Are You Ready for a Change?
New members are being accepted into all of our programs, throughout the year.
With two facilities in the North Country, Deep Root Center offers an alternative to school for young people ages 5-19. We are here to support you, as an individual, moving forward, in a unique direction, to follow your interests and goals, at a pace that is right for you. Our main goal is to encourage our student members to rediscover and embrace their natural playfulness, curiosity, and creativity; and, in the process, rekindle their love of learning and belief in themselves. DRC trusts that all young people are capable of self-regulation and that they will make good choices when offered the opportunity.
DRC is Not a School
At Deep Root Center (DRC), we believe that all young people deserve a safe educational environment where they feel like they are part of a community - and where they are free to explore all the possibilities. Learning can only happen when kids intuitively understand that they are secure, accepted, and trusted to make decisions, make mistakes, and explore all their interests to achieve their ever-evolving aspirations.
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Your kid isn't into school. But you know they would thrive in the right environment. We trust that each child will lead the way in working together to create that environment from scratch. All topics and formats are on the table. Everything is possible.
Young People Who Choose Deep Root Center:
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DRC Culture of Trust and Respect
Everyone is welcome and celebrated at Deep Root Center as a unique individual. Our policy of radical inclusivity gives us the freedom to accept, support, respect, and trust every young person on their learning journey.
Programs & Services
Collage by Kenzie Corse
In-Person Membership
Now with two locations in St Lawrence County - Deep Root Center-Canton and Deep Root Center-East, we serve children between ages 5-19. Every student member has full access to DRC facilities, programs (including the Seedlings program for ages 5-10), resources, tools and equipment, learning plan development, as well as a mentoring relationship with our caring supportive staff and community.
Seedlings
Deep Root Center provides a safe, non-coercive environment where each young child's innate love of learning, natural curiosity, and unique way of looking at the world is celebrated and nurtured and is what guides their specific learning plan.
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The Seedlings Program is designed for ages 5-10
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This service is for students who want to pursue homeschooling on their own and need help with NYS homeschool documentation (IHIP, Quarterly Reports, etc), resources, as well as building official transcripts. The DRC Executive Director will schedule consultation appointments to help families navigate the process.
The DRC-Canton Summer Program the last three weeks of August is designed to offer opportunities for hands-on exploration, creativity, and fun that children crave. DRC provides a space filled with resources and materials where kids are encouraged to explore their interests freely.
Fees
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In-Person Membership Fees
Deep Root Center does not refuse any child based on their family financial situations; we promise to work with every child who wants to join us.
Full fee at DRC-Canton and DRC-East, both four day a week programs, is $5490.00 a year per child or $610.00 a month, over 9 months. However, only some families pay full fee. Each family tells us what they can afford. An amount no lower than the minimum fee set at each of the Centers. Get in touch to learn more. |
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Meet our Staff:
Executive Director & Founder
Maria Corse (pronouns: she/her) is a seasoned facilitator, mentor, and self-directed educational consultant with twenty years of experience in alternative educational settings. Determined to provide a safe, non-coercive, self-directed learning option in Northern New York where young people can freely choose their own unique paths, Maria founded Deep Root Center in January 2014.
Maria firmly believes that learning is an individual pursuit - driven by curiosity, interests, and aspirations. And, within that, education is a collaboration, which includes a supportive community, mentor-ship, mutual respect, trust, deep conversations, questions, hands-on experimentation, and playfulness.
Born and raised in Northern New York, Maria left for twelve years. In that time, she earned a Fashion Design degree from Cazenovia College, worked as a nanny and then in retail (managing a cookware store) in the greater Boston area, moved to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and married her husband, Mike, (also from the NoCo) in Denver. They returned home in 1995 to raise their two children. She went back to college when her kids were young and earned a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from SUNY Potsdam in 2003. She also received her certification in mental health first aid in August of 2020.
A writer, Maria, produces a weekly blog post for Deep Root Center that includes an original creative mediation haiku . She has also written two children's chapter books - both of which have been self-published through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
Maria is also the lead staff person at DRC-Canton and is at DRC-East on occasional Wednesdays to support the DRC- East staff.
Maria firmly believes that learning is an individual pursuit - driven by curiosity, interests, and aspirations. And, within that, education is a collaboration, which includes a supportive community, mentor-ship, mutual respect, trust, deep conversations, questions, hands-on experimentation, and playfulness.
Born and raised in Northern New York, Maria left for twelve years. In that time, she earned a Fashion Design degree from Cazenovia College, worked as a nanny and then in retail (managing a cookware store) in the greater Boston area, moved to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and married her husband, Mike, (also from the NoCo) in Denver. They returned home in 1995 to raise their two children. She went back to college when her kids were young and earned a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from SUNY Potsdam in 2003. She also received her certification in mental health first aid in August of 2020.
A writer, Maria, produces a weekly blog post for Deep Root Center that includes an original creative mediation haiku . She has also written two children's chapter books - both of which have been self-published through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
Maria is also the lead staff person at DRC-Canton and is at DRC-East on occasional Wednesdays to support the DRC- East staff.
Canton Staff
Elian Erickson (pronouns: he/him) is originally from Iowa, and went to school in Delaware. He came up to Canton to go to college. School hasn’t turned out to be for him so while he was pursuing his degree in Early Childhood Education, he decided to leave and finish his teaching assistant certificate on his own.
