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WHAT GRADES DO YOU OFFER?

We serve kindergarten through 5th grade starting fall 2018 and plan to expand the grades organically.

IS THE ACTON ACADEMY A MONTESSORI SCHOOL?

We respect and incorporate Maria Montessori’s philosophy but, we are not a Montessori school. We also use the latest interactive technologies, hands on projects and the Socratic Method for discussions.

HOW LONG IS ACTON ACADEMY IN SESSION EACH YEAR?

We operate on an eleven month calendar, but our flexible program allows families to travel together during the year, without sacrificing any learning.

IS ACTON A RELIGIOUS SCHOOL?

While we expose children to the importance of mindful spirituality.  We do not promote any one religion.

WHO WAS LORD ACTON?

Lord John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton (1834-1902) was a Victorian scholar of Freedom who saw liberty not as a license, but as the freedom to do what was right. He was suspicious of power for the sake of power, which led to his most famous quote: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” At the Acton Academy, we celebrate his defense of economic, political and religious freedom.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A HERO’S JOURNEY?

We believe that each of us has a special calling in life, and a series of trials and tests that must be faced with integrity and purpose, in order to live a satisfying and fulfilled life. Our mission is to prepare your child for his or her special journey.

WHAT IS AN “INDEPENDENT LEARNER”?

Someone who can research questions, follow instructions, solve problems—admit that they don’t know something and figure out a solution when they hit a roadblock without asking an adult for help — participate in discussions, and strive for mastery.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A “RUNNING PARTNER”?

Running Partners are classmates who meet together regularly to set goals and hold each other accountable for meeting those goals. Running Partners encourage and inspire each other by asking good questions, listening and providing affirmation.

WILL CHILDREN BE GROUPED INTO GRADES?

We believe that children learn best when working with children younger and older than themselves rather than split up into groups based solely on age. In addition to individualized curriculum, all ages of students work together in groups.

DOES ACTON SERVE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN?

We are not trained to serve children with serious learning disabilities but have been able to serve young heroes with dyslexia if they receive special training.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “EVERY CHILD CAN CHANGE THE WORLD”?

We believe each of our students will find a passion — something they love and have a gift to do. They will use this gift to serve others and fulfill a need they are passionate about in the world. This may be by becoming a shoe-shiner who tells stories and makes people’s day just by doing his job with love and vigor; it may be by becoming a coach who sees the light in a child’s eyes and guides her to pursue a dream; it may be by becoming a father or mother who leads a family on a Hero’s Journey; it may be becoming an entrepreneur or business leader guided by compassion and integrity; or it may be by becoming an artist or writer who brings beauty to people’s lives.

WHY DO YOU FOCUS ON TEACHING THE “AMERICAN EXPERIMENT”?

We believe in liberty and justice and the ideals of the American revolution as the cornerstones of civilization. In addition to experiential learning, we will study the American documents and the true meaning behind them, as we examine other cultures and forms of government.

IS ACTION ACADEMY ACCREDITED?

Yes the school is accredited through the International Association of Learner Driven Schools.

HOW DOES ACTON ENSURE A HIGH QUALITY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

Deep at the core of Acton Academy is our commitment to serving customers and receiving transparent feedback. Because of this, we ask families to participate in a bi weekly Customer Satisfaction Survey, where we ask them to rate us 1-5 on how well we accomplished our promises. We then share the results with the community. These surveys are our most important metric to measure the success of the learning community.

WILL ACTON ACADEMY PREPARE MY CHILD FOR COLLEGE?

Our promise at Acton Academy is to have students well prepared for any selective university where they can score high enough on a standardized test to gain admittance. Universities are changing so rapidly that it’s difficult to imagine what a college education will look like in ten years. Unfortunately, many colleges still place a great deal of importance on standardized tests, which are little more than IQ tests, and are simple to improve on once you understand basic test taking tricks. Once your student gets over the test taking barrier at the university of their choice, their portfolio and critical thinking skills will be a big boost during the application and interviewing process. Most importantly, students be well prepared to shine in the real world, whether they choose to go to college full time, part time or not at all.