Mission
Cultural Roots Home School cooperative seeks to provide a culturally centered and liberated educational space for families. We intentionally center the cultural attributes, traditions, and histories of Black and Brown communities.
"I love Cultural Roots because everybody looks more like me. People have all different types of hair and skin tones and it’s just really beautiful. I never feel left out or out of place because of how I look"
— Kennedy, age 10
The impact of providing children with a culturally relevant pedagogy, an environment that is self-affirming, and meaningful experiences are priceless. We are happy to say that we are as of 2022, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, dedicated to doing good work and getting ourselves in “good trouble”.
Some of our student-led & community focused projects:
Distributed almost 100 laptops and tables to local homeschooling families with our partners EHEP.
Planting 36 trees at Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center
Stocking culturally-rooted and diverse books at the Little Lending Library at Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center
Fundraiser for the Pocahontas Island Black History Museum in Petersburg, VA
Fundraising event for Chief Joseph and the Maasai Tribe of Kenya
(unaffiliated but current fundraiser for the tribe: https://gofund.me/03f65309)
Speaking at Richmond Environmental Justice Rally
Speaking at Monumental Justice Rally & organizing a rally for the removal of the Columbus statue.
Participation in Documentary Film Festival with films in support of local environmental and societal movements
Youth table at the Virginia Youth Activism Summit
Planting trees in the City of Richmond. To date, we have planted over 50 trees.
Co-op students with Chief Joseph of the Maasai Tribe of Kenya.
A VERY special thank you to our partner Richmond City Parks & Recreation for providing so much support to our youth through your programming, space and ongoing dedication to the cooperative since 2016.
Meditation, yoga, and activities based on a monthly theme.
Professional Dancer
Professional martial arts master and stunt man.
Painting the Moment Art Classes
Wise Woman Herbalist
Discovery Chess - Rhonda Adorno
Stem Innovations- This class has offers multiple stations for youth to engage in STEM activities that may include Lego, Chess, Ozmo, board games, reading nook w/writing activities, marble design and more.
On Mondays, many families work with Nomads Deli to provide convenient lunches.
On Wednesdays, SEVA Food truck delivers free vegetarian burritos to all the children in the coop.
A series of ongoing workshops and classes.
Mrs Colette Roundtree, M.A.T
Science Teacher. email: engineers.rountree@gmail.com
Hailing from South Africa, Chef Ushan offers a variety of world cruisines. She is also a parent of the co-op.
Chef Zee specializes in pastry and caribbean food. Chef Joy assists and brings her own food history of indigenous dishes.
Teachers Patricia and Cathy work together to teach hand building techniques and pottery on the wheel.
Programming includes African based story telling, moral/ character development, movement, music and general cultural knowledge.
CODE VA- Elementary, Middle and High School Robotics Clubs
Weekly activities include introduction to robotics, programming, collaboration and local competitions.
November 2022 & 2023:
As the @cop27_egypt kicks off in Africa, we are doing our small part here to help heal mother Earth in Richmond, Virginia.
The youth planted 36 trees.
"The world is reaching the tipping point beyond which climate change may become irreversible. If this happens, we risk denying present and future generations the right to a healthy and sustainable planet – the whole of humanity stands to lose.”
Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of UN
Special thanks to @rvaparksandrec (Diane & Will), Stephen Living, Qui Nguyen, and Aaron. @pinecampculturalarts @vaclimate @climatestrikerva @youthstrike4climate
Even the high schoolers came out to plant trees before returning to their Parable of the Sower study.
The middle school students of Cultural Roots Homeschool Cooperative spent the Fall semester of 2020 creating a short film about the life and work of Mr. Richard Stewart and the Pocahontas Island Museum in Petersburg, Virginia. Our co-op has a fundraising goal of $3000 for the museum.
To watch the documentary:
https://culturalrootsco-op.com/pocahontasisland
Environmental Justice Rally - 2019
Environmental Justice Rally - 2019
Environmental Justice Rally - 2019
Monumental Justice Rally - 2019
Monumental Justice Rally - 2019
Zy Bryant Youth Activism Summit at Virginia Museum of History and Culture - 2019
Environmental Justice Rally - 2019
