Acton Academy sets elementary school location

The newly launched Acton Academy has found its teaching space for the 2021-22 school year.

Located at 49th Street and Southeastern Avenue in Four Hills Plaza, the space will be able to host 18 to 22 elementary students and two instructors.

Acton Academy will begin its school year Aug. 23 – about the same time as other districts – but it will operate over an 11-month period, with five- to six-week sessions followed by a weeklong break. 

Co-owner Aaron Johnson said that while the program is focusing on elementary-age students, the plan is to build an Acton location in the future to accommodate middle school and younger students.

“The plan is to get the elementary studio launched next month,” Johnson said. “The next two studios we’ll be looking at is Spark, which is the younger age group, and then the middle school.”

Acton Academy’s first studio features flexible seating and beanbag chairs in an area called the “launch space” as well as a community-style table where students can sit and collaborate with each other.

Posters around the studio encourage students to be “heroes” and ask them essential questions for the year, detailing the “hero’s journey,” as well as daily affirmations. Featured near the launch space is the Eagle Contract, which gives students the opportunity to set their own goals and rules for the space, a key idea behind Acton Academy’s mission.

“They (the mentors) will be here to guide, but truly that’s it; the learners kind of drive the whole thing,” Johnson said. “So they’ll rewrite the contract to decide what they want it to be.”