Acton Academy – The basics

The purpose of this post is to give a general overview of and explanation about Acton Academy, in order to provide the broader picture before you dig in the detailed posts.

Acton Academy is a network of private schools (as of September 2018 there are over 100 Acton Academies all over the world). The first Acton school was established nine years ago in Austin, Texas, by Laura and Jeff Sandfer. Acton Academy defines itself as a system of “one-room schoolhouses for the 21st century”.This description pays tribute to schools commonly found in rural areas in the 19th century, where students of all ages and grade levels gathered in one room and studied together

Here are the most important things to know about the Acton Academy network of schools:

  1. The Acton Academy mission is to inspire each child and parent who enters Acton’s doors to find a calling that will change the world.
  2. Acton’s purpose is not to teach knowledge to children, but to have them learn how to be, how to do, and howto learn.
  3. The classes in Acton schools are multi-aged. All elementary school students study together (kindergarten – 6th grade),all middle school students study together (7th grade– 9th grade), and all high school students study together (10th grade– 12th grade).
  4. Each school has a different number of students enrolled, ranging from six to dozens. I work at a new Acton school that was established in Verona, New Jersey a year ago and it currently has six students. Therefore, all my posts that describe everyday school life relate to my experience in this school. All the methods described in the blog are very similar to the other schools in the network, however, despite the size of their enrollment.
  5. The space where children learn is referred to as a studio, not a classroom. The studio of an Acton Academy is pleasant and inviting, and usually designed in the spirit of Montessori education.
  6. The students of Acton are called “Eagles”.
  7. There are no teachers in Acton, there are guides. This is not a semantic change but an essential statement: The purpose of the adults in Acton is to guide the Eagles, not to teach them. In fact, one of the rules that is set on the first day of school is that guides are not allowed to answer the Eagles’ questions. Instead, the Eagles are guided to ask each other or explore and investigate their questions themselves in search for an answer.”
  8. The daily schedule is usually divided into two main periods: two and a half hours dedicated to core skills (math, reading, and writing), and two and a half hours dedicated to quests (project-based learning).
  9. The Eagles learn the core skills independently, at their own pace, using advanced online platforms like Khan Academy, Dreambox, Lexia.
  10. Quests are hands-on projects that enable the Eagles to master the tools and skills needed to solve real-world problems. Quests are one of the Acton experiences that prepare Eagles for their internships in middle school and beyond.
  11. The intention of Acton is to enable the Eagles to operate in the studio independently, without the help of an adult as much as possible. At the beginning of each year, the children create [a contract in which they formulate the rules of behavior for the studio and act accordingly during the year.
  12. In each subject of learning, the Eagles define their personal goals and reflect daily on their progress in meeting those goals. Weekly overall progress reviews are also conducted by the Eagles to monitor their own learning and growth.”
  13. During middle school and high school, the Eagles take part in real-world apprenticeships. The Eagles go through the entire process of drafting a résumé, submitting it, interviewing, and working in an actual position as part of the curriculum[.

Laura, one of the founders of the Acton Academy network, wrote a fascinating book (Courage to Grow) about the history of Acton and its establishment process.  I strongly recommend it. 

This was an introduction to Acton’s world. I hope it gave you some basic information and insight into the Acton system of schools. I invite you to ask any questions you may still have by emailing me at michal2904@gmail.com. Thank you for joining my journey!