Roots School Annual Report 2023-2024

Annual Report 2023-2024

A Message From Our Head of School Aloha!

The 2023/2024 school year at Roots was filled with a great many accomplishments! We started the school year celebrating the success of our $1 million Growing Roots Capital Campaign and the completion of renovations of our entire school building.

We were also grateful to have received a Maui Strong Fund grant from the Hawai`i Community Foundation, which allowed us to create a learning resource center for keiki in Lahaina who were affected by the wildfires. In partnership with the Hawai`i Wildlife Discovery Center, we were able to provide educational services for over 3,000 Lahaina keiki and their families.

We continued to expand our Performing Arts Program, with three amazing student performances — The Iron Forest, Roots of Poetry, and For Neverland’s Sake.

And thanks to the support of our wonderful parents, families, donors and friends, we had an amazingly successful Children’s Fair, raising over $29,000 for our Tuition Aid Program.

All of this we could not do without you! I am humbled by the amount of growth our little school has accomplished this year, we are forever grateful for all of you. Together, our future is bright!

Melita Charan

Head of School

Operating Revenue 9/1/2023 - 8/31/2024

Operating Expenses 9/1/2023 - 8/31/2024

Mahalo to Our Generous Donors!

1/1/2023 — 8/31/2024 $100,000 and Above Anonymous Hawai`i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund Nuestro Futuro Foundation $25,000 Samuel N. & Mary Castle Foundation $15,000 - $20,000 Atherton Family Foundation Healy Foundation $10,000 Central Pacific Bank Foundation $3,000 - $5,000 Bank of Hawaii Foundation Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation G.N. Wilcox Trust PATCH $500 - $1,000 Aloha Self Storage Lahaina Flatbread Co. Paia Kokua Hawaii Foundation Erin Lowenthal Pediatric Therapies Hawaii LLC Project Lead The Way Puberty Plus with Ms. Nancy $100 - $250 All Maui Trucking Melita & Gabe Charan Aubrey & Josh Feyen Matthew & Amy Hendricks Anna Higa Lowenthal & Lowenthal Maui Oil Company, Inc. George M. Martin, MD, Inc. Brittany MacNealy & Robert Gonzales Cait Mates & Chris Shuler Carlayna Nakamura Nicole Neumann Heather Nova Piikea Kids ChildCare, Aunty Maile Warren & Roda Roberts Doris Saki Ty & Kaia Udell Lisa Varde

In-Kind Airbrush by Nicole Alexander Academy of Performing Arts Anonymous Aubrey Joy Photography Bishop Museum Bounty Music Cafe O'Lei Restaurants Champs Pediatrics The Charcuterie Plus Bar Maui Choice Health Bar Cirque Jolie Dazey Drive In Deep Relief/Peak Performance The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course Driftwood Maui Jubilee Ellison Faer Crafts Maui Flatbread Co. Paia Four Seasons Resort Maui Chelleigh Gambino Gaucha Leather Hailey & Mama Hale Aloha Designs Haliimaile General Store Hawaii Sea Spirits Dotty Higa Hi-Tech Surf Sports Ho`okipa Surf Co. Holoholo Surf Ho'omana Spa Maui Hot Island Glass Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center `Io Farms Maui Island Power Yoga Island Soap Co. Jim Lynch Art Johnson Brothers of Hawaii Josh Feyen Real Estate Joy of Recycling Christine Kauhaahaa Kids Parties Maui (In-Kind Donors continued on back) $1- $99 John & Adrienne Englert Maui 5K Ines Murtinho Sonia Niess & Sam Young Danny Owen & Genie Calagna Cachia & Scott Parks The Rothman Family Elysia Semmerling

Mahalo to our Children’s Fair Sponsors:

In-Kind Donors (Cont.)

Kona Country Club Kulua Kupono Music Studio Lappert's Hawaii Lilikoi Mobile Massage Mahina Makawao Garden Cafe Marmac Ace Hardware Maui Arts & Cultural Center Maui Bees Honey Maui Cyclery Maui Divers Jewelry Maui Eco Retreat Maui Golf & Sports Park The Maui Cookie Lady Maui Kids Acupuncture Maui Nui Golf Club Maui Ocean Center Maui On Stage Maui Town Car Mele Ukulele Moonbow Tropics Carlayna Nakamura North Shore Lookout Oliver & Co. Oshan Essentials Pacific Whale Foundation Paia Inn Petite Soleil Maui The Pint and Cork Pixie Lane Polli's Rainbow Acres Cactus & Succulent Nursery Hillary Richards Rise Studio Maui Dr. Sarah Rothman Royal Kona Resort Sacred Owl Healing Salty Daze USVI Charters Sarah Voyer Art Jana & Nelson Saribay Sea Life Park Secondhand Heaven Stay STJ/Down Yonder Villa TBM Creations Veg Out Wailea Golf Club Wailuku Coffee Co. Wet N Wild Hawaii We have made a sincere effort to accurately list all donors. Please let us know if we have inadvertently made an error. Mahalo!

Administration: Melita Charan, Head of School Cait Mates, Director of Admissions & Administration Lisa Varde, CFRE, Director of Development

2023/2024 Faculty: Lilly Richards, Preschool Lead Teacher Julie Duran, Preschool Assistant Alysha Asue, K-1 Lead Teacher Lauren Gutierrez, 2-3 Lead Teacher Heather Grossman, 2-3 Assistant Kendra Bitzig, 4-6 Lead Teacher Cathy Jamison, 4-6 Assistant Heather Benton, Cultural Connections Teacher Genie Calagna, Performing Arts Specialist Akari Ueoka, Japanese Teacher New staff as of Fall 2024: Karen Guzman Bolanos, Bianca Santillan

2023/2024 Board of Directors: Maile Davis, President Carlayna Nakamura, Secretary Nancy Findeisen, Assistant Secretary Erin Lowenthal, Member Doris Saki, Member New member as of Fall 2024: Carter Barto

Roots School * 740 Haiku Road * Haiku, HI 96708 www.rootsmaui.org * (808) 250-7988 Follow us on social media: @rootsmaui