Folsom's own: Kara Lofthouse named 2025 Person of the Year

Kara Lofthouse grew up in Folsom, went to school in Folsom and has spent the better part of her career pouring herself back into Folsom. Now, her hometown is returning the favor. Lofthouse, founder and director of Wild Roots Homeschool Enrichment Center and a trustee on the Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board, has been named the Folsom Telegraph's Best of the Best 2025 Person of the Year — an honor that recognizes her boundless energy, her creative approach to education and her deep roots in the community she loves. She holds a master's degree in education, but ask her about the work and she'll skip right past the credentials. "I was genuinely surprised and deeply humbled," she said, noting that Folsom is full of people doing meaningful, behind-the-scenes work. "To be recognized in this way felt less like a personal award and more like a reflection of the community that has supported me, trusted me and walked alongside me." Her daughter, for the record, was not surprised in the slightest. Growing up wild Lofthouse is a Folsom High School alumna, and she'll tell you the city shaped her long before she started shaping it back. The educators, coaches and mentors she encountered as a young person left a mark — planting seeds, she says, for a philosophy that has guided everything since. "Growing up in Folsom gave me a strong sense of belonging and responsibility to community," she said. "Those experiences showed me firsthand the impact that caring adults can have on a young person's confidence and direction." That philosophy — education as something human, relational and rooted in the whole child, not just academics — is the throughline connecting every corner of her work today. The Wild Roots way Walk onto the Wild Roots campus on any given day and you're likely to find kids doing something that looks a lot more like living than like sitting in rows. The homeschool enrichment center, which has been voted Best Summer Camp in Folsom, is built around hands-on, interdisciplinary learning that weaves together art, math, science, history and time outdoors — and, Lofthouse will be the first to admit, a fair amount of glorious mess. "Our programs are intentionally designed to help kids feel seen and capable while celebrating their childhood," she said. "Families tell us their children come home energized, confident and excited to return — and that sense of belonging is at the heart of everything we do." Wild Roots was born out of a gap Lofthouse kept seeing: families who wanted something more flexible, more meaningful and more aligned with how their children actually learn. She wanted to build a place that was academically rigorous and genuinely nurturing — one that did not force kids to choose between excellence and joy. She thinks she has found it. So do a lot of Folsom families. A moment that says it all Ask Lofthouse for a moment that captures why the work matters, and she does not reach for a big public win. She goes quiet for a second, then tells a story about spring break. One of Wild Roots' nonverbal students arrived back at the center after the break, walked into the yard — and knelt down and kissed the ground. "No words were needed," she said. "Those moments are reminders that education isn't just about outcomes. It's about dignity, confidence and hope." Two roles, one mission Lofthouse juggles her work at Wild Roots with a seat on the Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board — two roles that might seem like a lot, but that she sees as drawing from the same well. She is deliberate about transparency and ethics where the two intersect, and insists the combination makes her better at both. "Serving on the school board keeps me grounded in the broader public education landscape," she said. "Running Wild Roots allows me to innovate and respond directly to families' needs in a way that is both research-affirmed and sparks curiosity." From the board, she says the most pressing priorities for Folsom students right now are mental health, safety and belonging — and systems flexible enough to respond to how children's needs are evolving, far beyond the one-size-fits-all models of the past. Looking ahead For all the recognition this year has brought, Lofthouse's eyes are firmly on what comes next. She wants to see Folsom expand experiential learning, deepen community partnerships and keep building programs that treat education not as a conveyor belt to adulthood but as a meaningful part of childhood itself. "My hope is that Folsom continues to lead with innovation and heart," she said. "Ultimately, I hope we remain a community that values education not just as preparation for life but as a meaningful part of living it." For a woman who grew up here, built something remarkable here and shows no signs of slowing down, that future sounds a lot like the present — just bigger. wildrootslearningcenter.com