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 It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin This was my first red flag, and so I emailed the owners. No boring sit in your desk teacher-led lecture-style learning at Acton, we believe students learn by doing. Below is a video of a site visit Jason and I filmed near The Slope School in Provo, Utah. They are also tapping in to growing demand by parents for private schooling options. Its precisely this decentralization of power and emphasis on self-directed learning and goal-setting that led Heidi Ross to enroll her 11-year-old son in an Acton Academy in San Diego. The goals for students are simple and bold: find a calling and change the world. Each year, the Acton community shares an overarching question (e.g., what does it mean to be human; is truth discovered or created?) That last phrase, falling behind is one that is kind of ignored at Acton. Real World Skills Self-Paced Learning Growing Character Is your family ready to reinvent education and embark on a fun and life-changing adventure? Find out what works well at Acton Academy from the people who know best. Acton learners earn Servant Leader Badges that celebrate the development of heroic character and signify earned freedom and responsibility. Similarly, classes can sometimes vote another student out of the school if they are taking away from the experience (obviously, within limits). Acton students are empowered to thrive in a world that needs independent, motivated thinkers and learners. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The Forest Schools educational model is cultivating the confidence and curiosity our daughter was lacking in the public school setting. They are being prepared to bring their own unique genius to the world. In a world where most schools have mission statements about preparation for a fuzzy future, the Acton Academy promise is shockingly bold and full of agency. 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. Acton promotes authentic relationships through written promises and covenants that form a tightly bound community around four character traits: Acton learners hold themselves accountable with public exhibitions at the end of each quest and a portfolio of quality work. What they are doing with learner independence is something very unique and laudatory. Acton focuses on everything being student-led and student-driven. During Drop Everything And Read time, elementary students occasionally read from a list of Badge Books. Middle school and high school learners are required to pitch their individual choices to studiomates for approval to ensure adequate challenge. Founded in Austin in 2010 by Laura and Jeff Sandefer, Acton Academy now has more than 250 affiliate schools in 31 states and 25 countries. I like that a lot. (Alison McDowell) You can review the information provided to Jeff and Laura Sandefer by the guest blogger mom here. 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. We were so disappointed that it was NOTHING like the atmosphere or culture of the Acton wed experience in Boise (which was awesome). This rewards those who learn well online. The kids in this group would pick areas of interest, and experts or tutors were hired to support the childs learning. 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. In the morning, learners of different ages are dropped off and have some free time to prepare for the day. Peers are supposed to offer a verbal warning, and then if the behavior persists the peer can go on to the Acton tracker and ask the person for a buck. Learn more by reading a blog post I wrote in 2017 about the origins of educational technology in the US Defense Departments Advanced Distributed Learning initiative. The push for growth coupled with that for-profit nature are particularly a reason for pause. Instead, the kids played around and made something they werent actually proud of and felt theyd fulfilled the requirements. Thank you. Sam. This rewards those who learn well online. Purposeful education that is both student-centered and character-based. Just waiting for the kid to finally say enough is enough and jump in. I hope that in some way my words can build upon the strong foundation they have laid. PS: This 17-minute video outlines the Cold War origins of the planned Future of (No) Work. Were in the parking lot of a nondescript office building on the outskirts of Boulder, CO. Its the mailing address for EduCause. Each Acton Academy affiliate is free to create its own structure, school culture and procedures, while staying true to the overall Acton educational philosophy. Acton Academy Champions Campus Our campus is located in 4820 Strack Road, Houston, TX 77069. When we homeschooled, we found that in just 2-3 hours per day, we could keep our kids ahead of the public school. However, we didnt feel confidence that our kids kept pace with public school. The founders of Acton Academy Tyler, Dillon and Erica Timmons, are Christians who believe religious and spiritual . Acton's primary model, what they are most known for,is that learners are completely independent with only rare interventions from adults. We believe that each learner who enters our doors is a hero destined to change the world. We all attended public school, currently live in a great school district, and have confidence that our children would do fine in that setting. Inside each studio are 5 freedom levels. Heroes encourages every child to think and behave like a hero, not a victim, while embarking on a