Drop Off: 7:50 am - 8:30 am NOTE: Our day always starts PROMPTLY at 8:30 am with our 15-minute Morning Launch. If learners are late, they must wait until Morning Launch is over to join the rest of the Studio.

Pick Up: 2.45 pm - 3:15 pm

Generally, our enrollments occur at the beginning of the school year in September. However, if we have openings, you could possibly be able to start at the beginning of a Session. This is a case-by-case situation.

History (known to our learners as “Civilization”) will be explored through longer, more in-depth Socratic discussions twice per week. We also have blocks of time set aside specifically for Physical Development and Art during our weekly schedule. In addition to integrative Quests that will provide lots of opportunities to explore the arts and other extracurricular areas of interest.

We do not assign homework so that our learners have more time to pursue individual interests, hobbies, and passions outside of the Studio.

The teacher-to-student ratio at most traditional schools is 1 adult to 20 or 30 students. While our small community does not have traditional student-teacher dynamics in the studio… we do have an infinite amount of teachers/experts available to our learners! Our Lions have access to experts from all over the world — from Sal Khan to Richard Feynman to an unknown genius on a YouTube video — plus Socratic coaching from peers; mentors from scores of professions, and heroic role models from the past.

Acton Academy Salado follows a 10-month calendar (September through June) that allows for students to have extended breaks throughout the year and maintains their interest and retention across 7 (5-6 week long) sessions.

We’re located at 714 College Hill Drive. Salado TX.

We have a yearly enrollment fee of $300 and an annual materials fee of $300 that is paid upon acceptance of your invitation to enroll. Enrollment Fee to secure your spot. Standard Tuition is $800/ month for 11 months.

For families of 3 or more children, you get a 10% sibling discount.

Availability: We have a few spots available, and they are filling up quickly. We make enrollment decisions primarily based on philosophical fit, cultural fit, and learner readiness. Age may also impact our decisions, as maintaining a diverse and balanced community is an essential aspect of the learning environment we are building.

Waiting Pool (aka Waiting List): If, after completing the audition process, if we all agree that Acton Academy Salado would be an excellent fit for your family, if we do not yet have a spot available for your learner, we’ll place them in our Waiting Pool. When a spot does become available, we’ll notify you of the opening and invite you to enroll.

If you have a learner younger than 4 years old that you would like to add to the Waiting Pool, simply complete the Online Application portion of the audition process, and we can delay the Informal Interview portion until your learner is a little older.

​​Socratic Guides:
It is important to understand that in a learner-driven environment like Acton, there is no direct instruction from Guides.

GRADES - Badges that demonstrate Mastery:
Here's a very quick, high-level view of how it all fits together. Rather than grades, because we utilized the latest, game-based learning platforms, you'll be able to see, real-time, what specific skills your learner is currently working on or has mastered, along with their progress towards completing their Badge Plan.

HOMEWORK - Time to nurture relationships, hobbies, interests and passions:
We do not assign homework. We'd rather our learners have time to relax, recharge, spend quality time with their families and/or more deeply pursue other interests/passions. Now, should your learner choose to work on projects outside of the Studio that would be up to them of course!

At Acton Academy Salado, we like to call that "learning untethered". A learner-driven environment means that your child will be free to pursue skills mastery at their own pace, and the Guides (known as teachers in a more traditional setting) will not serve as a bottleneck to keep everyone contained on the same state-prescribed learning track and timeline.

Not only will your child have the opportunity to expand and deepen their learning experience through mentoring (and being mentored by) a mixed-age group of learners, but they are also free to pursue mastery at whatever pace makes the most sense (with your support and encouragement as parents, of course). WARNING: This can be unnerving for some parents who want to see a smooth, even progression achievement. ;-)

Our Learning Design (aka Curriculum) is broken down into a series of Badges that (very!) roughly correlate to grade levels.

Learners are free to accelerate through the Studio Badge Plan in whatever pace and manner they choose, with the end goal always the same - to eventually earn all the Badges in the Studio Badge Plan so they can advance to the next Studio.

After understanding more about how our curriculum is structured, many parents wonder what happens when a learner chooses to focus on one area they really love (like say Reading), to the detriment of other areas (like Math). The truth is, deep, transformative learning tends to be uneven - it's rarely a smooth progression across all areas at the same pace, so as an Acton Parent, you will most certainly face some unnerving moments in this respect.

That said, there are a few things baked into our approach that encourage learners to (eventually) choose to pursue a more well-rounded skill set:

• Gamification of Curriculum:
  Moving along the Journey Map requires work in all Core Skills subject areas.
• Peer Accountability:
  Learners have a "running squad" that helps keep them accountable for progress towards learning goals and commitments. Learners cannot "level up" to the next Studio without having completed badge requirements in all areas of study.
• Integrative Quests:
  Often, the motivation for acquiring new skills can come from the desire to tackle learning challenges presented in the Quest format.
• Schedule:
  Focused work sprints may be baked into the Daily Schedule from time to time - "DEAR Time" (Drop Everything And Read), or "Math Power Hour" (everyone works on math goals only for 1 hour) are great examples of this.
• Growth Mindset:
  Our young Heroes learn to love challenges. They are equipped with frameworks like the Challenge Doughnut, and a Growth Mindset is encouraged/reinforced to help learners face and work through the discomfort they may feel when trying to master a new skill that they might otherwise avoid.
• Parenting Decisions:
  It's certainly your prerogative as a parent to set guardrails and boundaries that help motivate your learners to focus on areas they may be avoiding, and we fully support you in this!

