A 21 st century learner-driven school in Kuala Lumpur. Learning how to know others and give feedback or constructive criticism is an incredible skill. We are so pleased and confident it is a great fit! through deliberate practice and the latest educational technology, through written promises and commitments that form a tightly bound peer-led community. Acton Academy is in the lower right corner, and you can click here to explore the whole interactive map. 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. Acton Academy Hampton Roads is part of the Acton Academy network -a network of true learner-driven micro schools started in Austin in 2009- and considered by many to be a leading model of K-12 innovation in the United States. The tracker and the education technology learning platforms are forms of surveillance. This includes teaching themselves math and English through books and online resources at school, but it also means self-learning to overcome obstacles, to deal kindly with others, and to develop motivation. Not joking. Students set their own goals, manage their own projects, and hold themselves and other students accountable. The ed-tech company closed all the schools after a few years and kept the tech product in creation. According to a recent analysis by the Cato Institutes Neal McCluskey, private schools have seen enrollment gains during the coronavirus response. Hes learning a lot about responsibility, accountability, speaking up with kindness and respect, she told me. We believe children learn best by doing. We really had no sense whatsoever of if our kids were progressing nicely, or falling behind. To be fair, there are many reasons that a child can fall behind academically, so I couldnt say that the lack of academic progress was the fault of the school. 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. Acton Academy has no teachers, only guides. From my review, this heavily online platform reliance probably concerns me the most. This video provides a peek at life at Acton, focusing on Acton . Welcome to Acton Academy of Washington, DC. I write about innovative K-12 learning models. Freedom is earned or lost by meeting certain expectations, and in the middle and high school studios, higher freedom levels are not given to those with low peer 360 reviews. We have a strong Christian ethos, which allows us to carry out our Christian vison and values throughout all we do. The problem was the wheel on the trash can broke so it was hard to get the can to the curb. I pulled them out of school thinking that "okay" just wasn't what I wanted for them. Organizing learning as skill sprints, projects, and dialogs rather than discipline-based courses; Growth community: a commitment to individual and collective growth; and. We have seen creative sides of our learner since moving to the The Forest that we did not see while in public school. My open letter to Acton describes exactly how schools, institutions, and those set on 21st Century education reforms benefit from harvested data. I will be impartial and mention pros AND cons, but please dont lose the messagego to Acton. Their "quests" are their projects and the students are encouraged to take on quests in which they try to change the world in their own ways. I hope they don't have any employees taking the subsidized Metro to work, or drive to school on publicly funded roads. However, at Acton, our kids fell behind even the public school over the course of two years. Acton Academy Seacoast uses the latest technology in a self-paced learning environment that is designed to foster responsibility, goal-setting, and teamwork. Watch a video about how Acton is transforming education. The tracker is a major anchor for many personalized learning programs. We cant build schools fast enough, he told me, adding that he is already outgrowing the buildings in his three locations which currently serve more than 300 learners, ages four to 18. On the day I visited The Wilder School, a bright, colorful and welcoming classroom in a standalone, home-like building behind the church from which Gregory rents the space, I got a glimpse of how a day at an Acton Academy operates. We saw it in our own kids after just a few weeks. The Acton model relies heavily on self-directed learning with a lot of peer feedbackolder students help younger students set and monitor goals. 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. For the past year and a half we have been homeschooling our children, which has been, and continues to be, a wonderful journey. For Gregory, the chance to build a school from scratch that connects to a vision she believes in was enticing. We just opened enrollment for 2022-2023 for ages 4-16 and have extremely limited space available in our Elementary and Spark Studios. A student or teacher with a fixed mindset ignores constructive criticism, instead relying on what they think they already know about themselves. I made several attempts to discuss why their learning and behaviors are incentivized, as this is in opposition to research that has been published for 30 years stating incentivization has a net negative effect. After leaving the University of Texas Austin, Sandefer launched his own private business school, interestingly enough with Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson as a partner. Acton parents and students are asked to sign contracts before they begin, outlining the expectations of the school. Acton Academies are opening up across the world. My junior year of college I decided to try to actually learn. We felt like Actons approach to academics was too extreme. Inside each studio are 5 freedom levels. Armed with purpose and good character, we believe our students will launch into adulthood prepared to find their calling and change the world. Because teachers (called guides) at Acton dont lecture and spell things out for kids, they quickly learn to overcome obstacles on their own. It asks you to upload screenshots of proof, and answer questions about topics. Get the inside scoop on jobs, salaries, top office locations, and CEO insights. 6 - Criticism. 