In his free time, Elian likes to embroider, paint, and write creative non-fiction. He has also been playing guitar since he was 8. He volunteers sometimes at various places around Potsdam. He has Finn, his sidekick, who takes the form of a white, wiry-haired terrier with an overbite. Mabel, a standard size brindle poodle service dog joined their household in the Spring of 2022.
Like Steve Miller’s “The Joker,” Elian has a lot of jobs. He reviews off-brand Fruit Loops on Facebook, he’s a pet dad, a volunteer, a writer, an artist, a guitarist, an embroiderer, and he bakes mean gluten-free, sugar-free cookies. He now works at Deep Root, which he can add to his long list of things that excite him.
In his free time, Elian likes to embroider, paint, and write creative non-fiction. He has also been playing guitar since he was 8. He volunteers sometimes at various places around Potsdam. He has Finn, his sidekick, who takes the form of a white, wiry-haired terrier with an overbite. Mabel, a standard size brindle poodle service dog joined their household in the Spring of 2022.
Like Steve Miller’s “The Joker,” Elian has a lot of jobs. He reviews off-brand Fruit Loops on Facebook, he’s a pet dad, a volunteer, a writer, an artist, a guitarist, an embroiderer, and he bakes mean gluten-free, sugar-free cookies. He now works at Deep Root, which he can add to his long list of things that excite him.
DRC-East Lead Staff & Mentor
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Karen Gagne (pronouns she/her) first joined the DRC board in 2014, and from that moment, she has been our most vocal and passionate supporter. In 2017, she left academia after over twenty-five of teaching, mentoring, and advising young people to move home to Vermont. Nonetheless, even after moving out of state, Karen maintained her head cheer-leading role from a distance.
Karen comes to us with a BA in Social Science (from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA - the school both of my children attended), a MA, and a PhD in Sociology (from SUNY Binghamton), along with a plethora of experience working with youth of all ages. |
However, when I asked her personal reference to tell me why Karen is the right choice to lead DRC-East, she immediately began to list Karen's nonacademic attributes leading with her extraordinary levels of compassion and empathy.
Karen is super happy to move back to the NoCo with her dog, Trader (who came from the Potsdam Humane Society), after being away for five years. She is looking forward to meeting all the East Peeps and taking a deep dive into everything they are excited about exploring.
Karen is super happy to move back to the NoCo with her dog, Trader (who came from the Potsdam Humane Society), after being away for five years. She is looking forward to meeting all the East Peeps and taking a deep dive into everything they are excited about exploring.
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DRC-East Apprentice
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Ashlyn Tilden finished her high school career in November '22 after being a student member at DRC-East. She has been an integral part of our East crew since September 2020. We are excited to welcome her as our apprentice, and have the privilege of watching her transition into adulthood. She will spend her days facilitating activities and projects, and generally supporting the Seedlings.
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Meet Our Board of Directors:
Abigail Remington - Board President - Abby is a NoCo native, who lives in Parishville. She joined the Board this summer. Stay tuned for her bio.
Kara McLuckie- Board Secretary - Kara is a veteran DRC Board member. She has been with us since 2014.
Kara exemplifies some of the best traits of her Capricorn birth sign: She is patient, disciplined, humorous and reserved. These characteristics come in handy in her role as Secretary of the DRC Board of Directors. Free time usually inspires Kara to read, garden, play with dogs, ride a bicycle long distances, and call people out on subtly racist or homophobic rhetoric on Facebook. For the future, Kara would like to prepare meals in batches for convenience, make gallons of salsa with homegrown tomatoes and hot peppers, be early for appointments, resume teaching writing, and run a Half-Ironman triathlon before she turns 43. Kara also occasionally works with a Nigerian non-profit organization on sexual and reproductive health education for adolescents living with HIV.
Kara exemplifies some of the best traits of her Capricorn birth sign: She is patient, disciplined, humorous and reserved. These characteristics come in handy in her role as Secretary of the DRC Board of Directors. Free time usually inspires Kara to read, garden, play with dogs, ride a bicycle long distances, and call people out on subtly racist or homophobic rhetoric on Facebook. For the future, Kara would like to prepare meals in batches for convenience, make gallons of salsa with homegrown tomatoes and hot peppers, be early for appointments, resume teaching writing, and run a Half-Ironman triathlon before she turns 43. Kara also occasionally works with a Nigerian non-profit organization on sexual and reproductive health education for adolescents living with HIV.
Candace Cowser, is another DRC Veteran Board Member - joining in 2014.
Candace is a local entrepreneur who grew up in the Syracuse area and moved to Canton in 1994. She opened her hair salon, Shapes and Colors by Candace, in 1997. She is the eldest of nine children, eight girls and one boy, and was homeschooled from 7th - 12th grade. She taught for a major hair product manufacturer for seven years. Those who know her would not be surprised to learn Candace is a skydiver. She currently lives in Canton with her two sons, an outdoor enthusiast and a fifteen year old chef, who prefers to cook sans shirt and shoes.
Candace is a local entrepreneur who grew up in the Syracuse area and moved to Canton in 1994. She opened her hair salon, Shapes and Colors by Candace, in 1997. She is the eldest of nine children, eight girls and one boy, and was homeschooled from 7th - 12th grade. She taught for a major hair product manufacturer for seven years. Those who know her would not be surprised to learn Candace is a skydiver. She currently lives in Canton with her two sons, an outdoor enthusiast and a fifteen year old chef, who prefers to cook sans shirt and shoes.
James Nobles, of West Stockholm recently joined the DRC Board. Stay tuned for his bio.
