Acton Academy Columbus

• Acton Academy Columbus is a private, project-based learner-driven K-12 microschool.
• 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.
• Acton has been called the "Montessori meets Silicon Valley" school because we incorporate many of the great aspects of a Montessori education and combine that with modern, adaptive technology and project-based STEM challenges.

Acton Academy Columbus is a private school that incorporates 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
• Eagle-led governance council