The Roots To Rise Academy is a structured leadership development program designed to serve middle and high school students, adults, returning citizens, and emerging community leaders in underserved urban communities. It addresses root causes of violence, instability, and limited opportunity through mentorship, economic empowerment, leadership development, and trauma-informed care.

The program uses a sequenced curriculum with a consistent nine-part session rhythm, baseline assessments, documented observations, midpoint reviews, and final evaluations. This approach fosters repeated practice and sustained shifts in mindset, emotional regulation, accountability, and leadership behavior over time.

Organizations can either participate in the Train-the-Staff program to have their own staff trained and certified to facilitate the Roots To Rise curriculum or they can contract The Sankofa Center to provide trained facilitators who lead the program directly within their school or community setting.

The Academy integrates trauma-informed care by recognizing how adversity impacts behavior while maintaining dignity, structure, and accountability. Sessions include emotional regulation techniques and culturally affirming practices that support healing and resilience.

The facilitator is the primary tool in delivering the program content effectively. Facilitators are rigorously trained and certified to deliver the curriculum in a trauma-informed, culturally grounded manner, ensuring fidelity and maximizing positive participant outcomes.

Yes, the Roots To Rise Academy is designed to complement existing crisis response, counseling, restorative practices, and safety initiatives rather than replace them. It focuses on long-term personal development to reduce future crises.

Cohorts typically run for 12 weeks, with flexibility for 8 to 12 week cycles. Weekly sessions last between 90 to 120 minutes and follow a consistent structure to support participant growth.

The organization offers workshops on identity development, emotional regulation, community responsibility, leadership capacity, economic empowerment, and trauma-informed care, designed to support personal and community transformation.

Yes, economic empowerment is one of the four integrated pillars of the M.E.L.T. Framework. Workshops and curriculum components connect participants' present choices to future opportunities through financial literacy and work readiness.

The Sankofa Center was founded in 2024 by Richard Hermitt, a practitioner with extensive experience in community violence intervention, leadership training, and collaboration with community organizations and public agencies.

The program is grounded in ancestral wisdom and cultural legacy, using a culturally affirming Rites of Passage framework. It fosters cultural pride, belonging, and dignity, particularly for Black and Brown youth and adults.

The Train-the-Staff program equips school or community staff with the skills and certification to deliver the Roots To Rise curriculum with fidelity, enabling sustainable program delivery and embedding a culture of development within the institution.

Success is measured by developmental changes such as improved mindset, emotional regulation, accountability, conflict resolution, and leadership behavior, as well as school and community indicators like attendance, engagement, disciplinary referrals, conflicts, and leadership participation.

The Sankofa Center is based in New York City and primarily serves underserved urban communities within this area.

Organizations can initiate partnerships by contacting The Sankofa Center through their website or contact form to discuss program needs, scope, and implementation plans. Clear partnership protocols guide roles, data sharing, and confidentiality.

Yes, the Roots To Rise Academy typically organizes gender-responsive groups to provide safe and supportive environments tailored to participants' needs.

The M.E.L.T. Framework integrates Mentorship, Economic Empowerment, Leadership Development, and Trauma-Informed Care as the foundational pillars of the Roots To Rise Academy's curriculum and approach.

The Sankofa Center emphasizes sustained development through mentorship and leadership opportunities, encouraging participants to apply learned skills in their communities and continue growth beyond the program.