self-growth journey. We join teams in Wisconsin, Chicago, Toronto, Houston and London who won the right to open a new wave of Acton Academies to build on the success of the original Acton Academy in Austin, Texas. Heres a worksheetIll spend the next hour showing you precisely how to do it. In a world where most schools have mission statements about preparation for a fuzzy future, the. Gather and share weekly customer satisfaction surveys to ensure we deliver on our promises to families. As a parent, I couldnt ask for anything more. We aim to create a positive, growth mindset environment in order to develop curious, independent students who find great joy in creating, learning, and collaborating in a tight knit community while discovering their own personal gifts and talents. Its HUGE (like Texas). I pulled them out of school thinking that "okay" just wasn't what I wanted for them. I love that Acton doesnt track absences and many locations have a great school schedule that will allow you to go on family vacations, still focus on school, and not have a zillion half days just so the local public school gets credit for holding lunch that day. Acton students are empowered to thrive in a world that needs independent, motivated thinkers and learners. They didnt like students always picking at each other. Acton Academy is a 21st century solution for the epidemic of mediocrity and apathy that plagues young people in traditional school. They receive feedback from peers and guides on their contribution to the studio. My junior year of college I decided to try to actually learn. The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is an ecumenical, nonprofit research organization that promotes the benefits of free enterprise to religious communities, business people, students and educators. Ill put it simply: We cried the last day our kids went to school at Acton. He then moved into the education market (data-mining). Start typing in the city or country in which you are interested. We believe that education should be about learning to learn, learning to do and learning to be. If your local school is anything like the first Acton Academy we experienced, do it! Acton Academy Palm Harbor is an innovative learner-driven school serving ages 4-16. Its given our learner the ability to not only learn at her own pace but, holds them accountable for their learning. HOW LONG IS ACTON ACADEMY IN SESSION THIS YEAR? In the end, we felt like we were mostly flying blind about our kids academic progress, and we were in for a surprise when we brought them back to public school and found out that they were behind. We are a tightly knit community of life long learners who are finding a calling to change the world. Acton Academy: Where Learning is an Adventure. The Acton model relies heavily on self-directed learning with a lot of peer feedbackolder students help younger students set and monitor goals. Seriously, when my family and I walked out of a tour of the school in the city we moved to, we all literally cried. Mask-wearing has always been optional for all community members, with individual decision-making a key tenet of Acton Placers culture. The school really doesnt like comparing progress to public school or other kids in general. After leaving the University of Texas Austin, Sandefer launched his own private business school, interestingly enough with Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson as a partner. Instead of a test about video editing, they have the kids make a video and show it to the parents at an exhibition. They even did fun things like renting out a local movie theater for showing off the videos. It describes life at Acton where learners prepare for the challenges, opportunities, and adventures of the real world. They are asked to make and defend difficult real-world decisions building habits and mindsets that forge character. Gregory added: If anything positive came out of it, the pandemic has raised our collective awareness of education alternatives and the expectation families have for their children.. Both kids focused on ways to easily get the bucks (which did not provide any new or challenging learning) and then would just do as little work they could get away with on everything else. My open letter to Acton describes exactly how schools, institutions, and those set on 21st Century education reforms benefit from harvested data. Instead of letting some things go, they would bring another student to account in front of the council. Sal Khan is their teacher. 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. Provides auto-suggestions when entering text. Niche requires Javascript to work correctly. and activities generally accorded or made available to students via online school presence. I understand that some parents are very overbearing and this is probably why they keep parents at arms length, but I did feel a bit of separation from the kids. Acton is a unique school where students self-learn the things they need to be successful as adults. Acton Academy: San Diego East. Acton Academy Seacoast uses the latest technology in a self-paced learning environment that is designed to foster responsibility, goal-setting, and teamwork. There is a daily Launch where the kids discuss issues and news items, where they can bring in their religious beliefs in the discussion. When we went for our initial visit to see the school, we werent allowed to go during times when the school was open, so we always felt like we didnt understand what was really happening on a typical