Acton Academy | One-room schoolhouses for the 21st century. To avoid this, my kids have a badge they leave 90% completed so that if it were to happen they could get a badge and get out ASAP. You can email the founders, Jeff or Laura Sandefer, questions I reference below and see if they will disclose to you what they are doing with the data harvested from the use of the Acton Tracker, and why their framework is based on behavior theories designed to reward compliance through constant incentives. Because at Acton, the focus is not on quality or engagement. Our learner transition from public school. The school, an Acton Academy affiliate, was founded by Matthew Clayton, who studied under the late Clayton disruptive innovation Christensen, worked as an analyst for Goldman Sachs, and was recruited to help build the Acton Academy brand. promise is shockingly bold and full of agency. The global attraction has been the Acton belief that each person has a gift that can change the world in a profound way and a learning model focused on learning to learn, learning to do, and learning to be. They couldnt really explain how the freedom levels worked. They use a bucks system where students are paid essentially Monopoly money for doing good things. Guides encourage Acton learners to ask three big questions: Acton learners earn points for displaying focused effort. I write about innovative K-12 learning models. Knowledge is power. I soon realized Actons framework is in strict contradiction to self-directed learning. It's an innovative approach to education that celebrates personal responsibility, creative freedom, and the pursuit of one's life purpose. After spending a year at home, we found Acton Academy, which we feel so lucky to have . When Jessica Gregory and her husband moved from the Washington, D.C. area in 2020 to a suburban community north of Boston, they expected to find a school for their children that was similar in quality to the one they left behind. A 21 st century learner-driven school in Kuala Lumpur. We are a tightly knit community of life long learners who are finding a calling to change the world. We had regular parents nights, but we expected to be able to influence what was happening at the school and have an input, but instead it was the school training US on what WE should do as parents. This rewards those who learn well online. They are also tapping in to growing demand by parents for private schooling options. Ill put it simply: We cried the last day our kids went to school at Acton. A sibling discount will also be applied to families that have multiple children enrolled. Acton Academy admits learners and affiliates of any race, color, Please, The Forest School: An Acton Academy Reviews. We truly believe this, relative to all other educational options. The Acton where we moved to is in a TINY building that is absolutely PACKED with kids. Similarly, classes can sometimes vote another student out of the school if they are taking away from the experience (obviously, within limits). Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. My goal in this blog post is not to convince you to send your kids to an Acton, nor to avoid Acton. Whether it's launching a startup business, writing and directing a play . Heres a worksheetIll spend the next hour showing you precisely how to do it. There is not a moment in the day when bucks are not in jeopardy. Acton is a network of schools (around 80 listed on their site) based out of Austin, TX. The push for growth coupled with that for-profit nature are particularly a reason for pause. My junior year of college I decided to try to actually learn. Business Outlook. Were focused on teaching them about dangerous behavior, but not about making strict rules. I like that approach. It made a significant difference in our kids lives. As parents to 6 young children between our two families, we have been thinking about education a lot recently. Armed with purpose and good character, we believe our students will launch into adulthood prepared to find their calling and change the world. And at the end of a learning cycle, my elementary aged kids could present what they learned in meaningful ways. A book was written about the story of Acton by one of the founders if you want to get the really deep story. Thank you. Not only do our learners practice and learn the skill; but over time they will . We support every student to complete . The Acton model relies heavily on self-directed learning with a lot of peer feedbackolder students help younger students set and monitor goals. After reading, learners lead a Between the Lines literary critique. The ed-tech company closed all the schools after a few years and kept the tech product in creation. The guest post that follows was written by a mother of children who were enrolled with Acton Academy. Monthly installments of $750 on a twelve-month payment schedule are accepted. Which, by definition, means this is not a self-directed environment. He didnt think anything of it, but we were horrified when we found out he had taken a knife to school! About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . We have written about the average tuition cost at Acton, so check that out for more info. Schedule a Meeting. Real World Skills Self-Paced Learning Growing Character Is your family ready to reinvent education and embark on a fun and life-changing adventure? I write about the future of learning, work and human development. If they do