ABOUT US
OUR CORE VALUES
CHILDHOOD
Childhood is the foundation of a healthy, productive life. We honor, protect and nurture the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual being of the developing child.
COMMUNITY & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
We value an atmosphere of social renewal and stewardship in which individuals flourish and can contribute to the greater good of all.
IMAGINATION & CREATIVITY
We believe that imagination and creativity are fundamental. Art, music, and movement are integral to our curriculum.
INDEPENDENCE
We value the freedom to educate according to the needs of each child, so they may become free, independent thinkers.
PASSION & COMMITMENT
We are committed to nature and to people. We share our passion with others to connect people with nature and to inspire everyone to be stewards of the environment.
LOVE OF NATURE
We value the diversity and resilience of nature and treasure its beauty. Nature sustains and renews us, provides unexpected moments of joy, and inspires our daily work.
INSPIRING ACTION
We believe that every person was born with unique abilities and talents for a specific, beautiful purpose to effect positive change.
TEAMWORK
We work together to embrace opportunities and challenges in an ever-changing world. We encourage creativity, innovation, and action while respecting individual points of view.
OUR TEAM
Healing The Roots
Board of Directors
Healing Roots is run by an appointed Board Of Directors. Our board is composed of educators from around the world committed to working for the betterment of education for all children.
Nashira T.
Academic Director
Nashira has been in Education for over fifteen years. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development, and a Master's Degree in Education. Nashira is a lifelong learner and is currently pursuing her PhD in Human Rights with a focus on Children's Rights. She is passionate about ensuring every child has a right to education, health, physical/emotional safety and happiness.
Read More
Before joining Healing Roots Nashira spent several years consulting for schools on their social-emotional health programs and Restorative Justice programs for students. She spent three years on the Administration of the Anchorage Waldorf School and ten years teaching in, promoting and running a Waldorf-inspired community school in Florida. Prior to teaching, she was a counselor at a domestic violence shelter, and worked as a birth and postpartum doula. Attending many home births and teaching lactation education.
In her down time Nashira is an avid writer, volunteers at her local library, loves to travel, practices yoga and takes long-distance backpacking treks. Nashira has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (Georgia – Maine), the Florida Trail, and sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. She loves to be outdoors with her three daughters, who have joined her on many of these long-distance journeys.
Leah W.
Office Manager
Early on in Leah's education she received distinguished recognition from the Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators for Academic Achievement and Citizenship. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from California State University, Long Beach, and her Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Read More
While studying business, she founded a nonprofit organization. Presently, The organization places Dance curriculum, nutrition education and career programs into underserved schools and facilities.
Her organization has partnered with entities including: the Long Beach Unified School District, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada and St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis Public Schools and We Rock The Spectrum Kids Gym Corp. Students experience guest artist workshops, service learning projects to improve their communities, and learn dance technique and discipline in seven different disciplines of Dance.
Leah has performed as a Company Member of the renowned Jefferson Dancers touring the US, SMC’s contemporary dance ensemble Synapse Dance Theater, and was personally selected by world renowned West African Dance Master, Nzingha Camara, to join the company: Ballet Kouman Kele.
For fun Leah loves to dance, cook, swim and travel. Throughout her endeavors, she joyfully home schools her two young children. She has an eclectic mix of professional and performance experience and is very eager to share this passionate journey for many years to come.
Jessica H.
Lead Teacher
Jessica has worked within the field of education for close to 15 years. She began as a para educator at a therapeutic day school which encouraged her to earn her Bachelors in Elementary Education with a Special Education Endorsement.
Read More
Since welcoming her first child, she has focused her education efforts on understanding child development and specifically the importance of play in development. With her new understanding she created Outdoor Education classes that center around supporting families at play while offering nature related themes tied to mindfulness, yoga and SEL. Seeing the need for social emotional learning, Jessica decided to continue her education by earning a Masters Degree in SEL. This has allowed her to consult with families on an individual basis, working with parents to find creative ways to build on their strengths, restore family balance, find ways to play, and lean into joy. Jessica adores all things creative and opportunities to learn. She can often be found with her hands in the dirt or in a beautiful bread dough, after she’s washed them of course!
Natalie R.
Past Present Teacher
Natalie's love of history began when she was a child while listening to her grandfather talk about his time in the U.S. Navy during World War II. She went off to obtain her Bachelors degree in Secondary Education and her Masters degree in History at Stony Brook University.
Read More
Natalie has been teaching for over thirteen years in both Long Island, New York and New York City. She has taught an array of subjects including American history, European history, Art, and many more. She enjoys watching students come alive in the classroom and is committed to making a difference in the educational system.