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. Home Explore our Main Campus Find a School Elementary School blog Middle and Launchpad Blog Parent Blog Launch an Acton Join the Learning Revolution Turn Learning Upside Down Adaptive game based programs for core skills Socratic discussions to strengthen critical thinking However, we didnt feel confidence that our kids kept pace with public school. Acton Academy: Where Learning is an Adventure. He didnt think anything of it, but we were horrified when we found out he had taken a knife to school! Reading goals are accomplished using Lexia, a literacy learning software, while writing skills are developed using Night Zookeeper, a playful, game-based platform that makes writing fun and engaging. We felt the kids were left on their own to self-learn to such an extreme that they werent being encouraged to produce their very best work. Heres a science projectfollow these directions. Frankly, most kids these days are helpless. Extra time off, low prep, awesome families, amazing kids, laid-back vibe, more freedom than traditional school (in many ways) Cons. Acton Academy is dedicated to inspiring each child to see life as a Hero's Journey, where someone with curiosity and character can find a 'calling', using his or her most precious gifts, in a way that brings great joy, to solve a deep burning need in the world. Success is not about completing worksheets or memorizing facts to pass a test. It made things unnecessarily contentious. Plans often change - if an Acton near you doesn't reply they are still in the process of preparing to launch. TFS taps into the heroic and leader in all their learners so they live boldly and passionately and in turn make the world better. We decided to homeschool with the support of a self-directed learning community. A teacher and literacy specialist for 20 years in both public and private schools, Ross values the freedom and flexibility of the Acton model. Do you wonder if Acton is right for your child and family? However, learners also read a lot of books. For Gregorys two children, ages seven and nine, who are the initial students in The Wilder School, math goals involve completing several units each week using Khan Academy, the free, online learning platform that is used in many schools and homeschools across the country. The small innovative school with a big promise is catching on. After having kids of my own, I knew I wanted them to have the opportunity to experience learning in meaningful, practical ways that cultivated curiosity and self-efficacy. Adems, es una de las escuelas avaladas por el Christensen Institute , dedicado a la investigacin de innovacin disruptiva por el Harvard Business School enfocado en modelos de educacin K-12 que permitan a . To Boost Kids Vocabulary, We Need To Build Their Knowledge, Entrepreneur On A Mission To Educate On Building Healthy Relationships, Four American Scholars Awarded Worlds Largest Prize For Outstanding Work In History, Catholic Schools And The Fabric Of American Education, We Need To Stop Seeing Skipping School As A Problem, And Recognize That For Some Its A Rational Choice. We all attended public school, currently live in a great school district, and have confidence that our children would do fine in that setting. Business Outlook. I love that each child can work at their own pace and that the traditional school performance pressure is gone as our kids control how fast or slow they go but the school structure creates enough positive reinforcement to make them want to do well and soar! As parents to 6 young children between our two families, we have been thinking about education a lot recently. The Forest Schools educational model is cultivating the confidence and curiosity our daughter was lacking in the public school setting. Students at Acton Academy prepare for the challenges, opportunities, and adventures of the real [+] world through an individual Hero's Journey. I am so glad my wife and I found a school that we can see our children attending until they go to college. We believe that each learner who enters our doors is a hero destined to change the world. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . 3 Ways Learning is Different Here Child Centered, 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. There is a website, called Journey Tracker, where the kids have their progress reported to parents. Right from the start, we noticed that Acton tends to keep parents at arms length. Our mission is to inspire each child and parent who enters our doors to develop a calling that will change the world. The schools in those areas will immediately start populating below. Acton Academy is an innovative one-room schoolhouse built for the 21st century. Our son is thriving in this learning environment, where kids are encouraged to think outside the box, are allowed to move around as needed, and can have a say in their learning. We combine technology and hands-on learning in a self-paced environment that fosters responsibility, goal setting, and team work. Acton Academy Columbus is a secular, private, project-based learner-driven elementary school. They install cameras in classrooms to ensure compliance with Acton principles. in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, The goal is to unlock an intrinsic love of reading. Acton students are empowered to thrive in a world that needs independent, motivated thinkers and learners. Private School The Forest School: An Acton Academy A Overall Grade Private, Montessori PK, K-12 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 15 reviews Back to Profile Home The Forest School: An Acton Academy Reviews 15 reviews Excellent 13 Very Good 1 Average 0 Poor 0 Terrible 1 All Categories Acton Academy admits learners and affiliates of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students via online school presence. I love the real world experience of the Forest School. One of the ways Acton keeps costs low is to utilize education technology for Math and English Language Arts, so that no expertise is needed by educators for what they call core skills learning. As strange as it may seem, ed-tech, health-tech, and futures trading are all enmeshed in one another. This exchange hones students critical thinking skills. Im a rule follower, and I hate it when the school secretary calls me to ask where my kid was. 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