October 29, 2021

What makes Acton different?

What makes Acton unique as a private school? We incorporate many parts of a Montessori and Reggio Emilia education. In addition, there are so many other aspects of Acton that turn learning upside down:

One-room schoolhouse
Project Based Learning
No homework
No grades
No report cards
No lectures
Blended learning
ESTEAM (Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) Education
Guides rather than teachers
Focus on the 4 Cs (Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity)
Montessori principles to build independent learners
Socratic discussions to develop critical thinking skills
Personalized, self-paced, mastery-based learning

All of the above approaches to education are designed to give learners exposure to real-life skills. The Acton holistic approach focusing on learning to be, learning to do, and learning to learn. This leads to a much more fulfilling Hero’s journey and carves a path where learners find joy in learning which leads to lifelong learning.

But what truly separates Acton is that we are a Learner-Driven school. Eagles drive their own learning vs. the traditional approach of Teacher / State led curriculum. What does that look like? It shows up in a lot of ways:

Eagles lead the morning discussion
Eagles set their own goals
Self-paced core skills
Peer-to-Peer learning
Studio governance:
- Creating / abiding by a learner-generated contract
- Eagles determine how studio maintenance gets complete