not, they will lose a buck each week for not completing the minimum. I was told to trust them and that these systems were being used wisely. So they would sometimes be frustrated, but didnt feel that the teacher would help them to figure it out. In my quest to understand the best models nationally for potential use here in Kentucky in our public schools, I've come across Acton Academy. We're Joe, Emily, Katelyn and Michael and weve decided to do school differently for our children and other children in our community! The Jersey Village location serves ages 5-18 and operates Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. He is inspired every day by the guides and fellow heroes to find answers and then share out loud HOW he found those answers. Acton Academy Northwest Indianapolis. A limited liability company headquartered in St. George, Utah, an A++ location in Boise, Idaho (Heroes Academy), We have written about the average tuition cost at Acton, Acton is not a Christian school or a denominational school, My three kids attended an Acton Academy at different ages, We came to know two different Acton Academies in two different states, A family member went through the training to become an Acton owner and told us what things are like from the owner side, We have extensively studied Acton Academys teaching model and, of course, read the book. We are so pleased and confident it is a great fit! Issue Areas Include Education Location 3355 State Road 13, Saint Johns, FL 32259, United States Join Idealist Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy as to Students and Affiliates. Acton Academy Tyler's 2021-2022 school year will run from August 29th, 2022 to June 9th, 2022. With student led learning and self-pacing, my kids have been able to grow deeply in knowing themselves more, knowing how to work with a team of people different than themselves, receive constructive feedback and choose to become their best self. I pulled them out of school thinking that "okay" just wasn't what I wanted for them. However, we also learned that not all Acton Academy locations achieve the same high standards. When students are asked for their learning goals they are told the answer must be the number of lessons or minutes they will complete. Sal Khan is their teacher. The big difference between Acton and other networks like Summit or Big Picture is that Acton is focused on micro-schools and seems primarily designed only for smaller private or charter schools. Uphold Acton Academy's mission, family promises, and beliefs. Find out what works well at Acton Academy from the people who know best. They didnt like students always picking at each other. Now, if a student runs out of bucks they must go to an isolated room and work on core skills all day, for as many days as it takes to earn another hero buck by completing a badge. We would never have left if we werent moving. Its given our learner the ability to not only learn at her own pace but, holds them accountable for their learning. Mask-wearing has always been optional for all community members, with individual decision-making a key tenet of Acton Placers culture. HOW LONG IS ACTON ACADEMY IN SESSION THIS YEAR? Gather and share weekly customer satisfaction surveys to ensure we deliver on our promises to families. Public schools hold kids hands too much, but at Acton, we felt like there wasnt enough adult mentoring that could have helped our kids. As a private membership association that operates as a learning resource center, Acton Placer was unaffected by school closures and related pandemic policies. Acton students are told they have a minimum number of lessons to do online for math and ELA. Middle school quests might include diagnosing patients in a biology quest or designing a floor plan for a new school in an architecture quest. 2 - Launch in your home or a rented space. It is more of an "unschool" and thus scaling will be harder. At the Forest School my 13-year-old is not just learning, he's learning HOW to learn. At Acton Academy Placer, outside of Sacramento, founder Matt Beaudreau says the growth in his programs has been breathtaking. In addition to the academic progress charts that line each classroom, the health and effectiveness of the school community are monitored by survey. That robust promise has activated the Austin microschool for a decade. The cost effective model has the potential to deliver more powerful learning experiences than traditional private education. The Staff at The Forest School work with us to help make the transition seamless. Extra time off, low prep, awesome families, amazing kids, laid-back vibe, more freedom than traditional school (in many ways) Cons. Acton is a network of schools (around 80 listed on their site) based out of Austin, TX. For the past year and a half we have been homeschooling our children, which has been, and continues to be, a wonderful journey. Between the non-traditional learning styles, the administration, and the staff, the school is a breeding place for independent, aware, and prepared citizens of the world. This is a wonderful learning environment. The Wilder Schools Gregory thinks that the growing interest in private education stems from remote learning during school shutdowns that gave parents a close-up look at what their children were learning. Their "advisor", Jeff Sandefer, who founded the original Acton Academy, is a major Rick Perry donor.R. 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