Rural Roots Academy now accredited school in St. Paul, expanding services

A new place for students to learn in St. Paul is now fully accredited as an independent school in Alberta. 

Rural Roots Academy announced last week that for the upcoming school year, they are now able to provide more education resources for families looking for flexible learning options for their kids. 

Beginning since last July, the tutoring service has grown, and looks to expand into Bonnyville in the coming months as well. 

“We meet you where you are, as far as education goes,” says Laura Sloan, who launched Rural Roots.  

She has experience as a teacher in the region, educating for 15 years in St. Paul and Mallaig. 

“Our big model, we’ve said from the get-go, is fun and flexible education. It’s those kids and those families that don’t want to be in a school all day long, but value education. We have Alberta approved curriculum delivery, and it’s teacher-led, so it’s delivered by certified teachers.” 

Offering programs and curriculum from elementary school to high school, Rural Roots has seen students from across the County of St. Paul and beyond. 

Sloan explained that the courses are pre-loaded online, so students can access the materials and work at their own pace. 

But if a classroom or teacher-led environment is desired, that can be done as well, as well as virtual supports.  

“We have this hub for community days, field trips, hands on, learning days, as well as support. If you’re struggling through a unit or a lesson, come here and we can help you and sit with you.” 

With the announcement last Monday, local officials took part in the good news for the community, with representatives from the Town and County of St. Paul. 

“I couldn’t be more excited. I think in rural Alberta, sometimes we’re missing lots of services and such, and then we have people like this come forward,” said Reeve Glen Ockerman. 

“It’s not that one size fits all, and people are recognizing it,” he said about how students learn. 

“I could see nothing but success coming out of this.”

This summer, beginning in July, Rural Roots Academy and Aligned Intervention Services are teaming up to provide services in Bonnyville.

More details are to come, as currently Aligned provides speech therapy, occupational therapy and behaviour intervention.

It’s all in hopes to meet people and their education needs where they are.

“I spent a lot of time inside a classroom, and I saw families and kids and the world changing, especially those COVID years, really opened that up for us. Then as a mom, I see the needs of my own kids and what we can do for them. The idea is to just give families what they want, and not everyone wants to be in a building for six-and-a-half hours a day,” said Sloan.

“There’s nothing wrong with it if you do and if that’s where you learn best. But if you are able to be a little flexible, if your family travels a lot or does shift work, or maybe you’re a farm family that gets a lot of work done and can do a lot of school work in the winter…that these options are here for you.”