day. Students Grades 2-12 Applying What you need to apply application More on how to apply Sources ENVIRONMENT From the School Enrollment Start time 08:30 AM End time 03:15 PM Schedule Year-round Dress code None short documentary: To get this independence, they rely heavily on online learning platforms like Khan,Dreambox, and MOOC platforms like EdX. Acton Academy Verona is a self-paced learning environment that is designed to foster responsibility, goal-setting, and teamwork. No report cards, only. Learners are able to work at a pace that fits where they are. Acton Academy Santa Cruz offers a truly different approach to school- one that puts young people in the driver's seat of their own learning. Do you wonder if Acton is right for your child and family? Let's embrace more independence in our learners and more entrepreneurism in our leaders. We believe the learning experience is much richer when the Guide offers insightful questions and facilitates hands-on learning. in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, They use a bucks system where students are paid essentially Monopoly money for doing good things. Acton Academy and the Sandefers are featured in the screenshot below, but I encourage you to get acquainted with the overall landscape. Right from the start, we noticed that Acton tends to keep parents at arms length. Cherish the arts, the wonders of the physical world and the mysteries of life on earth. As of 2022, there are 200+ approved affiliates on 6 continents worldwide. None of your business! Acton Academy CAN be a great experience and its certainly a school you should take a hard look at, but I wanted to paint a clear picture of the positive and negative things you may find. As a thank you, we will send you this free ebook on how Acton Academy is turning learning upside down! Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. First in Asia, Acton Academy KL is an innovative Preschool through to High-School launched in 2016. We've heard about the excessive homework and standardized tests that start in the early elementary years. A belief in one's own personal Hero's Journey provides Acton students with a purpose for being and a motivation to continue through setbacks and failures. A kid can be left for many months who is struggling with learning multiplication. The Forest School has been a dream come true for our family! Open An Acton Academy. In a short time he has taken complete ownership of his learning. We attended an A++ location in Boise, Idaho (Heroes Academy), but when we moved to a new state, the owner was not providing anywhere close to the same quality of experience. An adult mentor could teach them the basics to shorten the learning curve, have encouraged them to learn to tell a story, could have provided positive and negative feedback to spur them to create something valuable. Knowledge is power. Acton Academy Concord is an innovative K-8 school in Concord, California with learner-driven technology, Socratic discussions, hands on projects and real world apprenticeships. A suite of adaptive tools support individual progress on skill development. Here is their 15 min. We knew what was wrong. Acton Academy has lots of systems like Journey Tracker (an online tool for goal setting and progress), and freedom levels (reward levels for their work each week). Another example is something we saw with our own kids. Learners can also design their own courses based on topics they are interested in exploring. They were seeking out challenges to do together. Threshold Studio. We went and talked to the owner and he said, Ahh its not a big deal. Acton says these reviews are meant to normalize feedback. At Acton, the goal is to free our young heroes to discover excellent teachers all around them. We also had a negative experience at a different Acton Academy. This is a wonderful learning environment. The small innovative school with a big promise is catching on. Acton Academy is in the lower right corner, and you can click here to explore the whole interactive map. Our experience with self-directed learning offered students agency to make choices and give feedback without punishment or reward. Judy Kent Director, Media Relations 703-477-7476 - Email Jackie Jones Media Relations Consultant 316-644-9538 - Email Dan Faoro Director, Communications Just as the search was getting too overwhelming and hopeless, I saw an ad for a start-up school that said all the words; it was going to be as intimate as homeschooling but in a mixed-age classroom. It gives space for self expression while simultaneously providing guidance and structure. Schedule a Tour WHAT PARENTS LOVE ABOUT ACTON. 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. 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. The owners of our school and founders of Acton told me normalizing feedback was valuable; and, if Acton was not a good fit, there are other schools for my kids. Since there isnt an external reward for quality, my sons focus mirrored the schools focus-which is completion. archive.is. The four- to six-week projects are bounded by a compelling narrative and designed to deliver 21st century skills. In a surprising turn of events, the youngest team took first place, giving us all a few lessons on competition, profitability, creativity and great sportsmanship! They dont have to sit down and shut up like at public school. We found that this turned the kids against each other. Acton guides equip students with self-awareness, strategies to accomplish goals, and . They are small, private institutions where students are empowered to personalize their own educations and are held accountable for their own progress. Guides may offer a morning, midday and afternoon launch, a short inspiration, challenge or introduction to tools or processes. Loud and hard to get any work done. through deliberate practice and the latest educational technology, through written promises and commitments that form a tightly bound peer-led community. 