Spotlight On
Missouri
Since launching in 2018 in just a handful of schools, rootEd has now reached more than 50,000 students across Missouri. In 2025, Governor Kehoe, who has made rootEd a state priority, signed $3.5 million into the budget to expand the program to over 170 rural high schools, reaching nearly half of Missouri’s rural high schools.
rootEd Missouri is a public-private partnership between rootEd, Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and Ozarks Technical Community College.
"Missouri’s rural communities are a critical part of our state’s talent pipeline. rootEd Missouri helps connect students in rural school districts to education and training opportunities so they can contribute to Missouri’s workforce."
— Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe
rootEd Missouri In Action
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Ozarks Tech is a public community college in Springfield, MO with a mission to promote student learning through accessible, high-quality, affordable workforce training and technical and general education that is responsive to the educational needs of the community and its diverse constituencies
“By 2028, an estimated 65 percent of Missouri’s jobs will require some level of postsecondary training or education, but only 47 percent of the state’s working age population currently has any postsecondary credential. Community colleges play a valuable role in narrowing this gap, particularly for rural students. We’re thrilled to continue to partner with rootEd Alliance to help students realize their potential.”
— Dr. Hal Higdon, Chancellor, Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC)
Our Missouri Partner
"Thank you to rootEd for giving my rootEd advisor Arie the opportunity to guide us in this monumental point in our lives. She listened, she shared her knowledge, and helped us find a way to pursue our dreams."
— Lacey, Hollister High School, Class of 2022