By ADAM ATKINSON

North Country Now

CANTON -- Youngsters and staff are moved in and getting settled at the new Deep Root Center for Self Directed Learning at 48 Riverside Drive.

The center relocated from an upper level store front space on Main Street after getting their certificate of occupancy for the new-to-them building on Riverside last week.

The center’s executive director, Maria Corse, said Thursday that the staff was still getting settled in the new space. The house at 48 Riverside Drive was formerly student housing, and while the square footage is about the same at 1400 square feet as their previous space, the diversity of the rooms offer more programming options for the center. And, some much needed outdoor areas.

Corse said the interior of the building needed a good cleaning, but not much renovation was required. The roof however is need of replacement, she said, and will have to be addressed in the future.

The center will host a house warming party for all of the people and agencies who helped with volunteer hours and donations. The party is slated for Thursday, Dec. 6, from 4-7 p.m.

Deep Root provides individual educational services to children from 5 to 19 who may not be fitting in at school, or those who are not thriving under the traditional government school model.

Tuition to the center is $5,130 annually or $570 monthly which covers a fall and spring semester. However, Deep Root does not refuse any children based solely on their family financial situations. Scholarships are available and the center works with every family requiring its services.

While Deep Root is a small non-profit, it supplies up to $70,000 in scholarships to students to help defray the tuition costs.

The center is launching a financial funding drive to help defray tuition costs for its students. Visit http://www.deeprootcenter.org/funding-appeal-2018.html for details.