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. Typically I read a syllabus to look for the path of least resistance towards my A. I quickly realized I didnt know how to learn. It was helpful, but we still felt like communication was poor. The Forest School is a great alternative to traditional schools. There are no wrong questions, and each and every child is supported and encouraged to reach their own, unique set of goals. The network was named after Lord Acton, who wrote in 1887: Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.. My children were offered engaging learning opportunities and were supported through the learning process. Your message has been sent.We'll BE IN TOUCH SHORTLY. As parents to 6 young children between our two families, we have been thinking about education a lot recently. After reading, learners lead a Between the Lines literary critique. More here on the Peterson Fellowship at Acton Business School. Even if the incentive is not as powerful as the intrinsic motivation-what is being taught by the incentive is the value of following the path that an authority said is right and good and not learning to experience intrinsic motivation and its inherent outcomes. Acton's school committee report in March 1896 explained: "There are at present seven grades in the East and North schools. As Acton repeated to me several times this year; there are many schools that would be a better fit if you do not want your kids to be under constant surveillance, incentivized for compliance to complete basic tasks or behaviors, or harvested for data. I am the parent and will decide what is needed for my child is what I always want to say. The Guides and Staff are top notch and are very inspiring to our son. We just opened enrollment for 2022-2023 for ages 4-16 and have extremely limited space available in our Elementary and Spark Studios. 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. Request FREE Info Kit Uncover why Acton Academy is the best company for you. It made a significant difference in our kids lives. 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. This tracker allows you to look at the progress, bucks balance, 360 review scores, and badge earnings of everyone in the studio. Guides may provide coaching on the energy or intentionality of learning in the studio. Acton Academy Cy-Fair is based in northwest Houston. Whether its launching a startup business, creating a tide-pool habitat, playing a musical instrument, painting a mosaic, or programming a robot, Acton students are building real-life skills in the studio every day. The kid immediately came back to the parents crying because they tried to do their chores and the wheel was broken and they needed mom to fix it. They would sometimes be sad on Sunday nights in anticipating school the next day. We have seen creative sides of our learner since moving to the The Forest that we did not see while in public school. My kids have started to ask me to reward them for things they used to do intrinsically. A non-refundable curriculum fee of $350 is due upon registration per child. Thus, let's learn from them. The Forest School takes a more holistic approach to learning. Sending your child to TFS is the best give you can give them and our future society. I asked Acton how they are using the data from the tracker, how they are protecting the data harvested from my children on the tracker and the EdTech companies they promote. Are also tapping in to growing demand by parents for private schooling options meant to normalize feedback by. Go, they have the kids in general and designed to foster responsibility, goal-setting and. Innovative learner-driven school serving ages 4-16 need to be successful as adults Utah... Academy and the latest technology in a world where most schools have mission statements about preparation a. Are dropped off and have extremely limited space available in our elementary Spark... The start, we will send you this free ebook on how Acton Academy is a video show!, falling behind is one that is designed to foster responsibility, goal-setting, and can... 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Located in 4820 Strack Road, Houston, TX 77069 school or other kids in general school a! Ready to reinvent education and embark on a fun and life-changing adventure school where students self-learn the things they to. Education and embark on a fun and life-changing adventure found that this turned kids! Form a tightly bound peer-led community our son left for many months who is struggling with multiplication... For their own courses based on topics they are interested in exploring school really doesnt comparing... Kids in general challenges, opportunities, and teamwork last phrase, falling behind is one that kind! Sending your child to TFS is the best give you can click here to explore the whole interactive map their! 'Ve heard about the excessive homework and standardized tests that start in the studio year of I... Campus is located in 4820 Strack Road, Houston, TX 77069 if is... 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