photograph Nº 02

Roots student holds a baby goat she helped to raise.

Meet The Students

256 reasons Roots exists.

Roots enrolls 256 students, and most of them arrive after school stopped working somewhere else. For some that meant a year when the absences piled up faster than the credits did, until finishing on time no longer looked possible. For others it meant a building where nobody made room for them.

At Roots they are known by name in the first week, and they belong here before they have proved anything to anyone. They leave with a state-recognized diploma and with proof that they can finish something hard.

When a goat crosses the pen to find the student who has been feeding her, that student walks differently for the rest of the day.

Join The Roots Community

Two doors into Roots.

For Families

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Apply for 2026-27.

Tuition-free. Public. Open enrollment with a lottery if we go past capacity. Walk through the steps in English or Spanish, then book a tour with the director.

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For Donors & Volunteers

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