This is a question many parents have, especially when it comes to considering a more non-traditional approach, like AAS. The short answer is, nothing.

Now for the longer answer: First, as a parent, it is your right and responsibility to decide how best to support your learner - this may look like boundaries or incentives for meeting (or not meeting) learning goals. It may look like after-school tutoring or extra-curricular exploration. Again, we respect these choices as parenting decisions and encourage you to forge whatever social contracts you deem appropriate with your learner outside of the Studio.

At our school, we don't do this - there is no real emphasis on matching grade level to age. What we want to see is 1) What are your learning goals? 2) are you working hard? 3) Are you progressing towards your goals? When looking through this lens, at AAS "behind" means you aren't on track with your individual goals... and, therefore, need to put in more effort or need extra help (if there is a learning disability involved, for instance).

Think of a Studio as the classroom of a one-room schoolhouse. We like to think of it as a learning "habitat" for learners of multiple ages and skill levels where they can work for a focused period of individual flow or purposeful collaboration.

At AAS, so far we have built 2 such “habitats”: our Spark Studio (ages 4-6) and 3 Discover Studios (ages 6-9 and 9-11), 1 Upper level ages(11-14 and 14-18).

Please note that children do not automatically move studios based on age, we consider their readiness in learning, social, and emotional skills to ensure they continue meeting goals and making progress on their AAS Journey.

A Badge is something that a learner can earn after they complete a series of learning challenges that demonstrate mastery of something.

“Core Skills” refers to the foundational skills of Reading, Writing, and Math. We set aside time each day in our Daily Schedule to set SMART Goals to focus on tackling challenges and earning Badges in each of these areas.

At AAS we rely on the latest, game-based learning platforms to empower our learners on their self-paced journey to mastery.

Quests are a four- to six-week series of challenges bound by a compelling narrative and designed to deliver 21st century skills. Elementary Quests typically focus on broad explorations of science and curiosity. This is an exciting opportunity for learners to utilize the Core Skills they are mastering to solve real-world problems and bring new ideas to life!

A Launch is a 15-minute Socratic discussion designed to help inspire, equip and focus Eagles for a work sprint – a focused period of individual flow or purposeful collaboration.

During a typical day in an Acton Academy, these will occur 2x per day (Morning Launch, Afternoon Launch) with a similar Closing Discussion at the end of the day that invites reflection on the day and renewed purpose and commitment for the next.

Once the studio culture and systems are more established, it will not be uncommon to see many of these discussions prepared, delivered and facilitated by the learners themselves.

We’re dead serious about this but understand that further explanation is helpful. First, the true definition of the word “genius”: is exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.

Does this mean sky-high IQ? No. (Which by the way is a largely incomplete and unhelpful measurement anyways!) Is this really just code for “everyone deserves a trophy for being a unique and beautiful snowflake”? Nope. Uniqueness, while potentially valuable, does not replace mastery, excellence, competence or character.

Believing that every child is a genius simply means that we believe each person who walks through our doors has a special gift (or two!) that can change the world in a profound way. Our main goal is to help equip them to discover and cultivate their gifts.

AAS's flexible approach to learning is a great fit for many kids who need something different than the traditional school environment. Students who have trouble sitting still through a standard school day can sometimes flourish in our classroom, which provides space for breaks, comfortable and flexible seating, and room for individual self-regulation.

However, schools that have adopted this learning model have noticed areas that provide challenges for the special needs student. Because this educational model is designed with a curriculum that relies on independent learning and dynamic group projects along with an environment that can be very stimulating, students that struggle with cooperation, self-regulation, and sensory issues may have special challenges in our classroom. We are simply not equipped to serve children with some learning disabilities in Studio.

We are not and will never run a faith-based program. The issue of religion and faith will inevitably be explored through inquiry-based Socratic discussions about the impact of religion on civilization (history) and personal moral philosophies, for example. That said, like all Acton Academy founders, we are adamant that such discussions are never prescriptive (do this and then you'll get this; believe this and this happens) or favor one religion above others (i.e. exclusively exploring Judeo-Christian traditions while actively ignoring others like Islam, Buddhism, etc.).

If you are looking for a faith-based option, we are not for you! The good news is, there are 2 Acton Academy campuses in the Austin area that are faith-based: The Studio Prep (fka Acton Imprimis Austin) and Acton Imprimis Lake Travis. They would be excellent options if this is something you are looking for!

Each Studio is built on a foundational Studio Contract, created and agreed to by the learners. We also have a "Strike" System that functions as safety guardrails that help keep everyone safe. The learners are empowered by these guardrails, contracts and feedback/conflict resolution frameworks to set healthy boundaries and use their voice to be heard. Our goal is to not intervene/handle bullying as adults as much as it is to equip the learners to navigate interpersonal relationships successfully on their own with both a kind heart and a tough mind.

At AAS, choosing to keep the Contract promises is interpreted as a choice to stay and choosing to break Contract promises is interpreted as a choice to leave - either way, we will respect the learner's choice.

Aftercare is till 5.30 pm daily except on exhibition days (The last day of the session).