Our Program

The curriculum at Acton Academy is designed to inspire a love of learning, cultivate critical thinking, and equip students with the skills they need to thrive in an ever-changing world. Grounded in research and innovative methodologies, our curriculum goes beyond traditional education to empower students to become lifelong learners and leaders in their own right. 

Job number one is to make it fun to be part of the community.  If the heroes want to belong to the tribe, they will accept hard work and the Hero’s Journey as the price of membership, deeply imbedding the core belief that Grit matters more than IQ for heroes in the long run.

Plus, motivated heroes work at 10X the rate of average students.

Reading, writing (communication) and math are fundamental tools for decision making and critical thinking.

Reading: First, make reading fun and enjoyable (see point number one above.)  We provide reading time daily and allow the learners to read anything they want.  Once children love to read, we can offer more challenging ideas, authors and genres.

Hint: We never mention the word “classic.”  Sadly, many children define "classic” as “a boring book that grown-ups make you read.”  Instead, we offer Great Books. In the upper MS studio, the heroes will pitch Great Books to read that will be approved by their fellow travelers as a book that will add value to a hero's journey.

Writing (Communication):​ In ES we make writing fun by starting with journaling and lighthearted creative writing.  We start early with Socratic discussions.  We always apply writing as a means of meaningful communication or for a specific reason, usually as part of an exhibition, so that quality matters to the heroes. Over time, we offer more difficult challenges and genres.  The studios use peer critiques to boost motivation; Heroes will write and revise a great deal if they can share with friends.

Handwriting and spelling will come over time, but we give the learners incentives to improve these early on Grammar is different. Too much early emphasis on grammar can kill the joy of getting thoughts and emotions on paper. If young people care about writing and communicating, better grammar will come.

Math:  Khan Academy and other game-based adaptive programs like Dreambox make math curriculum a breeze, so we can focus on motivation and including math in real world projects.

Civilization:  We use articles, videos and ethical dilemmas that put the learners in the shoes of a heroic decision maker, require them to take a firm stand and debate the alternatives in a Socratic Discussion.

Learners are competitive by nature.  Ask them to track and post the results for the Core Skills activities above, and deep learning will happen.

3. Quests for 21st Century Skills

With confidence that the Core Skills are being mastered, we add Quests to master 21st Century skills and subjects like science.  A Quest is nothing more than a series of hands-on, real-world projects that contain a narrative and a public exhibition at the end of a timeframe (usually 6 weeks). Quests that have been covered in the past include: Gardening, Coding & Robotics, Greek Influence on American Democracy, US Citizenship and the Naturalization Process, Architecture, Marine Science, and Detective Science.

Each fall we start with a Build the Tribe Quest that allows the new studios to build their learner-designed Hero's Contract (rules that guide them through the year). We start with simple Quests first then add more complex Quests through the year.  By Summer session, late in the school year, we hand the Quest creation to our heroes in upper ES and MS to design a curiosity topic to teach to younger learners in the studio in a truly learner-led, hands-on experience.

4. Real World Apprenticeships

As soon as possible, MS heroes begin real world apprenticeships – sometimes as early as ten years old.  This includes each learner considering his or her individual gifts and talents; activities that bring joy or “flow,” and the irresistible opportunities or terrible injustices that inspire a young hero.

We challenge students to identify and pitch apprenticeship opportunities themselves, with as little help as possible from adults.  There’s nothing quite as freeing as knowing you can identify and land your next adventure in life, all by yourself.

Learner-Driven Learning Communities offer a rich tapestry of collaborative discovery with serious rigor, as young heroes negotiate collaborating and learning with Running Partners and in small groups.  But “self organized” doesn’t mean chaos; in fact, it usually requires a rigorous set of rules and natural consequences.  Embracing the principles above allows the chaos at Acton Academy to (usually) have an upward trajectory, and to self-correct when it doesn’t.

Adapted from The Eagles of Acton Blog.