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 Hero for his or her special journey.

Acton Academy Santa Cruz is a multi-age learning environment where learners take the lead on their academic experience. They design their own learning plan for which they set goals and work at their own pace, and do so among a community of peers who work together to self-govern and provide accountability to each other as they learn and grow. Success requires motivation, self-direction, and disciplined effort, as well as the ability to work well with peers. Learners work independently for core skills learning, and collaboratively with peers for hands-on projects. In addition, they participate in group discussions that require listening skills and the ability to voice opinions in a respectful and thoughtful manner. It is important for the learner to understand expectations and adhere to them in order to gain the most out of their learning experience. In creating a community of self-directed learners, these are some of the things we “look-for” that indicate our learning environment may be a good fit for your child:

Spark Studio (ages 4-7):

• 1. Exhibits a positive attitude about learning in general

• 2. Participates willingly in classroom activities

• 3. Follows simple oral directions

• 4. Actively engages in their own learning and is generally curious

• 5. Displays the following social and emotional skills most of the time.

  • Makes friends and plays cooperatively

  • Shows empathy

  • Manages strong feelings like frustration and disappointment without becoming aggressive or withdrawn

  • Separates from parent without distress

• 6. Engages in an activity for at least 15 minutes

• 7. Possesses basic communication skills

• 8. Is physically self-reliant

• 9. Is able to care for studio materials and contribute to cleaning the physical space

• 10. Can manage all toileting needs independently

Discovery (Elementary) Studio: (Below are additional prerequisites for the ES)

1. Knows all of their letter sounds and is beginning to read independently.

2. Follow basic written and oral instructions.

3. Able to engage and participate in a 15-minute discussion with peers.

4. Can set, remember, and pursue a goal for 30 minutes or more.

5. Works well with peers by respecting their space and goals

6. Takes responsibility for actions and choices

Journey and Launchpad Studios:

*Students must be fluently reading to enter the Journey studio. If your 11 year old is still working on reading skills, please apply for the Discovery Studio and they may move up when they are ready.

1. Positive attitude about learning in general

2. Takes responsibility for learning and problem-solving

3. Self-advocates

4. Follows written and oral directions

5. Displays the following social and emotional skills nearly all of the time.

• Makes friends and cooperates with others

• Shows empathy

• Manages strong feelings like frustration and disappointment without becoming aggressive or withdrawn

6. Willingness to help others and demonstrates leadership

7. Can set, remember, and pursue a goal for 45+ minutes

8. Takes care of studio and personal space with organization skills

9. Participates often in Socratic Discussions

10. Is ready to challenge themselves

11. Has a strong "why" for wanting to be in a learner-driven environment

For parents:

• If you are excited and inspired by all the information you have gathered about his unique model of education

• If you are ready to embrace the Hero's Journey of Parents by trusting your child to take the lead, fail and make mistakes, and experience the natural consequences of those failures and mistakes, without intervening unless absolutely necessary

• If you feel inspired to be a lifelong learner alongside your child and embrace learning, mistake-making, and growth in your own life

• If you are inspired to let your child work hard, take control of their learning, and be a positive addition to a group of leaders

While Acton is a learner-driven community, there are guardrails in place to help guide students throughout their day, session, and year. We empower students to create and modify the systems and agreements that all Heroes work within, so they are thriving in a learner-driven envirnoment, with boundaries of their own making.

This blog post by Acton Academy Main Campus founder Laura Sandefer is a great resource to learn more:

https://www.actonacademyparents.com/freedom-and-structure-a-synchronous-pair-at-acton/

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.

The Socratic Method is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions.

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

At Acton Academy, we believe in the power of balance. Using the incredible, self-paced

e-learning tools now available, we are able to provide the rigor needed for learning math, vocabulary, spelling and grammar in about 90 minutes each day, while freeing up the rest of the day for engaging, project-based learning. The two are highly complementary.

Acton Academy Santa Cruz is an accredited learning center. All learners must be registered through either a Private School Affidavit (PSA), Private School Satellite Program (like Seacliff Academy) or be enrolled in a charter or public school independent studies program. For more information about these options please contact us!

Our goal is to arm Heroes to solve their own problems. So:

1. Ask your Hero for permission to become involved before you do anything.

2. Resist the temptation to email a Guide unless it is a matter of serious, immediate harm. Guides follow a process that equips the Hero to try to solve his or her own problems first.

3. Ask your Hero whether she should approach a Guide, her Squad Leader, or Town Council with the issue and help her frame the issue in a positive light.

4. If the issue remains unresolved, ask your Hero to write an email to their Squad Leader and copy Guides, expressing their frustration and a proposed remedy.

5. If the issue is a personal one between Heroes, ask your Hero to initiate a Conflict Resolution/Peace Table. If they need support, encourage tehm to ask or email a Guide.

6. If the issue is serious and remains unresolved, a Hero may call for everyone involved to meet to address the issue, and parents are welcome to observe. We’ve found requiring everyone to be in the same room discourages mixed messages and triangulation, and often de-escalates issues.

There are no grades or report cards at Acton Academy. The promise and spirit of Acton Academy Santa Cruz is to provide a Learner-Driven community that includes:

1. A self-paced environment where learners embrace a growth mindset way of thinking about mistakes, progress, and learning

2. Running Partners who hold each other accountable

3. Journey Tracker Program to help set, keep track of, and record progress toward goals

4. Excellence exhibitions at the end of each session where Heroes demonstrate their learning to their community

5. Excellence guidelines- If this is the first time, is it your best? If attempted before, is it better than last time? If done many times, how does it compare to a world-class example? Finally, is it ready for a public show or exhibition?

Many of us wish our Hero would spend more time on handwriting or spelling or Math, and when he doesn’t, long for a learning community or school to require the behavior.

Unfortunately, lasting learning doesn’t work this way. Someone has to want to learn, if deep learning is to occur.

We’ve found that Growth Mindset language and praise – and most of all patience – work better than criticism.

Your learner will have the opportunity to achieve any college or career goal they set for themselves. There is no limit to what they can learn and prepare for at Acton Academy Santa Cruz. The study of academic subjects, real-world projects and experiences, and apprenticeships will prepare them for their future. It is up to each learner to embrace their opportunities to accomplish their goals.

Acton Academy Santa Cruz is a learning center accredited through the International Association of Learner Driven Schools. You can find out more information at https://ialds.org/

Acton Academy Santa Cruz is part of the network of over 200 Acton Academies around the world. We follow the same learning design and learning model that the founders helped create at the original Acton Academy campus in Austin, Texas, while honoring our own uniqueness as well. We are not a franchise but a network of parents bound by the principles of freedom, responsibility, hard work and ultimate belief in the human genius within each child.

Acton Academy is named after Lord John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton (1834-1902), 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 Acton Academy, we celebrate his defense of economic, political and religious freedom.