While Natalie is not teaching, she enjoys both domestic and overseas travel, making and designing her own clothes, grappling with DIY projects, researching genealogy, and spending time with her husband and teenage son.
Medinah E.
Science Teacher
Medinah has been teaching middle and high school Science for 9 years in the public school sector. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a Minor and concentration in Secondary Education.
Read More
She received her Master’s Degree in Special Education. In 2020, she became fondly known as the "Science Teacher Mom" because of her exciting and compassionate help given to homeschooling parents and teachers to engage their learners, by delivering impactful STEM kits! Medinah’s passion is to guide the minds of these young scientists in each classroom by showing them that science can be fun, accessible, and interesting! If she’s not doing science activities with her sons, you can find her traveling the world, indulging in a good book or hanging out with her family!
Joahna T.
SEL Teacher
Joahna has been homeschooling her son since 2011. She has a wealth of teaching experiences including K-12 cross-curricular education, learners in exceptional student services, and college prep. She studied Psychology and received her Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia Arts with a certification in Special Education. She is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Education. She advocates for experiential learning and character development through education.
Jessica P.
Environmental Education
Coming Soon!
Colleen V.
Art Teacher
Colleen is extremely excited to guide the youth through the world of visual art, and offer any and all forms of support needed to take away as much as possible from the experiences she creates. She earned her undergraduate degree in Professional Photography at a small college in California, and holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts & Media from Columbia College, Chicago.
Read More
After her degrees were completed, she began to teach photography and visual art in a variety of venues, including art leagues and underserved schools on Chicago's South Side. Meanwhile, she and her husband opened a gallery space for two years, where they worked with commercial clients, independent filmmakers, community groups, college students, and international artists.
This is where she began teaching commercial art and art history at a local community college. Throughout her time there, she built a visual art business, which provides creative services such as photography and film to private, non-profit, and commercial clients. In addition, she is always producing fine artwork. Currently, she is an adjunct professor of Photography at Southern New Hampshire University. She also keeps a blog called, "Cookie Be Clickn'", where she features posts on art, social justice topics, parenting, and DIY crafts. Additionally, she has an ongoing online fundraiser for various children’s charities through her blog, called Cookie Be Givin'.
Nicole R.
Health Teacher
Nicole is a mom of 4 great kids. She is married to her High School Sweetheart of 17 years. She is a professionally licensed School Social Worker for the Illinois High School sector, as well as a Therapist. In her free time, she loves to dance, grow food in her garden, hike, and learn as much as possible about how our brains and bodies work.
Brenda B.
English Language Arts
Dr. Brenda B. has been actively involved in education for many years. As a college English Instructor and Learning Communities Program Coordinator, she has been positively impacting the lives of students for over 30 years. During this period, in addition to teaching, she became a Kellogg Fellow and was the recipient of leadership training across the United States. She also completed the requirements for Certification as a Developmental Education Specialist from the National Center for Developmental Education at Appalachian State University. Because of her passion for teaching and inspiring others, she has also tutored students for many years.
Read More
Dr. B. earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in Community College Leadership. Before that, she did graduate work in Speech Pathology and received her Master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina. She received her Bachelor’s degree in English /Speech from Fayetteville State University. Dr. B. loves writing, reading, spending time with her family, and listening to inspiring music. Since she also enjoys volunteering, mentoring, and working with students at all levels, she was very happy to join the teaching staff at Healing Roots Online School when invited to do so. She remains actively involved in the community and looks forward to new opportunities to be of service to others.
Kristine E.
Music Teacher
Kristine holds a Communication Arts degree, and has been a homeschooling mother for four years. Her homeschooling cooperative has set up events like musical performances and live plays, and these have brought joy and learning, and not merely to the children alone.
Read More
She informally taught a Music Together class in her area in 2019, which was a music exposure class for very little children. By having their parents “take the class” with them, sitting in, doing the motions and basically enjoying the experience with them. This experience is also usually their first time to use (percussive) instruments on their own. During the pandemic, the parents from the same classes contacted her to continue facilitating their kids’ learning at home, online.
Kristine was also a Kids’ Ministry teacher in her spiritual center, and loved every minute of it. Similar to a typical preschool, they would sing and dance as part of regular, engaging learning. Kristine loves beauty, and she wants to bring out the truth in every word. She hopes to show how to use words to bring out the full strength of a story. As a small-time business owner, she dreams of buying a truck to furnish her shop with beautiful things at will. She’s also slowly developing a love affair with algebraic expressions, hoping to finish them eventually. In the meantime, she cooks—hoping her children will love her latest "Aglio Olio!"
