In southwest Washington, there are nearly 1,700 annual job openings in IT-related fields. These jobs pay more than a living wage and don’t require four-year college degrees. This is good except that we’re not building paths for homegrown talent to fill those jobs. This is why Rooted School Vancouver exists.

Rooted defines self-directed learners as those who need very little, if any, redirection because they know their goals and are focused on achieving them. This is what the workplace of today requires.

At Rooted, students are given a playlist of tasks and projects to complete within their courses and create the tempo for their learning—within guardrails that we put in place of course. Once students achieve mastery, they can continue on to new or more challenging problems instead of having to wait on their peers.

For about two hours during the day, students engage in industry-focused project-based learning experiences designed by Rooted’s teachers and industry partners. Projects are designed around specific community problems that students work to solve.

Students can graduate with an advanced industry credential in one of the numerous technology sectors en route to entry-level employment with one of Rooted’s industry partners.

Starting in 9th grade, students can compete for paid internships with local technology partners. These internships are designed around the roles and tasks that industry partners typically hire for in college interns or entry-level hires.

To demonstrate mastery learning, Rooted students apply their skills in solving real-world challenges through project-based learning. Students work on projects that are co-designed with our tech industry partners.

Using this backward-designed approach, students practice industry-specific skills that are required to be competitive for entry-level roles after graduation. Additionally, students learn how to give and receive feedback on the path towards achieving a shared goal.