Ma’at Lands & Jonathan Johnson

Ma’at Lands and Jonathan Johnson are developing Rooted School Indy, which will function as the second campus of Rooted Schools.

Rooted School Indy will utilized a model that seeks to address local talent gaps by partnering with companies to identify in-demand jobs and skills and supporting students in obtaining relevant credentials to obtain those jobs. Students will graduate from Rooted with work-based experience, certificates, a high school diploma, and a path to post-secondary education.

Ma’at Lands will serve as the founding school leader of Rooted School Indy. Born and raised on the east side of Indy, she is a graduate of North Central High School, Tennessee State University, and Marian University. She started her teaching career as a science teacher in Indianapolis Public Schools in 2007. After 5 years of teaching and leading as a Woodrow Wilson mentor and K-12 Fellow mentor, she transitioned to a career in non-profit serving as the Youth Director and then as an Assistant Director for Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center at Crooked Crook. She completed her Building Level Administrator Certification from Marian University and returned to work as a teacher and administrator in a public charter school in Indianapolis responsible for coaching and developing teachers, establishing foundations for successful classrooms, and providing data to inform the development of the schools’ strategic plan aligned with the school and network goals. She is currently completing her doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Jonathan Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Rooted School and was awarded The Mind Trust’s Charter School Design Challenge investment in 2016 to help bring the Rooted model to Indianapolis. Rooted School’s mission is to provide students with personal pathways to financial freedom while closing the achievement and wealth gaps.