The traditional education system exploits massive class sizes, privileges some students above others, fails to recognize unique needs in assessing skills and potential, and forces all students to conform to a single, testing-driven achievement model. ROSA students did not find success in this system. Casualties of a crowded operation that refuses to slow down, most fell behind in their studies and accrual of credits. For others, competing academically came at a steep psychological and sometimes physical price. It is heartbreaking, to see the most vulnerable students, a majority of whom hail from historically-underserved communities, get beaten down by a system that is as arbitrary in design as it is callus in practice. It is devastating to witness the result.

We had to respond…

The traditional education system demands conformity, a measure that represses creativity and so intrinsically limits learning potential.

Boasting small class sizes, the ROSA staff adapts to each individual student's cognitive, psychological, and social learning needs.

We teach the whole person.

The traditional system works to suppress the students’ personalities and experiences.

At ROSA, we facilitate the cultivation of distinct voices and points of view, encourage the telling of stories, and promote the sharing of culture, hopes, and dreams.

While our holistic learning approach is founded on inclusion, representation, and an assurance of physical and psychological safety, the Academic Program is established on the principle of empowering individuality. In a safe and welcoming space, one’s uniqueness becomes their greatest strength. In writing, this translates to style, in science, innovative inquiry - if properly nourished, originality develops into sharp observation and analysis, reasoning and perspective, philosophical insight, artistic vision…The list goes on.

Forcing a separation of life and scholarship incites unnecessary feelings of alienation and distress. At ROSA, learning is a self-discovery process, an experiential and experimental endeavor that treats trauma, boosts confidence, builds cognitive muscles, and develops skills that can be applied in the world. This methodology expands not just knowledge but also wisdom and personal insight.

Invigorating our students’ curiosity, courage, and compassion, we cover the MN State standards, achieve their benchmarks, and provide all the courses and credits required to graduate. More importantly, we help young adults to better understand themselves, make sense of their lives, and establish a worldview.

We help them find their voices and live their promise.

In all these facets, the ROSA Academic Model is aligned with the humanities standards practiced in higher education.

So, if you are being beaten down, told you are “a problem”, or feel invisible; if you get lost in the crowd, need small classes or direct instruction; if you become anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed in frenetic and competitive environments; if you are being stigmatized, bullied, or feel alienated by callous systems and social hierarchies; if you are targeted for your trauma and punished instead of supported; if systematic bias and the canonical colonial perspective trigger dissonance and righteous rage; if your ideas are shot down or your questions left unanswered; if your education feels like gaslighting; if your creativity is being hampered or your genius unrecognized; if your mental health and wellness, neurodivergence, or disability needs are left unaddressed; if your real-life struggles are unacknowledged or a needed work schedule unaccommodated for; if you are being misgendered, or confront racism, sexism, or classism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, or xenophobia; if your individuality is being suppressed, your passion stifled, or your talent unsupported; if you are ostracized for being different or feel like an outsider in any of these ways, come and check out ROSA.