We are currently accepting applications for learners ages 5-9 for Fall 2023.

*Once you submit your application please pay your $100 application fee at https://actonacademywestend.com/application-fee

We are being incredibly careful to only accept founding families who fully accept and believe in this model for education and will be a great fit for this new community of learners. This heavily depends on BOTH parents being 100% on board with the “Acton” way. This model attracts families who would otherwise likely be pursuing homeschooling and prefer to have their children in a learning environment that deviates from the current traditional model in more ways than one. Our job as owners is to help inquiring parents decide if this is the best fit for their family. If we do not provide intentional checkpoints, it doesn’t serve you or the studio well in the long run.

Listed below are some of the most common areas of struggle for parents who end up not being a perfect fit for the Acton Model:

⁃The style of the studio: The studio may seen like chaos at times. We will always commit to creating a safe learning environment but an Acton studio is not always a calm and structured space. Parents have to be willing to trust that the chaos and freedom that exists in an Acton studio is purposeful and will lead to powerful self discovery for their child.

⁃The avoidance of political agendas: Acton believes in empowering learners to think critically, respect all, and be open to other’s opinion.  However, Acton does not celebrate forced political agendas into learning spaces (especially for younger learners). Respectful, learner-led socratic discussions about controversial topics are encouraged and celebrated in older studios. AAWE desires for critical thinking and discussions to remain age appropriate.

⁃Measuring Mastery: The method of measuring mastery requires that parents trust the process and do not insert their own ideas of how their child should be “measuring up”. There are no grade levels and a child is only viewed as “failing to thrive” if they are not engaging. Engagement is a sign of curiosity and curiosity leads to true learning.

⁃Learner-Led EVERYTHING: This takes so much trust in our young people. As we have toured and connected with other thriving Acton studios, the reoccurring element of every successful studio is the amount of trust placed on the learners. Everything from behavioral management to studio protocol decisions are entrusted to the learners. This is hard to envision with a young studio but it is possible and we will be safely passing off responsibilities to our learners at an incredibly young age.

If you are ready to say “YES” to a new way of thinking about what school is and empower your child to take charge of their learning, let’s get started! We can’t wait to get to know you.